I started this book, thinking there might be a scintilla of humour due to the admittedly strange title. Nope. Got into the first chapter and it was all doom and gloom and spiralled down from there. I am sure if I had ventured further into this book there would have been some sort of glimmer of hope for humanity but I was getting more and more depressed and finally put the thing down. I probably agree with a lot of what he says, but Lordy is the guy an Eeyore. Just couldn't finish it. Didn't want to end up killing myself by the end of the book. ( )

McKibben explores how climate change has already fundamentally changed the Earth into a totally new planet. He argues that if we act now, we can diminish the effects of climate change by returning to smaller-scale, more community-based approaches to food production and life. ( )

McKibben doesn't pull any punches in the first two-thirds of this book. He argues that global warming isn't something that just our grandchildren will have to worry about, which is so often what is touted by politicians and people in general. Nope, he argues that the stuff that will happen in the hazy future is already beginning to happen TODAY. He fills the pages with of facts, observations, and hypotheses he draws from those facts, painting a bleak picture of humankind's future. We're pretty much doomed - we're doing virtually nothing to curb our consumption of fossil fuels and our carbon emissions, we're already past the point of no return when it comes to ppm in the air of CO2 and it's only going to get worse, and we're basically sliding head-first into a disaster that no one can avert unless we do something drastic fast - and then it might be too late anyway.

And then he backs off and tones it down dramatically.

After saying that we, as a species, are pretty much doomed no matter what - that our ways of generating energy, producing food, etc are horribly and irreparably damaging our planet - he pulls up short. He doesn't encourage people to go vegan, or at least vegetarian (beef production makes a HUGE impact on global warming). He doesn't tell people to stop owning cars and to instead use public transport (which isn't feasible where I live, at least currently, since there IS no public transport). Instead, he just talks about how growing locally and having neighborhood internet message boards or emails will help. This after he just went on and on about how we're not going to be able to grow as much and pests are going to become almost uncontrollable. It's as if he doesn't want people to become offended, so he waters down his suggestions until they're palatable. Disappointing. ( )

Eaarth is at once hopeful and devastating. Bill McKibben doesn't pull any punches about the effects of global warming on our planet. The consequences of our pursuit for fossil fuel (and its burning) have made a lasting impact which is already effecting day-to-day living. The 'natural' disasters that we've been plagued with in ever-increasing frequency are a direct result of the imbalance which is a direct result of global warming. I say 'natural' because these freak weather events would most likely not have occurred if we hadn't pumped so much poison into the air and bumped up the global temperature (and it's only been pushed up one degree at this point). However, McKibben doesn't just harp on the horrors we've inflicted on the planet and its many inhabitants. He has solid ideas for ways we can adapt to our new environment on this completely new planet we created. His advice is to rely on communities and strive for living greener lives. (I've oversimplified of course because to give away more would defeat the purpose of you reading his excellent book.) If you're interested in environmental sciences and/or you're interested in the fate of our planet and our very way of life then I recommend you read this book ASAP. ( )

Don't know what the significance of 350 ppm is? READ THIS BOOK! It's important! ( )