With perfect weather in this part of the world, how can we not relax and enjoy it? Therein lies the rub. We lucky ones have less incentive to do something about climate change because the initial effects are for the most part pleasant: Longer summers, warmer winters. As George Monbiot puts it in Heat,

The effort to tackle climate change suffers from the problem of split incentives: those who are least responsible for it are the most likely to suffer its effects.

Of course, if you're reading this, you're likely already converted. But even for those who accept the facts (as opposed to the flat-earthers out there who deny the overwhelming evidence and think global warming is caused by aliens), I could not recommend Heat more strongly. I avoided it because I feared it would depress me to no end. True, it is pretty bleak. His assessment is that we, in the rich countries, need to cut our greenhouse gas emissions by 90% in the next decade to stave off the worst scenarios of global warming. This is far and beyond even what the most progressive countries, like Germany and England, are pushing. (The developing countries would have to cut less, or even would be allowed to increase, to put us all on an equal footing. Thus, fighting climate change would actually alleviate some poverty. Dare to dream.)

But Monbiot spends the bulk of the book detailing how this is possible. Not pie-in-the-sky possible. Real-world possible. He gets his hands dirty, challenging his own and our assumptions, doing the math and searching out solid scientific research. But, still, just barely possible -- and only if we put it to the forefront of our political agenda and act now.

This is not only a question of changing lightbulbs. It's a question of changing virtually everything. It's a tough cause to rally around: austerity. We've only ever done so in a time of war, when we've had no choice. I'd argue that the loss of our biosphere is a graver threat than anything the Nazis tried to throw at us.

The alternative? Well, there's always Gaiagra.

10 Years Ago This Week: June 19, 1997
Horst throws his body between Frank and the sun's deadly rays in a valiant attempt to add minutes to his life. (In hindsight: Horst thereby deprives Frank of cancer-avoiding Vitamin D and gives him cancer at 65.) But Horst is safe: his cigarette smoke blocks the sun.