Introduction

For an increasing number of people, global warming is not an academic and scientific debate, but a matter of survival. As the planet warms at a rate of four degrees Fahrenheit per century, violent storms are increasing in frequency, icebergs are melting, sea level is rising, species are losing their habitats, and temperature records are being broken. Feeling the Heat consists of chapter-length visits by well-known authors to actual world "hot" spots, where people are already coping day-to-day with the consequences of climactic disruption. The locations for the book were strategically chosen because each represents a separate and important global warming impact, such as rising tides, melting glaciers, evolving ecosystems and air pollution. Feeling the Heat takes global warming out of the realm of armchair speculation and arcane scientific debate, revealing the process of climate change to be ongoing, serious and immediate.