Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid: The Fraught and Fascinating Biology of Climate Change by Thor Hanson

Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid: The Fraught and Fascinating Biology of Climate Change Reviews

• 
  Olive Fellows (abookolive)

  Not my favorite Thor Hanson (that would be
  The Triumph of Seeds: How Grains, Nuts, Kernels, Pulses, and Pips Conquered the Plant Kingdom and Shaped Human History), but a fascinating and engaging read, as always!
• 
  Brian Clegg

  There have been many books on climate change, but Thor Hanson's quirkily titled contribution takes quite a different tack - it's about the impact climate change has on species and how they respond through moving, adapting, evolving or clinging on to a remnant of their original habitat.
  This could have been a dull and worthy catalogue of doom, but Hanson's personal and chatty approach gives us a more balanced insight - sometimes it's a relatively good news story, though there is no doubt that remarkably small changes in climate can have a noticeable effect on the local flora and fauna, and in some cases, with nowhere to go and limited ability to adapt. this will lead to species being wiped out.
  
  The impact of climate change is illustrated through a whole host of different species. We meet marmot-like pikas and Joshua trees, dovekies and anole lizards (the 'hurricane lizards' of the title, which feature in a bizarre experiment involving a leaf blower to test how they cope with different wind strengths) and even strange locations that are able to maintain a colder climate than their surroundings, producing pockets of flora and fauna that haven't moved in response to a temperature rise.
  
  Along the way there are plenty of personal stories, from fishing trips to experiments with his son on the impact of carbon dioxide, plus a couple of particularly impressive examples of situations where a scientist has set out to study a particular animal or plant behaviour with no consideration of the climate, only to have climate change forcefully take over the study, producing data on a totally different issue. Keeping the reader on side is one of Hanson's strong points. Just occasionally he tries a bit too hard - there's an occasion where he takes a whole page of text just to tell us that trees don't move in the normal sense, invoking everything from Birnam Wood to ents - but generally there is plenty to carry the reader along.
  
  Although Hanson suffers a little from scientists' blinkers - in, for example, continuing to fly around the world, or in his contorted defence of his son's enthusiasm for an old petrol-hungry tractor - there is a more balanced realism here than is often seen in climate change polemics. This accompanies the reality that there have been plenty of examples of climate change in the past which have also had huge impacts on species distribution or extinction. Hanson recognises that we can't preserve things as they are in aspic - but equally makes clear just how complex the interplay of species is, so that the movement of a species that seems to have no obvious impact can, through the chain of interaction with other species around it, result in radical shifts that have impact on many other species, including humans.
  
  An enjoyable, thought provoking book.
• 
  L.G. Cullens

  An engagingly written informative book, that broadens one's perspective of the real world. Highly recommended!
  
  An excerpt from the Authors Note in the book's front matter might help the potential reader.
  
  "This is a book driven by curiosity and told through the stories and discoveries of scientists, an inherently curious group of people. Though rooted in the climate change crisis, it is not a crisis book. Other volumes have raised the alarm, and those warnings stand. Here the focus is on underpinnings—how biology teaches us what to expect, when expecting climate change."
• 
  Paul

  As John Muir wrote: “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.’ he was not the first to notice this either, Alexander von Humboldt is one of those first credited with the idea of an ecosystem being a vastly interconnected and interdependent species.
  
  He discovered this when climbing the inactive volcano Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador which went from tropical rainforest to a snow-topped mountain. He went from the equator to the north pole in one go and his eyes were opened to the diversity that existed in this one place. But what happens when these finely balanced ecosystems are changed?
  
  In this book, Thor Hanson looks at the way that climate change is forcing the world’s flora and fauna to adapt. Some can cope where they are, but the consensus has been that species will move further north to remain in their zone as temperatures rise, but it is much more complicated than that. Life on this planet can cope with slow change, but rapid change, as has happened in the past and is happening now is forcing evolution at an unprecedented rate.
  
  Hanson takes us through numerous examples. As well as the two mentioned in the title, hurricane lizards and plastic squid I learnt about bears that are changing their diets from salmon to berries which are having wider effects on the health of the forests alongside the rivers too and plants that are relying on new species to help them migrate. He travels all over the world finding these stories of failures and successes and at times it makes for grim reading.
  
  Compared to a lot of environmental books that can be a bit doom and gloom, this took a very different view. Using lots of examples he looks a the way that a variety of flora and fauna are adapting to the spectre that is climate change. And they are adapting much faster than we are. I have read a couple of his other books before and I think that this is the best of his that I have read so far. The writing is clear and concise and a warning about what is happening on our only planet.
• 
  Elentarri

  I usually love the books Thor Hanson writes, but this one is a bit of a disappointment. This book didn't contain anything I didn't already know even though some of the examples used were new to me. The topics discussed were also covered in a rather superficial manner and I dearly wanted to know more about the topics and also more examples. I found the first two chapters were incredibly boring, and the last three chapters the most interesting. If you know nothing about the effects of climate change on animals and plants you might find this book interesting, but otherwise this is a superficial and weak offering with nothing new to add to the discussion. It's basically a bland salad instead of a decent meal you can sink your teeth into.
  
  Sorry, Dr. Hanson, but your books on seeds, feathers and bees were much better than this one.
  
  NOTE: I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Philip

  Bear with me here...
  
  15 years or so ago, while at university, I was lucky enough to be part of a holistic threat assessment project meant to predict the health status and stability of individual cities across the world. Towards the end of this book, Hanson reminded me of this project. Back then, we tried to account for natural phenomena in addition to the traditionally encompassed geopolitical, demographic, and socioeconomic metrics. As, now, does the U.N., Hanson talks about climate change as a threat multiplier - both for humans and for other animals.
  
  In "Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid," he illustrates this through fascinating anecdotes and quick run-downs of how nature adjusts - or fails to adjust - to climate change. It's a mix of "that is so cool" moments and abject horror at what's already happened. Now, he doesn't really add anything new in the grand scheme of things. Rather, his strength here can be found in his showing tiny examples of what has already happened to illustrate the greater issues. And he does it all in a way that is incredibly enjoyable an congenial.
  
  As my experience did for me 15 years ago, Hanson also opens the reader's eyes to how, perhaps, we're not seeing the big picture of the threats we're facing, because we're focusing so much on the big picture. Yeah, I know, it's contradictory to say the least, but it makes sense - trust me, or read the book!
  
  He also makes a great case for prioritization, and the need for a solid and informed foundation for that prioritization. Similarly, while this isn't so much a book on climate change per se, nor is it a book on anthropogenic climate change, Hanson definitely manages to pack in some solid advise about how we can begin to face it. And, he reminds us that humans too have adapted to climate change in the past and that, this time, we are in a position to make informed and meaningful decisions - individual and collective - that can both help and harm other species. We, too, are threat multipliers.
  
  Most of all though, this is a book written by a biologist that absolutely loves what he's doing. And as much as he is worried and sometimes scared about the changes he discusses in the book, he also thinks they are really cool. He's endlessly fascinated by and with the ingenuity and adaptability of nature. As much as he'd rather not see the changes he writes about, he just can't help himself; like a kid in the candy-store, he just can't tear himself away. If climate change is the proverbial train wreck, Hanson's lookie-looing his way towards doomsday.
  
  It's a fun and surprisingly lighthearted read about a global ecological system on the precipice. Maybe it doesn't add much for an informed reader, but I found it interesting nonetheless. Recommended
• 
  Peter Tillman

  Good book. I took notes.
  OK, a fair bit of this is Global Warming: We're Doomed! stuff. But Hanson is an honest scientist, even if he's drunk a little too much of the Doom Kool-Aid. Such as, Great Britain was scraped pretty much down to bedrock during the great Ice Ages (now, that's serious Climate Change!). But the oak forests recovered surprisingly quickly after the ice melted. How come?
  A: Birds! Just 50 jays carried off over 150,000 acorns in just one season, storing them for the winter. Obviously, they don't find them all, and the birds are the oaks reproductive partners. Left unanswered is where the first generation of birds found acorns to bury after the Ice retreated... Details, details.
  
  The titular Plastic Squid are Humboldt Squid in the Sea of Cortez, which used to support a good-sized fishery before the water warmed. After, they grew much smaller -- but plasticity is one of the best coping-mechanisms for species facing environmental change. Climate change (or any environmental change) favors generalists. Such as humans.
  
  I have lots more notes, but I think I'll cut to the wrap-up. Hanson writes well, reports interesting stuff (those Hurricane Lizards are a hoot!) -- but he does seem to be always looking for the downside. What about upsides? Such as, increased CO2 in the atmosphere is significantly increasing plant growth worldwide (as measured by NASA from satellite monitors). And surely the warming trends are good for northern countries? It's a complicated story, and a lot of the things that are being tried now (windmills and solar electricity) seem likely to be doing more harm than good.
  But I expect humans to muddle through, as we always have.
  
  I did enjoy the book, even if I don't agree with all of his arguments. But he plays fair (mostly). The book is well-written and blessedly short, and low on cant. Cautiously recommended. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
  
  NY Times review:
  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/29/bo... Gloomy but well-written.
• 
  Nancy

  Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid by Thor Hanson is enjoyable and accessible science writing that will appeal to a large demographic. “When complex ideas are attached to a narrative, they immediately become more relatable,” Hanson writes in his introduction. And he does a marvelous job of telling stories of climate change’s impact on species whose ecosystems are changing, the species changing, or dying, in response. And as Hanson takes us across the world, the book is an ecological travelogue.
  
  We humans have known climate change has been happening, yet continued to believe it was ‘coming.’ Changing our lives and cultures hasn’t happened. And now, plants and animals across the globe are showing us that the change is already here. They are modifying their behaviors, even if we haven’t.
  
  We are seeing before our eyes rapid changes in climate and shifting ecosystems. What can we learn from species adapting to these changes?
  
  Hanson visits Waldon Pond, a major source of harvested ice in Thoreau’s time, while he found ice barely 2″ thick in February. He tells stories of the “greatest redistribution of species since the last ice age,” as Gretta Pecl stated. Some plants and animals “roll with the punches.” That gives some hope.
  
  The book is illustrated with photographs. The ‘hurricane lizards,’ for instance, are shown during a wind test to see how they coped with gale force winds. Those with the largest toe pads could cling better. Those lizards survived the hurricanes.
  
  The book is as enjoyable to read as it is informative.
• 
  lindsi

  I wished I’d liked it more! 😭 There were interesting tidbits, but I just didn’t like the overall way the book was organized or the writing style, and I especially did not enjoy the author’s heavy handed liberal moralizing that it is up to individual consumers to combat climate change by making the correct consumer product decisions. Meanwhile, he severely downplays the role of economic relations and their attendant policies, and he completely ignores the massive climate impact of war, an especially egregious and obviously ideologically motivated oversight given that the US military is the largest polluter on earth. I’m all for doing what we can on an individual basis, but using that to obfuscate the primary drivers of the climate crisis is dishonest and shitty.
• 
  Chantal Lyons

  I enjoyed this book, but I wanted more.
  
  'Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid' is a pleasing addition to the pop science shelf. Hanson is skilled at communicating his and others' science, and I appreciated how he so often "grounded" the reader with personal scenes involving him visiting a certain place, or examining the fauna and floral in his local area. There's also some great one-liners on the scientific process.
  
  Where the book feels thinner is the proportion spent on actual case studies and examples. Very few species and ecosystems are looked at in any real detail (the "plastic squid" barely get a page, if I recall). It honestly feels like a bit of a rush job. I don't know if this is partly down to the pandemic - in the book, the author frequently bemoans not being able to travel to certain places and having to speak to people by phone instead - but I wish it had been given more time to fully develop. It feels more like a novella of science writing, instead. Given how rapidly the story of climate and our planet is changing, I'm certain there's plenty more to write on "climate change biology" - this book has whetted my appetite, but it hasn't satisfied it.
  
  (With thanks to Perseus Books and NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review)
• 
  Perri

  I'm a huge Hanson fan, but have to admit I was a bit reluctant to read another depressing book about
  climate change. I should have had more faith. Hanson acknowledges climate change challenges, and
  refers to other books to learn more about it, but this book focuses more on how plants and animals are
  adapting NOW to the changes they face.
  "When faced with a climate challenge, species don't simply give up- they do all they can to adjust. Some
  succeed and some fail, and taking the time to learn why give us new insights into our own reactions."
  We live in an incredibly complex world interacting and evolving in real time. It's heartening to know we
  are learning more about how factors such as resilience/rigidity, migration / less mobility and
  specialist/generalist modify eco-systems.
  Climate change is a justifiably dark subject, but I was glad to read something that gave me some hope.
• 
  Akaigita

  Thor Hanson is a brilliant story teller. I firstly saw him in an episode of WIRED's Tech Support on Youtube. When one of his books becomes available at Periplus, I purchased it right away as my birthday present.
  
  This book seems to me like the sequel of The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert because they talked about the same topic: how climate change affects an entire life on Earth and how the life itself responds to it. I like it anyway. Feels like an adventure to read a book like this.
• 
  Bridget

  Read this as part of my class on the biological impacts of climate change. Compared to the class, I wish it went into a little bit more detail but I liked how compared to most scientific literature it was easy to read and comprehend
• 
  Colleen

  Explores the impact that climate change is already having in some species. Ranges are changing, dietary shifts are being made, evolution is “trying “to find solutions. Of course, extinction rears its ugly head…but this is a fascinating look at how the natural world is responding , even as we drag our feet
• 
  Jammin Jenny

  I thought this was a very original look at the impact of climate change, especially on different species of animal and plants. Very thought provoking.
  
  I received an e-ARC of this book by the author and publishing via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
• 
  Audrey H. (audreyapproved)

  Hurricane Lizards & Plastic Squid is Hanson’s newest popular science book, which covers climate change biology - how species are responding to rapid changes in global temperature. It is roughly split into three sections - the challenges (ecological mismatches, narrowing habitats, declining opportunities for specialists), the responses (move, adapt, evolve, take refuge) and what we might be able to anticipate for the future (not much).
  
  While this is some super accessible science writing, I also found it… super boring. I feel like I’d peripherally heard of most of the ideas here, and the repeated format got old (talking about a scientist, a sentence or two on what they look like, and Hanson’s method of communication with them, their graduate studies, a quote, and then a picture insert). Typically I like it when science authors bring in the human aspect of a research project (
  Elizabeth Kolbert does it really well), but it didn’t feel engaging here. I think part of this is due to Hanson’s rapid movement through different examples. Nothing is talked about for super long; “plastic squid” literally got half a page! I think focusing on fewer examples would have been better.
  
  I have found that a lot of new books about climate change have let go of the let-us-do-better tone, and have instead embraced the we-fucked-up-we-got-ourselves-here-now-what slant. The latter has really resonated with me, so Hanson’s cautiously optimistic and hopeful viewpoint felt flat. I know Hanson is well-loved and have seen his book covers everywhere, but I’m honestly hesitant to try anything else by him. If others felt similar about this book, but liked his older stuff - let me know!
  
  2.5 stars.
  
  I voluntarily obtained a digital version of this book free from Netgalley and Perseus Books in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Alicia

  I tried unsuccessfully to get into the story. I get his premise and where he's coming from because he puts it out there right up front and he wants to tell a story, yet somehow I didn't feel like I was being told a story. It didn't click with me or draw me in.
• 
  Fornia

  pretty much the only nonfiction i've read in the last few months that has actually been engaging enough for me to get through it without feeling like i'm pulling my own teeth out! double points for that tbh because i was starting to think my attention span was getting too short for the genre whoops
  anyways this was such a genuinely interesting read that's kind of depressing but also super nerdy but also just really, really hopeful. it just gives you a lot of hope that somehow, life will go on. there has to be something that survives, you know? and there will be. there will be.
  the conclusion is really,,,, like really,,,,,,, touching............... like damn bro u got me crying over 19th-century white men named EDWARD???
  also want to share that i read the quote to my mom [the edward everett hale one] and she told me a lil chinese fable about how a little boy was going down a beach throwing starfish back into the water one by one [obv that was Unnecessary but that's not the point of the story shhhh] and someone is like bro there r too many, it's not gonna matter, and the boy points to a starfish and says "it matters to this one" which like............
• 
  jeremy

  an intriguing look into the science of climate change biology, thor hanson's hurricane lizards and plastic squid chronicles imperiled species and the fascinating ways they are adapting (or not) to rapidly evolving conditions. hanson blends scientific reporting and first-hand accounts to offer several examples of fauna and flora fighting for their very lives. rather than another bleak, distressing look into anthropogenic climate change itself, hurricane lizards and plastic squid instead focuses on the myriad ways some specific plants and animals are acclimating and adjusting to the new and shifting realities of our warming, changing world.

  the speed of climate change is a large part of what makes it a crisis. but for scientists, farmers, birdwatchers, gardeners, backyard naturalists, and anyone with an interest in nature, it also creates an opportunity. never before have people been in a position to witness such a radical biological event, and if the early results are any indication, it has a great deal to teach us. because just as the planet is changing faster than anyone expected, so too are the plants and animals that call it home.

  
  3.5 stars
• 
  ☼ Samantha ☼

  Despite having a physical copy of this book, I chose to listen to it on audiobook. It was simply much easier with school and travel, and I frequently played it in the background while doing homework or creating art. I almost wonder if I would have liked it more if I had read it. The narrator was a little difficult to follow at times, and his tone wasn't particularly lively. Overall, I liked the concept of this book and how Thor Hanson used storytelling to capture your attention and convey a message that anyone could understand. I'm sure a book about climate change isn't for everyone (though it should be), but as a biology student, I found it fascinating.
  Solid 3.5 rating. It probably would have been higher had the narration not made me a bit sleepy.
• 
  Dan McCarthy

  A very interesting and readable book!
  
  Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid by Thor Hanson looks at how species and biological systems are responding, or failing to respond, to the rapid changes of climate change. This included species moving ranges, adapting to changes in the environment, and some species even changing themselves to better suit the new world they're rapidly finding themselves in.
  
  It's a globetrotting book that clearly was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic , with sections that were supposed to be researched in-person by the author moving to digital interviews.
• 
  Janice

  Thor Hanson takes climate change very seriously, and looks especially at the ways plants and animals are already being impacted. Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid of the title are just two of the species that are already evolving and demonstrating how certain unusual characteristics are quickly becoming the norm that allows them to survive rapid changes. I found it especially interesting to learn what allows some species to be much more adaptable, and why some are much less likely to survive. I highly recommend this one.
• 
  Mark

  This is not just another diatribe against climate change and environmental destruction but a fascinating look at how nature and wildlife have evolved in small ways, to thwart these dangerous changes. I have noticed subtle shifts in avian behavior. Of course, there is going to still be major losses, that cannot be avoided but it is encouraging to read a book that offers a glimmer of hope in these trying times.
• 
  Marianne

  I loved this! It's clear-minded and the examples are useful and the structure makes sense and the voice is warm and funny and encouraging. Also it was surprisingly heartening to think about climate change as a thing that is happening that we are studying rather than solely as the disaster that it inarguably is - easier to not get swept up in a doomful overwhelm that way.
  
  Will definitely be reading more of Hanson's books.
  
  (note: I read an advance reader's edition provided by the publisher.)
  
• 
  Dawn

  I picked this book to read for a Challenge, I tend to avoid anything in regards to climate change as I find it too depressing.
  But this book was really interesting, the way that plants and animals are adapting (or not adapting) was fascinating, and the book did well at not making it all doom and gloom.
• 
  Samantha

  The title intrigued me and it's definitely an interesting concept but it doesn't really go super in-depth into any of the animals or plants that have adapted due to climate change. It's a cursory glance at the topic.
• 
  Rosella

  Bien aunque se repiten ideas que ya he leído en otros libros del mismo corte.
• 
  Betsey Stahler

  Amazing book. I listened to half of it and then a while later read the whole thing from the beginning. Everyone should read this book to really understand what happens to animals, plants, etc when the climate changes for whatever reason.