Editorial Review:
Global warming is the story of the twenty-first century. It is the most serious issue facing the future of humankind, and American energy and environmental policy is driving the whole world down the path of global catastrophe. Hell and High Water is nothing less than a wake-up call to the country. It is a searing critique of American environmental and energy policy and a passionate call to action by a writer with a unique command of the science and politics of climate change. We have ten years, at most, to start making sharp cuts to our greenhouse gas emissions or we will face catastrophic consequences. The good news is that there is something we can do—but only if the leadership of the U.S. government acts immediately and asserts its influence on the rest of the world—in particular such emerging powers as China and India—to join an international effort to stop global warming. Joseph Romm, an expert in the science, business, and politics of climate change, lays out a plan of action that involves: - reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by midcentury
- adopting a California-style energy-efficiency effort nationwide
- embracing high-mileage, advanced "hybrid" cars that can run on both electricity and biofuels
Unfortunately, the required government policies and spending are strongly opposed by conservatives, who have blocked serious action on climate change and continue to publicly deny the dire warnings of scientists. Never before has there been such a sharp divergence between what top scientists know and what policymakers, the general public, and the media believe. And, sadly, never has so much been at stake. Romm, who ran the largest program in the world that was concentrated on climate solutions, offers an authoritative dissection of this disastrous policy. Hell and High Water goes beyond ideological rhetoric to offer pragmatic solutions to avert the threat of global warming—solutions that must be taken seriously by every American.
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Customer Reviews
Average Customer Rating: 
Can you say consensus? Is the debate really over?  2008-07-11
Having just read Joseph Romm's book and, earlier, other global warming and climate change alarmist books, I've been assured by Romm and others that the case has already been decided. In case you missed it, as I had, the debate has been held, and there is no need for further discussion. Anyone who disagrees is a denier (as in denying the Holocaust) and should be subjected to Nuremberg-style trials. Consensus. (You're a meteorologist and you don't believe in man-made global warming? You should be fired!) Slam dunk for climate change and global warming, right? No! In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. There is no such thing as consensus in science and there never will be. Scientific method precludes consensus. Like the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age that followed, the current very mild warming period is cyclical--always has been, always will be and it has nothing to do with man-made global warming. Nothing! The global warming alarmist/Kyoto scam scare is nothing less than a brazen attempt by the UN and--especially--pathologically jealous European globalists/interventionists to bring America down to the primitive energy level of the rest of the world. Which is exactly where we will be, and deserve to be, if we fall for such snake oil scams. If you want the real unvarnished truth about global warming/climate change/the Kyoto scam, read The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming and Environmentalism by Christopher C. Horner. The truth about global warming is only one book away...and it shall set you free.
Journalists should read this!  2008-03-05
I hope journalists discover this book and take a harder/firmer stance on global warming.
Very well done, Mr. Romm!!!
Best Available Book on Climate Change 2008-02-29
There are literally dozens of excellent books on global warming and climate change, but this one is the best. It's part science, part social commentary, and all of it is fascinating. The author does a terrific job of giving us the basic facts, then moves us right into the troubled waters of policy, societal inertia, and consequences if we do not do something. Especially eye-opening was chapter 6 "The Technology Trap and the American Way of Life", in which he presents a compelling case that technology could theoretically be used to solve global warming problems, but the reality is that it is used as a promised "Deus ex machina" technological fix to get us out of trouble - the problem of course, is that this solution is always in the future (such as the availability of hydrogen power always being 10-15 years away, beginning in the early 1970s).
One of his insightful sections titled "Voluntary Warming" indicates the direct, no-nonsense approach taken in this book: "It is hard to imagine that people will use low-carbon technologies on the vast scale needed until they see a financial return for cutting carbon, and that will not happen until spewing out carbon has a significant financial cost. But for carbon to have a cost, the government must either tax carbon dioxide emissions or create a market that establishes a price for emitting carbon dioxide".
If you read just one book on the subject, I recommend this one, for reasons that are numerous, and have been well-elaborated in the other 5-star reviews.
Alarming--because it's factual 2007-08-16
As an environmental policy grad student, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what we're in for with climate change. But after reading this book I've realized that, oh no, it's worse than I thought. The book starts out by describing the nasty potential futures facing us if we fail to take sufficient action, and soon. This bit comes across as somewhat sensational, but Romm quickly moves in a very well done review of the scientific literature backing up the scary part. The account of the unified effort to deny the validity of climate change and delay action is also well executed.
Highly recommended for anyone who needs a little motivation to start caring about climate change!
Wake Up Call 2007-06-09
It's time to wake up to what's going on with our world and what we're doing to it. As a long time participant in the petroleum and related industries worldwide it has long been evident that we are exhausting the world's resources at an unsustainable rate detrimental to life as we know it and to a livable environment. Damon A. Peteron
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