Compelling, though takes a different tack than Boiling Point. Less
constructive on solutions. Writing is serviceable but a bit gray–I
don’t know how many times Kolbert introduces a character with a
summary description of merely his/her eye and hair color. Probably
the most useful, and which Gelbspan didn’t really characterize so
succinctly, was the idea of what it means to upset the climate
equilibrium that our civilization has enjoyed since its birth.
Kolbert adduces the beginnings of evidence that, yes, the earth will
always find climate equilibrium according to the laws of physics, but
that we shouldn’t confuse that with the equilibrium that happens to
work for us. An expert metaphor she applied to this was that off
rocking the boat. You rock it one way, then another, it always sort
of settles back, but eventually the rocking will cause it to tip, and
the new state is equilibrium is the boat overturned. No one really
knows what overturning the boat will mean for us, but plenty of
evidence points to the fact that rocking has begun.