Storms of My Grandchildren The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity

In his Q&A with Bill McKibben featured in the paperback edition ofStorms of My Grandchildren, Dr. James Hansen, the world's leading climatologist, shows that exactly contrary to the impression the public has received, the science of climate change has become even clearer and sharper since the hardcover was released. InStorms of My Grandchildrenhe speaks out for the first time with the full truth about global warming: the planet is hurtling even more rapidly than previously acknowledged to a climatic point of no return. In explaining the science of climate change, Hansen paints a devastating but all-too-realistic picture of what will happen in our children's and grandchildren's lifetimes if we follow the course we're on. But politicians haven't made the connection between the policy and the science. Hansen shows that the biggest obstacle to solving global warming is the role of money in politics; why cap and trade won't work; why we must phase out all coal; and why 350 ppm of carbon in the atmosphere is a limit we must achieve in the next two decades if our grandchildren are to avoid global metdown and the storms of the book's titles. But he is also an optimist, showing that there is still time to take the urgent, strong action that is needed--taking to the streets, if necessary.

Dr. James Hansen is perhaps best known for bringing global warming to the world's attention in the 1980s, when he first testified before Congress. An adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University and at Columbia's Earth Institute, and director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, he is frequently called to testify before Congress on climate issues. Dr. Hansen's background in both space and earth sciences allows a broad perspective on the status and prospects of our home planet. This is his first book.