Review/Giveaway: A Climate for Change

A WINNING READINGS GIVEAWAY!

Title: A Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-Based Decisions

Author: Katharine Hayhoe and Andrew Farley
Genre: Christian nonfiction
How to enter: Leave a comment on THIS post right here! If you're a subscriber or a follower, leave a second comment for a second entry.
Entry deadline: November 25, 2009
Restrictions: Open internationally

That's right, enter right here for this giveaway. Please note: we are giving away our review copy, so it has been gently read.

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card authors are:

Katharine Hayhoe

and

Andrew Farley

and the book:

A Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-Based Decisions

FaithWords (October 29, 2009)

***Special thanks to Valerie M. Russo of the Hachette Book Group for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHORs:

Katharine Hayhoe is a professor in the Department of Geosciences at Texas Tech University and CEO of ATMOS Research, a scientific consulting company. She contributed her research to and served as Expert Reviewer for the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Katharine's work has been presented before the U.S. Congress, highlighted by state and federal agencies, and featured in over 200 newspapers and media outlets around the world.

Visit the author's website.

Andrew Farley is the lead teaching pastor of Ecclesia (http://www.EcclesiaOnline.com/) and co-hosts Real Life in Christ, a 30-minute program that airs every week on ABC-TV in the West Texas area. Andrew served as a professor at the University of Notre Dame for five years and is now a tenured professor at Texas Tech University. Andrew has coauthored three textbooks and more than a dozen journal articles. He is also the author of The Naked Gospel: The Truth You May Never Hear in Church.

Visit the author's website.

Product Details:

List Price: $22.99
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: FaithWords (October 29, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446549568
ISBN-13: 978-0446549561
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

My Review

I don't consider myself an environmentalist. Often it seems that environmentalists value other things above human life, and as a Christian, my mandate is first the person, then the other stuff. World hunger ranks much higher in my list of concerns than does CO2 emissions, for instance.

Since we're talking about generalities, this book makes the point that many Christians see environmentalists as evolutionists and earth worshipers. If you're concerned about global warming, you're obviously pro-choice and believe the government should run our lives, right?

It then seeks to correct this misconception by presenting global-warming facts in a faith-based context. Does it succeed? I think it does. The authors present a case that is rational and solutions that are reasonable. It brings out a biblical case for taking care of our environment.

And I believe in taking care of the environment, as long as it is not done at the cost of human life or quality of life. Don't litter. Drive the vehicle that has less fuel consumption. All that stuff makes sense, and I agree with it.

I'm not completely sold on everything. Perhaps I've listened to too much right-wing radio in my lifetime, but while I appreciate the concepts in the book, I question the facts. This book clearly has an agenda, and uses facts to support the agenda. I'd like to research the facts myself before accepting them blindly.

The authors do anticipate arguments and refute them. For instance, people scoff at the concept of global warming when they are experiencing record-breaking low temperatures, but the authors combat this with clear distinction between "weather" and "climate. And I've heard how CFL bulbs contain mercury, so aren't really better for the environment than the shorter-lasting incandescent bulbs, but the book states that coal-generated electricity for the traditional bulb releases far more mercury into the air than a CFL bulb will.

While I may not agree with everything in this book, it HAS inspired me to do some research, so I suspect some of the authors' intentions have succeeded... And it just may inspire me to make a few small changes in the environmentally-friendly actions I take.

If you're looking for a factual book on global warming with a Christian perspective, this is it!