BOOKS

TIM FLANNERY

Scientist

Global warming seems to elicit two polarized views. One points to portentous signs: the intensity of the hurricane seasons, the Amazon drought, the shrinking polar ice caps. The other sees an alarmist reaction to natural climatic cycles.

To Australian scientist Tim Flannery, the time to act is now. If not, he argues in his new book, “The Weather Makers,” the planet could face a global tipping point. “We are now the weather makers,” he says, “and with us hangs the future of biodiversity and civilization.” Policymakers must act to slow the emission of so-called greenhouse gas, Flannery argues, or 95% of Earth’s species could face extinction.

His detailed account has drawn praise from a long list of distinguished scientists, who recommend that Flannery’s conclusions be given serious consideration. After its U.S. publication in the spring, readers are unlikely to emerge without an opinion over what course President Bush should take.