We admit that our critical examination of rapid-climate change disaster flick The Day After Tomorrow contained a fair measure of glittery Hollywood flair. But it doesn't take a paleoclimatologist to realize that abrupt climate change can't really happen in a week, and our writer Matthew Teague didn't actually climb a mountain of skulls in Africa to find that out. Even though we indulged in a measure of dramatic exaggeration, the original source material shocks the reader with plausible conjecture. Peruse the cruel truth in the Pentagon report--authored by the Oracle of the Future (a.k.a. futurist Peter Schwartz)--which outlines the global impact, such as sudden food and water shortages, that rapid climate change could provoke.
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Science is reinventing play, from extreme sports to gamification to ridiculous roller coasters to the playgrounds of tomorrow, and this issue is chock full of fun. Also, on a less fun note: Did global warming destroy my hometown?