Before It's Gone : Stories from the Front Lines of Climate Change in Small-Town America.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-260) and index.

Preface: Ticktock -- Prologue: a world away hits close to home -- Author's note -- Part one: Fire. The flame tamer ; Harry's war ; Nature fights back ; Nature's hydrogen bomb ; Picking up the pieces ; Engineered miracles ; "Go, go, go" ; The whack-a-mole defensive ; When giants fall ; The uncharted road ahead ; To stay or to go ; "Nature's way" -- Part two: Water. Ice chaser ; The wake-up call ; Life before ; Answers on ice ; Sitting ducks ; Notes from a post-storm philharmonic ; Regulating sandcastles ; Fatal attraction ; Lessons learned ; Asleep at the wheel -- Part three: Air. Foote's notes ; Delirium nocturnum ; The beast ; Coffee, grits, and motorcycle grease ; HWY 89 ; The land between the rivers ; All hands on deck ; Ms. Becky's place -- Part four: Earth. Father of soil ; Dexter dirt ; Creampuff pioneers ; Checkmate ; Virgin land grab ; Turning the (dinner) tables -- Epilogue: Kamikaze iguanas.

Discussion of the climate crisis has always suffered from a problem of abstraction. Data points and warnings of an overheated future struggle to break through the noise of everyday life. Deniers often portray climate solutions as inconvenient, expensive, and unnecessary. And many politicians, cloistered by status and focused always on their next election, do not yet see climate as a winning issue in the short run, so they don't take any action at all. But climate change, and its devastating consequences, has kept apace whether we want to pay attention or not. CBS News national correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti has seen that crisis unfold for himself, spending nearly two decades reporting across the United States (and the world) documenting the people, communities, landmarks, and traditions we've already surrendered. Vigliotti shares with urgency and personal touch the story of an America on the brink. Before It's Gone traces Vigliotti's travels across the country, taking him to the frontlines of climate disaster and revealing the genuine impacts of climate change that countless Americans have already been forced to confront. From massive forest fires in California to hurricanes in Louisiana, receding coastlines in Massachusetts and devastated fisheries in Alaska, we learn that warnings of a future impacted by climate are no more; the climate catastrophe is already here.