Seven Years to Save the Planet

Why are there only seven years to save "the planet"? (Strictly speaking, as McGuire acknowledges, the planet itself, qua big hunk of rock, isn't in any danger, just the distribution of life on it and our habits of civilisation.) Well, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates, world carbon emissions will have to start falling dramatically after 2015 to prevent catastrophic change. Given such a small window of opportunity, there is no point debating the merits of possible solution A versus possible solution B: we have, McGuire argues punchily, to do everything at once.

After the first half's really masterful exposition of current climate science, McGuire turns to plans of action: fly less, eat less meat, don't leave your gadgets on standby, and wear a jumper to work. I loved the reported back-of-an-envelope calculation apparently done by one scientist, according to which if every man on Earth grew a beard, the resulting saving in shaving-related energy would be enough by itself to head off disaster. In our probable future of smooth chins, however, big political movement will also be necessary. The tricky proposition is China, which "must be bound into whatever international climate agreement comes out of Copenhagen in 2009", a meeting that McGuire says "will be one of the most momentous in human history". For good or ill, he might be right.