‘The Historical Evolution of ‘Clean’ Bodies and Air in European Cultures: Implications for a ‘Clean’ Atmosphere and Imagined Climate Futures’

Monochrome digital painting of a dramatic cloud formation over a flat landscape, featuring bold, textured brushstrokes and strong contrasts of light and shadow, evoking the clarity of a clean atmosphere and visions of climate futures.

My colleague, Leon Hirt, and I have a review paper published today in WIREs Climate Change. The paper explores the historical evolution of the metaphor of ‘clean’ in the context of energy and climate policy. We show how the original relational meaning of ‘clean’ — describing a desirable set of social relations — has changed […]

My 2010 ‘Climate Book of the Year’

Book cover for the 2010 climate book "Merchants of Doubt," featuring the title over a background of white smoke rising against a blue sky.

Naomi Oreskes and Eric Conway (2010) Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. 368pp. This essay continues my series of monthly posts in which I select one ‘climate’ book to highlight and review from one of the 44 years of […]

‘When Temperature Became Global: A Brief History of the World’s Most Important Index’

Line graph showing global surface air temperature changes from 1901 to 1987, illustrating a general rise in this world’s most important index over time.

Yesterday, my colleague Sarah Dry and I submitted the full manuscript of our forthcoming book ‘When Temperature Became Global’ to Princeton University Press. Following peer review, and any subsequent revisions, the book will enter production later this year and should hit the bookstores in the first quarter of 2027. Here is a brief synopsis of […]