An inconvenient truth :

Gore, Al, 1948-

An inconvenient truth : the crisis of global warming / Al Gore. - Rev. ed. - New York : Viking, 2007. - 191 p. : col. ill., col. maps ; 23 cm.

Adaptation of: An inconvenient truth / by Al Gore. 2006.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1 Our Changing Planet -- 2 A Silent Alarm -- 3 Cold, Hard Evidence -- 4 Hurricane Watch -- 5 Extremely Wet, Extremely Dry -- 6 The Ends of the Earth: The North Pole -- 7 The Ends of the Earth: The South Pole -- 8 A New Atlas? -- 9 Deep Trouble -- 10 Hazardous to Your Health -- 11 Off Balance -- 12 Collision Course -- 13 Technology's Side Effects -- 14 ʺDenial Ain't Just a River in Egyptʺ -- 15 Crisis = Opportunity.

This young readers' version of the recent documentary film's companion adult volume cuts the page count by about a third but preserves the original's cogent message and many of its striking visuals. After explaining that his interest in the environment predates even his mother's reading of Silent Spring aloud to him as a teenager, Gore proceeds to document steeply rising carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere, and then to link that to accelerating changes in temperature and precipitation patterns worldwide. Using easy-to-grasp graphics and revealing before-and-after photos, he shows how glaciers and ice shelves are disappearing all over the globe with alarming speed, pointing to profound climate changes and increased danger from rising sea levels in the near future. O'Connor rephrases Gore's arguments in briefer, simpler language without compromising their flow, plainly intending to disturb readers rather than frighten them. He writes measured, matter-of-fact prose, letting facts and trends speak for themselves but, suggesting that "what happens locally has worldwide consequences," he closes with the assertion that we will all have to "change the way we live our lives." Like the film, this title may leave readers to look elsewhere for both documentation and for specific plans of action, but as an appeal to reason it's as polished and persuasive as it can be.

9780670062713 0670062715

2006103242


Global warming.
Greenhouse effect, Atmospheric.
Climatic changes.
Environmental protection--United States.

QC981.8.G56 / G668 2007

363.73874