The Book Cellar

Legendary climate scientist James Hansen and journalist Mark Hertsgaard discuss the new realities of global warming and the profound challenges they present, now and in the future. "Climate change is well underway," writes Nation environmental correspondent and former Open Society Fellow Mark Hertsgaard in his new book, HOT: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), "and we must begin to adapt to it even as we work to stop it." Join Hertsgaard and distinguished climate scientist James Hansen as they discuss the new realities of global warming and the profound challenges they present, now and in the future. Adaptation to climate change is not a new concept, but Hertsgaard's eyewitness reporting from around the world highlights its little-understood implications for rich and poor alike. The traditional policy goal of halting global warming must be pursued, he argues, in tandem with efforts to adjust to the substantial planetary changes that are already underway. Nevertheless, the message of HOT is ultimately one of hope, based on the practical adaptation initiatives that farsighted leaders here and abroad are already undertaking. The discussion is introduced and moderated by Nancy Youman, director of the Open Society Initiative on Climate Change.

Source:  http://www.soros.org/initiatives/fellowship/events/hot-20110127