Is our planet's condition terminal? Whether or not you have faith in the mounting scientific evidence pointing toward potentially catastrophic effects of our atmospheric meddling, you must admit that if the prophets are right, we'd better learn to breathe carbon dioxide in a hurry. Physicist John E. Brandenburg and science writer Monica Rix Paxson warn that our big blue marble might become just another cold dead rock in Dead Mars, Dying Earth, a parallel study of our history and our neighbor's, drawing on the information amassed over decades of scientific research and exploration. The writing is florid, even a bit messianic at times, but the writers believe that our time is limited and that we must immediately stop deforestation and dependence on fossil fuel if we want our species to make it more than a few generations. Despite bringing in some unnecessary and controversial "evidence" (did they really need to tout the face on Mars to make their case for global warming?), they still make a compelling case that life did exist on Mars but was extinguished by an out-of-control greenhouse effect. Refreshingly, they suggest that we fight science with science, arguing that fusion power and space exploration are crucial to our continuing survival. This may be the argument that sways the nervous conservatives who fear economic recession or worse if we heed the environmentalists' call to action. If so, Dead Mars, Dying Earth could be the 21st century's Silent Spring. --Rob Lightner