Does the Weather Really Matter? The Social Implications of Climate Change

Abstract

Societies around the globe have become fascinated with weather and climate. Killer tornadoes, ice storms, floods, mudslides, forest fires, and rain‐related disease outbreaks—the list is almost endless for any given year. The list grows dramatically from the perspective of a decade, and even more so when attempting to assess the impacts of weather and climate on societies for centuries. Such assessment seems like an impossible task. Then there is the recently emerging concern about global warming. Now, William Burroughs has attempted to bring weather and climate to the public in his book, Does the Weather Really Matter? The Social Implications of Climate Change.