The earth, according to retired University of Washington Prof. William H. Calvin in Global Fever -- How to Treat Climate Change, has begun what is nothing less than a death spiral. The time has long passed for considering how much sacrifice we're willing to make -- not if we want to save the planet we inhabit.
"Every decade since 1950 has seen more floods and more wildfires on every continent," Calvin observes. "Deserts are expanding, coral reefs are dying, fisheries are declining, hurricanes are strengthening. The debate about climate change is over: there's no question that global warming has made the Earth sick, and the outlook for the future calls for ever-warmer temperatures and deadlier results."
Given the stridency of his warning, it's not surprising that this environmental Cassandra calls for nothing less than a "third industrial revolution" to save the planet. This one, Calvin writes, would be "one of clean technologies -- while simultaneously expanding our use of existing low-emission technologies, from nuclear power to plug-in hybrid vehicles, until we achieve the necessary scientific breakthroughs."
