The environment is a touchy subject for many people. You have those that think the impact of various forces on the Earth  and Mother Nature are exaggerated and they have all kinds of studies and reports supporting their claim.

You also have those that think the environment is in danger and also have various reports and studies supporting their claim. You can't walk into a bookstore or these days amazon.com without seeing various books refuting the claim of the book next to it.

The greenhouse effect is real and it isn't. The polar ice caps are melting and they aren't. It makes me wonder about the truth of it all. George Carlin had a great comment that everyone that wants to save the world really just wants to save themselves. The Earth is fine and will be fine long after we are gone. It may a few million years to shake off the pollution from its atmosphere, but it's not going to explode.

With that said, there are also forces out there willing to endanger humanity, plants and animals for the sake of the almighty dollar. So when we see books going one way or the other, it makes me think exactly how objective the writer is. How much of their findings and prose is for fame and fortune or academic authority.

How many of them are getting a few extra dollars from the petroleum industry? Next time you are perusing books about the environment, don't forget to think about what motives the author may have had when writing the book. Then again, how many of you are reading it because you honestly want to know or because its just telling you what you already believe.