Climate change came on my personal radar in 1989 when I was a science/lifestyle writer at a newspaper in Connecticut and I interviewed Bill McKibbon about his book “The End of Nature.” He explained the significance of a NASA scientist’s recent congressional testimony about the buildup of greenhouse gases in Earth’s climate and the need to wean society from fossil fuels within decades to avert catastrophes like super hurricanes, severe droughts and rising sea levels. Scary stuff, but it seemed so far off. Surely things would work out...