Writing a book in a northern climate invariably means looking out the window and witnessing the change of seasons. If the book concerns the environment and the current phenomenon of global warming, writing it leads one to wonder how differently seasonal change will manifest itself years from now (or at least optimistically to hope that seasonal change will continue). As this book lengthened, a different type of season swung into full view – the U.S. presidential campaign, often referred to as the “silly season.” What gives this particular season its name has more to do with the current political climate than the natural one, of course, although these days the silliness is partly due to the connection between the two.

The 2008 presidential campaign witnessed no end to the usual list of reciprocal candidate accusations and media “gotcha” opportunities; sadly lacking was much discussion of the whole issue of climate change and what human consumption patterns bode for the environmental predicament of future generations. All of the candidates professed concern about the environment and our impact on it, but none really dared make serious proposals that plotted a path toward saving the planet and ensuring environmental justice for future citizens.

The current politics of environmental preservation – and the lack of political courage that typifies it – is not the primary concern of this book; rather, what the future holds for the convergence of the natural and political worlds is my focus in what follows.