Welcome to the Hot Threaded Discussion!

Hello everyone! Welcome to the threaded discussion for Hot by Mark Hertsgaaro. Each post is designated to a specific chapter with questions about that chapter. To answer a question, simply comment on the post. You can mention in your answer which question you are responding to by numbering your answers. If you would like to respond to someone else's response, you can simply comment under their answer. This is going to be a great discussion! I hope you are enjoying the book!

Chapter 1: Living Through the Storm

1. On pg. 17 Mark Hertsgaard talks about how most people in our parents generation will not feel the effects of climate change. What do you think of when you think of the beginning stages of climate change? What do you think of as later stages of climate change?
2. How do you feel the economy and global warming are related? Could trying to prevent global warming help the economy?
3. Do you think there should be more global education, and a more universal answer to questions, on the current conditions of the Earth? Or do you feel multiple opinions and independent research are more than enough for those who are interested?

Chapter 2: Three Feet of Water

1. On page 31, the author includes the following quote by Francis Bacon: "Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed." What do you make of this quote? Is it a statement that resonates with you or do you completely disagree? Explain.
2. Sea level rise is often perceived as a problem of the future, but in the case of Bangladesh, many residents are already feeling some of its effects. Besides flooding, what are some of the problems rising sea level has imposed on the people of this village?
3. From pages 41-42, the author describes a conversation he had with a Bangladesh high school student concerning climate change. After much discussion, the student expressed his concern about rising sea levels with the following question: "How do we solve this problem?" How would you respond to this question? In other words, what solutions or methods would you propose in order to solve the rising sea level issue in Bangladesh?

Chapter 3: My Daughter's Earth

1. The idea of adaption to climate change until recently was considered "worse than irrelavent." What do you think were the reasons some experts felt this way? How do you feel? Is adaption or mitigation more important, or both?
2. After reading this chapter, do you have a greater understanding of the urgency of climate change? What idea or fact stood out to you the most?
3. A lot of what the author, Mark HertsGaard, was describing is predicted to occurr in the next 15 years. What do you think global leaders need to do "to keep climate change from getting out of hand?" As part of the climate change generation do you feel a certain responsibility to what happens environmentally over the next few decades? Do you have any personal ideas for what individuals can do to make a difference?

Chapter 4: Ask the Climate Question

1. Would you like to live in a community like Greenbridge? Why or why not?
2. Ron Sims, among other things, is the official of a municipality that encompasses a Starbucks headquarters. I think it's safe to say that any Starbucks in that municipality would have recycling bins. Starbucks in Beverly on Enon Street doesn't have a recycling bin or any sort of recycling system. Suppose you are Sims, how would you address this problem?
3. For King County to become more sustainable Sims proposed initiatives that would increase the net supply of water. He did this mainly by suggesting the reuse of wastewater, rather than asking people to shower for a shorter period of time. This is just one example of Sims choosing to use technological advancement, over an attempt at conservation. Do you believe the key to making water systems more sustainable lies in scientific advancement or conservation? Both? Why?

Chapter 5: The Two-Hundred-Year Plan

1. Do you think that Mark is being to proactive about making plans for where Chiara will live when she gets older? Why or why not?
2. Why do you think Mark went into such great detail about the Netherlands in this chapter?
3. Mark stated that water levels could rise 1.5 m by 2100. Do you feel this is an accurate statistic if we continue to live the way we are not? Why or why not?

Chapter 6: Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?

1. Why do you think that even after Hurricane Katrina people still resent that global warming is happening? What are the reasons behind their denial, and why wasn’t Katrina a big enough wake up call, when it is predicted by 2050 that there will be at least four more mega hurricanes bigger than Katrina through the world?
2. Wetlands are the best protection against hurricanes, their grasses acting like speed bumps and slow down oncoming storms, yet between 1932 and 2000 Louisiana lost 1,900 square miles of wetlands (almost the size of Delaware). The government allowed this so that there could be an increase of oil and gas profits by building channels through the wetlands. If rehabilitating the wetlands and protecting them means also protecting thousands of people, why is it that our society and government still values making money over human life?
3. In HOT, Mark Hertsgaard talks about how levees built by the Army Corps of Engineers are not built adequately enough, and that the world is in Era 2 of global warming because we have failed to reverse the effects and change our lifestyles. Do you think it is a pointless to try to change our ways and become more eco-friendly, or should we fully focus on how to protect ourselves, with things like trying to get the government to build a better levee system, and live with the damage that has been already caused?

Chapter 7: In Vino Veritas (The Business of Climate Adaptation)

1. If you were a CEO of a big company, would you invest money into preventing climate change now or later? Why?
2. Explain the significance of the Roman saying "In Vino Veritas", "In Wine there is Truth". Do you see the "truth" happening in other places too?
3. Like the discovery of Ice Man, do you think global warming will benefit the future in anyway? Will it help us advance in technology and live a healthier lifestyle?

Chapter 8: How Will We Feed Ourselves?

1. After the effects of climate change occur, will the farms in the midwest be harmed or will they benefit? How can the farms possibly adapt to the changing weather to keep their farm alive?
2. Jiang Guangchen, a farmer and party secretary in China, says, "Now [the farmers in China] use lots of chemical fertilizer. Before we used human and animal waste," (202). How can farmers such as Guangchen avoid using harmful methods to grow their crops? What are some natural alternatives and acheivable goals that they should work towards?
3. What are the pros and cons of Genetically Modified Organisms, and what are their effects on the consumer and the farmer? In what ways does it effect the environment and the poorest countries in the world?

Chapter 9: While the Rich Avert Their Eyes

1. Mark Hertsgaard explains how in his town there was a 150-gallon-a-day water limit and how at his daughter's preschool they were educated with ways they could reduce water wasting. Why is it necessary to control and limit how much water you use? What do you think you could do in your home or school to help reduce wasted water amounts?
2. On page 266, Herstgaard explains how "more and more people in California are occupying the downstream areas that are at increasing risk from...flooding" but also how the California government developed a repair plan to fix state levees that "would cost $4.5 billion over ten years," (230). Do you think its right for people to be allowed to live in areas at high risk from natural disasters like floods? If so, to what extent do you think the government should spend money on protecting people from the severe changing climate and its effects in such areas?
3. Hertsgaard explains how climate experts predict that "sea levels will rise at least 1 foot by 2050 and by as much as 4.5 feet by 2100," (232). With these rises, what type of effects will they have on the environment, society, and you yourself?
4. On page 242, Hertsgaard explains that "it is poor countries that are suffering the brunt of climate change...but it is the rich countries greenhouse gas emissions that caused the problem in the first place. If we follow the principle of 'the polluter pays,' they are obliged to pay damages...This is compensation." Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? If so, how should rich countries pay this "climate debt"?

Chapter 10: "This Was a Crime"

1. Is selling cheap coal to transcend poverty in largely populated countries like China and India a just cause, or is there a more environmentally-friendly way to help these people?
2. How is down-playing the seriousness of global warming during the Bush administration affecting our society today?
3. If Obama launched the Green Apollo program, " a crash program in rich and poor countries to jump-start the transition to an economy that is both climate-friendly and resilient", or a different program with similar intensions, how effective would this be? What could Obama do/say to make it more appealing to other countries?