Life in the Hothouse
How a Living Planet Survives Climate Change
Life in the Hothouse incorporates Lenart’s extensive knowledge of climate science—including the latest research in climate change—and the most current scientific theories, including Gaia theory, which holds that the Earth has some degree of climate control “built in.” As Lenart points out, scientists have been documenting stronger hurricanes and larger floods for many years. There is a good reason for this, she notes. Hurricanes help cool the ocean surface and clear the air of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. From the perspective of Gaia theory, these responses are helping to slow the ongoing global warming and Lenart expounds upon this in a clear and understandable fashion.
There is hope, Lenart writes. If we help sustain Earth's natural defense systems, including wetlands and forests, perhaps Mother Earth will no longer need to rely as much on the cooling effects of what we call "natural disasters"—many of which carry a human fingerprint. At a minimum, she argues, these systems can help us survive the heat.
“Life in the Hothouse provides readers with a concise and well-written systems perspective of how our planet responds to changes in greenhouse gases. Readers will learn much about the Earth and the role life plays in its climate system from this book.”—Jeffrey T. Kiehl, a researcher with the National Center for Atmospheric Research, for The Quarterly Review of Biology
“This is a fine book. … Although dealing with a very complex topic, its clarity is such that anybody reasonably well-read would find it both fascinating and informative while most academics would also welcome its clarity.”—Elery Hamilton-Smith ofElectronic Green Journal