Has the environmental movement become just another special interest group? Late last year, two authors released a paper at the October 2004 meeting of the Environmental Grantmakers Association arguing that the days of true environmentalism were behind us. The paper, later republished by Grist Magazine, ruffled feathers in the environmental community. Join Ira and guests in this hour of Science Friday as we take a look at the state of environmentalism in the US. Is it time to write an obituary?

We'll also explore new projections about global warming. New work published this week in the journal Science indicates that heat already stored in the world's oceans may make an increase in temperatures inevitable -- and the increase was destined to occur even if all greenhouse gases had been stabilized five years ago. We'll talk to one of the authors about the calculations, and what they mean for climate change policy. Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (3-4 Eastern). Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection.

Guests:
Gerald Meehl
Senior Scientist
National Center For Atmospheric Research
Boulder, Colorado

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Michael Shellenberger
Executive Director, Breakthrough Institute
Co-author, "The Death of Environmentalism"
El Cerrito, California

Bill McKibben
Contributor, The New York Times, Outside, The New York Review of Books
Author, "Hundred Dollar Holiday" (Simon and Schuster, 1998); "The End of Nature," (Anchor, 1997
Adirondack Mountains, New York

Jon Coifman
Director of Media Relations
Natural Resources Defense Council
New York, New York

Books/Articles Discussed:

"The Death of Environmentalism: Global warming politics in a post-environmental world," by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus. Grist Magazine, 13 Jan 2005.

Meehl G. A., et al. Sciencexpress, doi: 10.1126/science.1106663 (2005).

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This segment produced by Annette Heist