In Australia and around the world the signs of global warming are dramatic and disturbing. There can no longer be any question that climate change is happening, that it can be traced to human activity, and that we need to respond urgently if we are to prevent quite catastrophic changes to global systems. Ironically, despite our failure to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, Australia’s fragile environment leaves us extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Living in the Hothouse brings us up to date on how global warming has already started to affect us, and what the future holds. More severe bushfires, less water availability in southern Australia, more intense heat during summer, greater risk of insect-borne diseases, and a greater incidence of extreme weather including more rainfalls of flood proportions, longer and more intense droughts and more frequent and intense tropical cyclones affecting greater areas.

Professor Ian Lowe presents a clear and balanced explanation of the current scientific understanding of global warming, and its effects on Australia’s climate, land use, energy and water consumption, and on our economy, industry, agriculture and daily life. Living in the Hothouse challenges all Australians to face up to the changes which global warming is bringing, and to accept the responsibility for planning and creating a sustainable future.