TIM FLANNERY & BOB McDONALD on the dangers of climate change April 20, 2006

Conservationist TIM FLANNERY in conversation with BOB McDONALD on the dangers of climate change

Presented by Pages Books & Magazines, HarperCollins Canada, and NOW Magazine.

OISE Auditorium, 252 Bloor St W, Toronto
Thur, Apr 20, 7pm (doors 6:30pm)
info: 416-598-1447 or www.pagesbooks.ca
tickets $5 @ Pages Books & Magazines (general admission, no phone orders or holds please)
and through www.theweathermakers.ca

Introduced by the Right Honourable Jack Layton, MP (Toronto-Danforth), Leader, Canada's New Democrats

Australian scientist Tim Flannery is one of the leading world experts on climate change. In his new book, The Weather Makers, he clearly and authoritatively spells out the dangers humanity faces as a result of global warming. Come hear Tim Flannery in conversation with CBC Radio One's Quirks & Quarks host Bob McDonald on the threat of climate change, and learn what needs to be done to prevent a global catastrophe.

The Weather Makers: How We Are Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth (HarperCollins Canada): Rarely has there been a time when the fate of every one of the earth's inhabitants has been in such peril. Such is our present age. Sometime this century the day will arrive when the human influence on the climate will overwhelm all other natural factors. If nothing is done, the twenty-first century will see global warming that could lead to conditions the planet has not seen in 40 million years. In his explosive new book, The Weather Makers, Tim Flannery gives readers the clearest, most compelling picture of the challenge and real threat of climate change.

This generation of decision makers and consumers will, one way or another, decide the future of the planet. What you see around you-and what you are living in-is a world that is being rapidly and irrevocably degraded by an invisible, odourless gas, carbon dioxide. It accumulates every time you drive your car, cook a meal or turn on a light. These are seemingly benign acts, but multiply those mundane daily actions six-billionfold and the accumulation of injury to our environment becomes frighteningly clear.

In this groundbreaking new book, already met with international acclaim, scientist Tim Flannery argues passionately for the need to address-now-the implications of a global change that is damaging all life on earth and threatening our very survival. This book is unimpeachable in its authority, deftly and accessibly written, and penetrating in its vision of what each of us can do to avoid catastrophe. It is a global call to action, laying out plainly what we know and what we can do to make a difference before it's too late.

World authorities are united on the importance of Tim Flannery's The Weather Makers:

"Climate change is perhaps the most challenging collective action problem the world has faced. Almost uniquely, The Weather Makers provides insights not only into the history, the science and politics of climate change, but also the actions people can take now that will make a difference. All who read The Weather Makers will be left wiser and able to appreciate how fragile our climate is and how it is this generation who must act to protect it." -- UK Prime Minister Tony Blair

"This is one of the most important books of this young century. Flannery leads us through the remarkable scientific elucidation of the factors shaping climate--the sun, atmosphere, oceans and life itself. The scientific evidence of humanity's impact is indisputable and this book convincingly pierces the phoney economic, political and pseudo-scientific naysaying. It is an urgent call-to-action that we cannot afford to ignore." -- David Suzuki

"In his previous books, Tim Flannery took us on compelling journeys into the human and non-human past. Now he brings his wit, wisdom and eloquence to bear on our future as a civilization, a future we have recklessly undermined but may still be able to secure. Thoroughly researched, closely reasoned and eloquently written, The Weather Makers is a book of the utmost importance to everyone on Earth." -- Ronald Wright, author of A Short History of Progress

"At last...a clear and readable account of one of the most important but controversial issues facing everyone in the world today." --Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs and Steel

"The finest account of the overwhelming science behind global warming. Flannery gives us a terrifying glimpse of the future." -- Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

"It would be hard to imagine a better or more important book." -- Bill Bryson

Tim Flannery is an internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer, and conservationist. His books include the definitive ecological histories of Australia (The Future Eaters) and North America (The Eternal Frontier), as well as Throwim Way Leg, A Gap in Nature and Astonishing Animals. He is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books and The Times Literary Supplement. Flannery spent a year as professor of Australian studies at Harvard, where he taught in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. He lives in Adelaide, Australia, where he is director of the South Australian Museum and professor at the University of Adelaide.

Bob McDonald is one of Canada's best known science journalists. He has hosted CBC Radio's science show Quirks & Quarks since 1992. His extensive background in science broadcasting includes numerous science documentaries for CBC Radio's Ideas series and location stories and investigative reports for CBC's As It Happens and Morningside. Bob McDonald has also produced, written, and hosted over one hundred educational videos, written for the Globe and Mail, and before joining Quirks & Quarks, was the host of CBC television's children's science program Wonderstruck. He has received numerous awards for his work in science writing and broadcasting, including the 2001 Michael Smith Award for Science Promotion, from NSERC; the 2002 Sandford Fleming Medal from The Royal Canadian Institute; and the 2005 McNeil Medal for the Public Awareness of Science from the Royal Society of Canada.
Media contact for Tim Flannery: Miranda Snyder, HarperCollins Canada, 416-975-9334 x165, [email protected]