Boiling Point

Boiling Point: How Politicians, Big Oil and Coal, Journalists, and Activists have Fueled the Climate Crisis --- and What We Can Do to Avert Disaster

The preface of Boiling Point describes itself as “a last-gasp attempt to break through the monstrous indifference of Americans to the fact that the planet is caving in around us.” (p. ix) As such it advances illustrations of the impact of global warming (melting perma-frost, collapsing ice-shelves, tornadoes, and torrential rains, etc.) but focuses primarily on the question: Given such graphic evidence: how can the general public and leading politicians be so “monstrously indifferent”. Four primary explanations are offered:

A remarkably well financed and orchestrated campaign of disinformation by the fossil fuel interests. By which global warming denial from think tanks and individuals has been generously financed, and a vast grey-literature (not peer reviewed, hence worthless as science) has been generated.
The media that through a miss-placed devotion to “balance” have tended to match each additional piece of scientific evidence with an equal contribution of disinformation. Thus (presumably unconsciously) increasing the effectiveness of the above noted disinformation campaign.
Disastrous American political leadership, by which the U.S. first weakened Kyoto, but not enough to pass the Senate under Clinton-Gore, followed by the totally inexcusable denial by all levels of the Bush-Chaney administration.
“Compromised activists” who unable to make progress at the national level have retreated to explaining how individual can reduce their “carbon footprint”.

This is a very important book, showing how democracy can be subverted. The policy discussion is something of an after-thought and not up to the quality of the main text.