So, one more book review.

Anyone who wants to believe in global warming (or climate change, WHATEVER!) should read this book and then decide. That Michael Crichton, he sure was on to something!

There's a lot of terrorism in the book, which I can't vouch for actually happening in real life, but that's to be expected since it IS a fictional novel. However, whenever one of his characters makes a factual observation, there are footnotes to studies and works that prove the ideas.

Some important points from the book :

1 - The sheer ego of the human race to believe it can single-handedly do enough to throw our huge planet into climate turmoil is laughable.

2 - The recurring theme of humans trying to control things for the better, yet all they do is turn them for the worst. i.e., when Yellowstone was set aside as a park, there were TONS of animals living in there, and as a consequence of human meddling, there are scarce animals now.

3 - Nature has its timetables and its way of dealing with things, and we need to leave it alone and let it work itself out.

4 - The classic idea of the Indians as "keepers" of the "untouched American wilderness", when really, they burned down forests to promote gaming and hunted animals just as much as any other people ever did. The land was modified to fit THEIR needs when the English came, not the other way around.

5 - The need for fear as a way of controlling the masses. After the Cold War ended, there wasn't an entity to be afraid of any more, and increasingly the media and even the politicians were found using words like "catastrophe" and "disaster". These tactics are still alive and well in today's world (*ahem* rushingthroughbillswecantaffordorweallDIE! *ahem*).

It's really too bad Mr. Crichton isn't around still, I'm sure he'd have a lot of interesting things to say about what is (will be) going on in the world today.

I have nothing against conservation in a way that promotes less with actual results. For example, buying cheap junk that breaks on the first use and then has to be thrown away is stupid. Things should be built to last and be repairable. Even in the scriptures it tells us to not be wasteful and try to use things sparingly. I just have a hard time believing that a single species can totally wipe out all of the earth.

Also, I get irked when people hop all over species that are becoming extinct. Do you have any idea how many species come and go without our even knowing about it? The world isn't failing because that random beetle you never even knew was here for a while is gone. What makes you think if something else dies out, that the world will fall off its axis and we'll all die? For sure, we need to respect the way nature handles things more.

Anyway. Good read, pick it up if you can! :)