In January 2006 three politicians, from different parts of the world, acknowledged that the consequences of global warming could be much worse than previously thought. In his address on Australia Day 2006 the Governor-General, Michael Jeffery, warned Australians that, ‘one of the most daunting environmental challenges is global warming’. Former President Bill Clinton told the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland that climate change was the most pressing threat which we now face. ‘It has the power to end the march of civilisation as we know it.’ The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, in a preface in the book entitled Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change, wrote that, ‘it is clear from the work presented here that the risks of climate change may well be greater than we thought’.
In this book, Seán McDonagh starts by describing how the threat of climate change comes about and shows the consequences of global warming. He then examines various responses to global warming and faces the question of whether Nuclear Power is the solution. His fifth chapter outlines reviews a wide range of energy efficiencies and renewables. Finally, Father McDonagh examines how the churches have responded to this threat to date.