With news that “the Governator” Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law California’s AB 32 — the California Global Warming Solutions Act — the first piece of U.S. legislation aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it’s becoming increasingly clear that global warming has become (with apologies) a hot topic in the U.S.
This is further evidenced by two global warming-focused books all but flying off the shelves throughout 2006 – a fairly significant phenomenon considering we live in a society that prizes it’s mindless mysteries and trashy romance novels.
You’d have to live in a fully sequestered biodome not to have heard of An Inconvenient Truth – Al Gore’s documentary of himself giving presentations on the dangers of allowing greenhouse gas emissions to continue unchecked. The same-ly titled companion book, currently #125 on amazon.com’s bestsellers list at the time of this writing, is basically a companion to the film. It includes full-color photos, charts and graphs — and plenty of Gore’s signature dry humor!
Another right-good read is Australian scientist Tim Flannery’s The Weather Makers. Flannery begins by describing the concept of the Gaian Earth – a world in which everything is naturally connected. Global warming and climate change are ruining this delicate balance, he contends. Flannery spends the rest of his book describing the how’s and why’s of global warming and concludes with a “what can we do to stop it” section. A casual reader might find the book a bit alarmist, but that’s partly what makes it so much fun to read!