Recently read: Hot - Living through the next 50 years on Earth

Here's a book that will break your heart. An investigative journalist becomes a father and becomes obsessed with the dangerous future facing his daughter. Following the science, he begins to understand that the disastrous effects of global warming have already begun. What can be done to make the planet that his daughter will grow into more livable than it will be otherwise if nothing meaningful is done, which has been the response to global disaster so far?

Amazingly enough, this is not a depressing book. Yes, the science is frightening. But here and there, communities are showing that adaptive and corrective measures can be taken to improve future life on the planet. What is lacking is political will. This book was written before the victories of right wing Republicans, which makes the hurdles even greater since many of them deny a problem in the first place. Maybe this book is more depressing today than it was last year.

At any rate, what makes this book unusual is its personal point of view. In an epilogue, Hertsgaard writes a letter to his daughter in 2020, including the gift of the book, a year by which much will be determined about the future livability of the planet. 2020 is less than a decade away. The science is firm, according to the vast majority of climate scientists. The politics is a wild card. There is little political leadership in this area, including the lack of leadership from President Obama. As I've written here before, I see little reason for the optimism of a Thornton Wilder, that yet again the human race will avoid catastrophe by "the skin of our teeth."

I'm so glad I'm not younger than I am. I feel sorry for everyone younger. Maybe they'll get in the streets and make something happen, get the politicians off their asses. And maybe not.