This book asks 12 simple questions about the natural world. For example, why does ice float, why doesn’t the moon fall to Earth dur to Earth’s gravity, are viruses alive and is the science of climate change settled? Once one question has been answered, each chapter delves into a fascinating array of topics that are directly linked to the original question and answer. For example, what would happen to life on Earth if ice didn’t float, what would happen if the Moon did fall to Earth, where did Covid-1 originate and why is the science of climate change not settled and are we pursuing an optimum strategy in responding to climate change? In a chapter that answers the question ‘what is the largest single organism living on Earth’ we discover what the size of the testicles of primates (including humans) tells us about promiscuity and monogamy.
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Chapter one:What are jet trails and how are they made? What is the link between the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers, jet trails, and land surface temperatures?
Chapter 2 Why doesn’t the moon fall to Earth? An exploration of gravity, tides, jellyfish, and the moon (and why we never see both sides of the moon, despite the
moon spinning on its axis).
Chapter 3 Why does ice float and how has this affected the evolution of life on Earth?
Chapter 5 What is groundwater? How did groundwater influence early human evolution? What is overextraction of groundwater doing to Jakarta and northern
China?
Chapter 6 What makes the Earth’s magnetic field? Why do we care about our magnetic field, and does it ever flip North to South?
Chapter 7 What are viruses? Are viruses alive, and where did Covid-19 come from?
Chapter 8 Size really does matter. What is the largest organism in the world? Why are the testicles of long-tailed Macaques soooo very large?
Chapter 9 How did lightning simultaneously kill 62 cattle in a field in 2005? What makes lightning, and how is lightning globally important?
Chapter 10 Why is the sky blue and grass green and how have satellites changed our ability to monitor the world’s surface?
Chapter 11 What is the difference between weather and climate? And which comes first, increase atmospheric CO2 concentrations or increased surface
temperatures?
Chapter 12 What is Science and the scientific method? Why is the Science of climate change so totally NOT settled?