South of the equator lies the key to the planet's health - the Amazon rainforest. Experts estimate that the Amazon produces a shocking twenty percent of the planet's oxygen, but global warming is already causing widespread destruction. While the glaciers slowly melt in the Arctic, scientists predict those in the Andes will entirely melt by 2015. The El Niño weather patterns and hurricanes that played havoc with the southeast of the United States for the last several years have tormented both coasts of South America for several decades. Recognized South America expert, Nikolas Kozloff guides the reader through the politics and science of a continent in peril, showing how its problems are a microcosm of the environmental ravages occuring the world over. Drawing on his unique access to South American leaders, Kozloff argues that cooperation between the world's countries is vital in turning back the tide of climate change, and that the fate of the planet is depends on our response to environmental problems of the southern hemisphere.