James Lovelock described his previous book, The Revenge of Gaia, as "a wake-up call for humanity". Stark though it was in many respects, in The Vanishing Face of Gaia, Lovelock says that though the weather currently seems cooler and pollution lessens as the recession bites, the environmental problems we will face in the 21st century are even more terrifying than he previously realised. The Arctic and Antarctic icecaps are melting very quickly, and water shortages and natural disasters are more common occurrences than at any time in recent history. Almost all predictions of the likely rate of climate change have been based on estimates that professional observers now show are consistently below the true rate of change. As a global community we continue to be fixated by conventional 'green' ideas which we believe will help save our world. Lovelock argues that only Gaia theory, which he originated over forty years ago, can really help us understand the crisis fully. The root problem is that there are too many people and animals for the Earth to carry.And there is in fact only one possible procedure which might bring a permanent cure to climate change, but we are unlikely to adopt it.