The Weathermakers
David Suzuki refers to The Weathermakers, by Tim Flannery
(Harper Collins
publisher), as "the most important book of the 21st Century."
This is the single most comprehensive and readable book on climate
change there is. Australian author Tim Flannery brings together all
aspects of climate science in a hard hitting book, that outlines the
great danger humans face if we ignore this challenge.
From the tragedy of the extinction of Costa Rica's golden toad, to
drought and famine in the Sahel region of Africa, to the salinization
of millions of of acres of wheat fields in Western Australia due to
changing rainfall patterns, to the vanishing mountain glaciers with
their impact on drinking water supply, to the 2005 hurricane season,
Flannery makes a compelling case that climate change is real, that it
is happening now, and that the evidence is building that it will be
worse than the experts are currently predicting. (Expert opinion is
governed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which issues
reports based on scientific consensus -surely a recipe for
conservatism).
The book touches on solutions, but only in a cursory way. But the
book's value is in building a compelling case for taking action at both
a personal and governmental level. The solutions are for others to
articulate. But know this: They are there.
This is the book that reportedly caused the Prime Minister of Australia
to change his mind about climate change. A must read for all citizens
concerned about the future of the planet, and ourselves.