Hot and Bothered

-- The Daily Telegraph, Oct. 2007

"More Americans are likely to suffer from kidney stones in the coming years as a result of global warming, according to researchers at the University of Texas."

-- Agence France-Presse, July 2008

"Climatic changes could lead to more outbreaks of bubonic plague among human populations, a study suggests."

-- BBC News, Aug. 2006

"Global warming has added an extra layer of anxiety to what people are already feeling."

-- Sandy Shulmire, a psychologist and practitioner of ecopsychology, quoted in the New York Times, Feb. 2008

That last one, come to think of it, isn't so far-fetched. Looking for more reasons to worry? The Web site www.numberwatch.co.uk/warmlist.htm keeps tabs on hundreds of anxiety-inducing articles about the warming world.

-- Emily Langer