Boiling Point: How Politicians, Big Oil and Coal, Journalists and Activists Are Fueling the Climate Crisis - And What We Can Do to Avert Disaster.

Ross Gelbspan. 387 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10016: Basic Books, August 2004. [phone]. www.basicbooks.com. ISBN 0-465-02761-X. 254 pp. $22.00 Clothbound.

In Boiling Point, Ross Gelbspan argues that, unchecked, climate change will swamp every major issue facing the world today, and that what began as an initial response of many institutions--denial and delay--has grown into a crime against humanity. Gelbspan reveals how the fossil fuel industry directs the Bush Administration's energy and climate policies--payback for the industry's help in electing Bush. Gelbspan points the finger at media and environmental activists also, alleging that both unwittingly worsened the crisis.

Beyond diagnosing the problem, Gelbspan offers a compelling solution to the climate crisis, created by an ad-hoc group of energy company presidents, economists, energy policy experts, and other commentators. Gelbspan explains that many NGOs, economists, environmentalists and Kyoto delegates endorse this "World Economic Modernization Plan," and sets forth the Plan's details.

Ross Gelbspan retired from a 31-year career in journalism several years ago. As special projects editor of The Boston Globe, he conceived, directed, and edited a series of articles that won a Pulitzer Prize in 1984. He co-authored articles on climate change that appeared in The Washington Post and Harper's Magazine in 1995; one article was a finalist for a National Magazine Award. In 1997, Gelbspan published The Heat is On: The High Stakes Battle Over Earth's Threatened Climate, addressing the global climate crisis.