In the scrum of popular and political discourse on global warming, the scholarship of climate science is often left sitting on the sideline. Yet understanding the science and the scientists presents the best chance of developing an informed opinion about climate change. Confusion about the science, misunderstanding of risk assessment and management as they apply to global warming, and either a lack of knowledge about who the experts are or a mistrust of these experts, all hinder people's understanding and response to the threat of global warming. Understanding and communicating expert opinion on climate change is only the first step on a long road. Scientists will continue to provide the estimates of risk and the diagnosis of the Earth's climate, but the society must do the risk management and demand that lawmakers do so as well. To address global climate change, action at all levels of society is needed, from individual choices to international agreements, from industry's technological solutions to government policy. Suggestions on how one can be a part of the climate solution are offered. (Contains 19 endnotes.)