A book is like a single tree in a forest, in that it exists in conjunction with and because of a great many others around it.

Most North Americans know that human-caused global warming is real, even if political leaders don't always reflect or act on that knowledge.

Wind power, if not properly planned and sited, can harm birds and bats (although Danish studies of 10,000 bird kills revealed that almost all died in collisions with buildings, cars and wires; only 10 were killed by windmills). Alternative energy sources are absolutely necessary. Global warming will kill birds and bats, as well as other species, in much greater numbers than wind power.

For the sake of our health, our children and grandchildren and even our economic well-being, we must make protecting the planet our top priority.

Despite the international scientific community's consensus on climate change, a small number of critics continue to deny that climate change exists or that humans are causing it. Widely known as climate change "skeptics" or "deniers," these individuals are generally not climate scientists and do not debate the science with the climate scientists.

Water is our most precious resource, but we waste it, just as we waste other resources, including oil and gas.

We no longer see the world as a single entity. We've moved to cities and we think the economy is what gives us our life, that if the economy is strong we can afford garbage collection and sewage disposal and fresh food and water and electricity. We go through life thinking that money is the key to having whatever we want, without regard to what it does to the rest of the world.