Climate Conundrums

Climate Conundrums is a journey through how we as humans think, individually and collectively, derived from the experience of the climate change debate. It is broadly organized around humanity’s relationship with nature, the challenges facing society, and the path ahead for civilization. While author William B. Gail believes anthropogenic climate change is happening, here he focuses on exploring what the debate itself says about us.

Gail begins each chapter with a big-picture question—Can we make nature better? Could science and religion reconcile?—and from there follows an introspective path through several perspectives on the question. He applies wisdom and wit to longstanding problems, such as whether humans are growing increasingly distant from nature, and to contemporary issues, such as can technology eventually solve all of society’s needs.

While no final answers are given, the insights that come from reflecting on these questions can help society find a way forward and help each of us to better understand who we are as humans.

Table of Contents

Part I: Humans and nature

1 Are humans distinct from nature?
2 Can we make nature better?
3 Is nature sustainable?

Part II: Humans and society

4 Should society’s future matter to us?
5 Will civilization advance indefinitely?
6 Can we engineer everything?
7 Is knowledge always beneficial?
8 Could science and religion reconcile?

Part III: Humans and destiny

9 Do we live in a special time?
10 What will become of us?