This introductory chapter details winter in the east country, a time when pressure dropped, winds rushed from afar, and temperature fell to minus 10 °C. It was also a time when a midwinter gale came on land and sea, knocking down trees. It had been a genial winter, until then, of light winds and squally rain. The chapter then claims that, each year, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases by two parts per million and now has passed 400. To protect the planet from disruption, it has to be reduced to 350. However, such a return is improbable, given converging consumption patterns and worldwide appetite for energy-intensive economies. The chapter also looks at the river Alde, which rises in farmland and flowed to meet the sea at Aldeburgh.
Introductory Chapter: An Outline of Carbon Dioxide Chemistry, Uses and Technology