Book excerpt: Unlike most books on climate change, this one examines the current trends in climate--and predictions for the future--relative to similar events in Earth's history. This history paints a picture of repeated cataclysms in which most life on Earth was lost. However, our planet now hosts a species potentially capable of mitigating, regulating, and/or moderating the factors affecting global climate. According to widely accepted data, we have a narrowing window of time to make the necessary changes before we become just another name on a long list of species wiped out through climate catastrophes. Trexler, a paleontologist in Montana, makes powerful and specific suggestions for how the challenges facing our planet can be lessened or avoided.