“Life in the Hothouse…How a Living Planet Survives Climate Change”

Everyone is talking about climate change. In LIFE IN THE HOTHOUSE, Melanie Lenart, PhD, award-winning journalist and climate researcher, offers an alternative view of the issues at hand— explaining in fascinating, user-friendly terms how the Earth’s natural systems help deal with climate change and what we can do to support that process. Lenart explains how our planet responds to different climates, past and present. Stronger hurricanes, rising seas, bigger floods – warming temperatures spur these on. Do these imply a planet taking revenge for human-caused greenhouse gas heating? No, Lenart argues, they merely demonstrate some survival techniques of a living system doing what it takes to stay alive. Does that mean humans can leave it to the planet to take care of the extra heat-trapping greenhouse gases filling the air? No. The planet can survive with ice-free poles, higher sea levels, and intense hurricanes that would potentially be off the charts by today’s standards. But clearly under such conditions our society would face many challenges. In modern times, scientists are not projecting the total meltdown of the poles in the foreseeable future. Yet examples from hothouse times and ice ages illustrate the extremes to which the planet can go. What’s more, learning more about what the Earth does naturally during times of excessive warming can help society plan better for modern ways of handling the heat.