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“Did you know that if a certain amount of warming happens before we take action it will lead to uncontrollable shifts in the earth’s weather systems and atmosphere which will create runaway warming — even if we manage to cut our carbon outputs after these forces have been unleashed?  You know what happened to Venus right?”

James Lovelock’s eyes seem to glow demonically.

“If we do nothing, we might well be on track for the ice caps to melt completely within the next few decades and with the ice caps gone there will be no vast white spaces to reflect the sun’s heat back into space and radiative forcing will create ever more heat and climate chaos.”

And Methane Pockets!  Good lord!  They’re horrifying!  Way scarier than melting ice.  And no one ever tells you about methane bubbles!  There’s methane trapped in frozen lakes and the permafrost has the potential to create methane as well.  When the permafrost thaws, the microorganisms frozen in the earth come alive and start producing methane.  Scientists aren’t exactly sure how much methane will be released and how fast.  But we know that methane is a potent greenhouse gas and as it gets released, it will thaw more methane, driving more warming, more methane, more warming, more methane, more warming…”  James Lovelock seems to be stuck in a loop, droning on and on about the methane time bomb.

Luckily, James Lovelock snaps out of it — and for one startling instant you see a glimmer of hope on his face.  “But the faster we cut greenhouse gas emissions, the less warming we will have, and more of the permafrost will stay frozen with all that methane trapped safely inside.”

Then he falls asleep in his chair.

The door from the street swings open and in walks Matt Lie-Paehlke.

“Were you talking to James Lovelock?  You must be scared out of your wits,” he says.  “Do you need a little pick me up?”

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If you say, “Yes, tell me what gives you hope,” turn to page 18.

If you say, “I sense the urgency, but I’m heroically brave!  Let’s take action immediately,” turn to page 32.