Product Description
Climate change is one of the most pressing issues affecting the world today.Although half of the world's population lives in urban areas, little consideration has been given to the effects that climate change will have on urban dwellers, especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Yet these regions have most of the world's urban population, including most of its largest cities. Their urban centers already face a wide variety of environmental and development challenges, including large sections of their populations living in informal settlements, often on sites at risk from extreme weather, with large deficits in provision for water, sanitation and drainage.

As noted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fourth Assessment, these are likely to exacerbate vulnerability to climate change. Even more importantly, very little attention has been paid to the issue of adaptation, preventing the loss of lives, livelihoods and assets in urban centres as temperatures and sea levels rise and as extreme events become more frequent and more intense. Yet while the concentration of people and economic activities in towns and cities can intensify their vulnerability, this same concentration provides the opportunity to build safe housing and protective infrastructure, create resilient livelihoods and develop urban systems that reduce risks.

This volume brings together, for the first time, a wide-ranging and detailed body of information identifying and assessing risk, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in urban centers in low- and middle-income countries. Framed by an overview of the main possibilities and constraints for adaptation, the contributors examine the implications of climate change for cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and propose innovative agendas for adaptation. The book should be of interest to policy makers, practitioners and academics who face the challenge of addressing climate change vulnerability and adaptation in urban centers throughout the global South.

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Customer Reviews (38)

Clarifing the complex
I have read about a dozen books and hundreds of articles on climate change.This book conveys the best clear description of what we know and where more research needs to be done.The author shows where the sceptics have brought up a few valid questions and clearly states that we need more research on the effects of clouds and airborne pollutants.We are clearly putting mankind and the biosphere's future on the line.We must get this right since there will be no second chance.Please read this if you care about you children's future.

Comprehensive Overview
The author addresses the global warming issue through a multitude of dimensions in a journalistic style. He makes clear that it is far from likely that as global warming proceeds it will be a smooth linear process of things simply getting warmer. Global warming, assuming humanity does not take aggressive action to thwart it, will likely cross [a] critical threshold[s] that is/are followed by a cascade of catastrophic effects. Once this happens, humanity will essentially lose control of the matter; the wreck will have to play itself out.

One of the Best Books Ever Written on Global Warming
Published in 2007 by one of Britain's leading science writers, this is one of the best books ever written on the topic of climate change. Factual, straightforward, well-written, and fascinating.

Global Tipping Points
This a fascinating book for all no matter how much knowledge one has with the subject of climate change.Climate change is important because it is something that will severely impact our world in devastating ways.Using 18 years of previous knowledge and research, Fred Pearce describes the effects and dangers of this phenomenon.By interviewing numerous researchers and scientists, most of whom are experts, he has proved that global climate change is indeed occurring; it is not just a myth.

Even though I have limited knowledge in this subject, this book was still easy to read and understand.Pearce does a fine job of explaining ideas in "non-science" ways so that all readers can understand his arguments.The information in this book is so extensive and detailed that any reader can turn into an expert on climate change.While he depicts the various problems that humankind will face in the future, he unfortunately does not give any advice on how to solve them.I was disappointed because it is now a known fact that our current generation as well as future generations will face tremendous problems as a result of climate change, some of which are already starting.Pearce interviews so many experts in this book and I would have liked to hear some thoughts on how to solve our current problem.But overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend this book to anyone!

You Don't Know Climate Change Until You Read This Book
There's a reason why anthropogenic climate change, or human-caused global warming, has been very much in the news for years. No other field of science makes such sobering predictions of what the world could be like in the near future if humans continue to pollute the earth's atmosphere with greenhouse gases. The idea of global warming is not universally believed, of course. The fact that it is not is a great example of the scientific method at work. Theories must withstand the most rigorous and skeptical scrutiny before they are widely accepted as correct. The science of global warming gets stronger every day, though, and it is instructive to note that most skeptics are employed by oil, gas and chemical companies, and have huge financial stakes in playing down the consequences of the observations of earth's changing climate that even they cannot deny.

Global warming can seem to be a stately, gradual, incremental process that will not have big impacts on life as we know it for centuries. After all, who can get excited about an increase in the earth's average temperature of a couple of degrees? Who cares if sea levels rise a few inches? Would anyone even notice such small changes? If this is what you think, you need to read "With Speed and Violence." Author Fred Pearce presents compelling, well-documented evidence that global warming can profoundly alter the earth's climate on time scales of just a few years, or, in some really scary cases, in the space of a single season. Some of the possibilities he discusses make "The Day After Tomorrow" seem like a documentary.

This is not fringe science or sensationalistic journalism. "With Speed and Violence" reports the latest mainstream research (with references, so you can check out the peer-reviewed papers yourself if you want to) about "tipping points" in the earth's climatic system. These points are certain conditions of temperatures, greenhouse gas concentrations, ocean salinity, atmospheric aerosols, etc., that act like "on-off" switches, and can drastically change the climate very quickly if they are flipped. Here's just one example. In March 2002, the Larsen B ice shelf, a huge chunk of ice as big as Luxembourg and 650 feet thick, broke away from the coast of Antarctica and shattered to pieces. Its dramatic demise was almost certainly caused by air and water temperatures that had been warming gradually for almost 50 years. When Larsen B broke up, it did not itself have any effect on sea levels, because it was already floating (just as ice melting in a glass does not raise the water level). But it acted like a cork in a wine bottle for inland glaciers behind it. Now that Larsen B is not there to hold them back, these glaciers are flowing to the sea eight times faster than when the shelf was in place, and these glaciers DO raise sea levels when they calve icebergs into the water. There is enough ice in these now-released "speeding" glaciers to raise sea levels by nearly 20 feet. Thus can a local event have severe global consequences. A 20-foot sea level rise would flood coastal areas worldwide. Worse, there's no going back from a tipping point. We can't reassemble Larsen B and glue it back onto Antarctica. Once it's gone, it's gone, and everything changes.

"With Speed and Violence" covers scores of these potential "tipping points." Mr. Pearce presents each one in a very balanced manner, clearly not that of a wild-eyed fanatic. They will not all happen, of course, but even if just a few do, human society on earth could change beyond recognition. Drastic climate changes have happened before in the earth's history, and will certainly happen again. But, with our ongoing reckless consumption of fossil fuels, we seem determined to do everything we can to make the next climate cycle as fast, violent and hostile as possible. Can we afford to risk triggering conditions "beyond which there is no redemption," as the nation's top climate modeler warned in 2005? I heartily agree with Lester Brown, President of the Earth Policy Institute: "If you can read only one book on climate change, this is it." Most highly recommended. Read it, think about it and then take action before its too late. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (11)

Monumental, brave and right
This is the best book on climate change that I have ever read. It is concise, well-informed and provides a substantial amount of information in a short space. For example, I have read entire books on why people have a difficult time accepting the fact that we must address climate change. Stern explains this in a few lines: People (especially people running companies with large amounts of money at stake) don't want to have to change their behaviors. Instead, they use certain tactics to try to deny what has been proven scientifically beyond a doubt. He cites the examples of tobacco causing lung cancer and HIV causing AIDS as similar episodes of mass denial, and springing from the same causes: complacency and fear. An expert in risk management, he describes the current threat of climate change as the greatest market failure the world has seen. And he knows how to fix it.

Stern suggests that the economic growth of developing nations and the best response to climate change are inextricably linked, and makes a very good case for his opinion. He discusses the coming demographics changes, and the impact these changes will have on world trade, even without climate change. He outlines very concrete changes that we can make on a global scale - the only way that any method of addressing climate change will be successful, he claims, and I agree. Stern approaches climate change from an economist's perspective, and this is refreshing because economists see the world differently from most other scientists. To them, trade is *always* better than a zero-sum gain. If both parties do not come away from a trade better off than they were when they went into it, the trade does not happen. It is this fundamentally pragmatic and yet optimistic approach that makes this book such a joy to read. It is not all doom and gloom like some books about climate change, it does not tell us that the sky is falling while offering no respite. "The Global Deal" provides practical, implementable solutions for reducing climate change, and does so from an economist's perspective, with an underlying faith in the ability of human beings to develop good, broad policy that guides, but does not micromanage market interactions. It embraces the economist's belief that, with the assurance of a fair market, free trade tends to make life better for society as a whole, and that includes the well-being of our children and their children, and all other future generations.

Some reviewers have mentioned that the book is dryly written, and to some extent I agree, but the material is so profoundly important that it really requires the kind of solemn passion that Stern displays.

I believe that in retrospect, people will agree that Stern's message of hope and duty is worth listening to. In any case, I am sure that "The Global Deal" will be considered one of the two or three most important books written in the 21st century.

Narrated by James Adams, who reads with the gentlemanly and precise accent of a British lord, which in fact, Stern is. His full title is Sir Nicholas Herbert Stern, Baron of Brentford, Kt. Kinda cool!

economist's view
It is in a way hard to listen to the many CD's if you're not an economist by training. But there is a lot to learn! The reading sounds a bit "dry" but I suppose that's the nature of such an approach. I enjoy learning this economist's view step by step and I feel that market functioning is very well explained to the uninitiated person. Nevertheless, it takes some patience to work oneself through all the chapters/CD's. On the other hand, we cannot handle climate change issues without assessing the opportunities of the market to implement effective strategies.

Worthy, informative but boring
Stern provides a good overview of the basic issues of global climate change policy.His exposition is geared to a reader with little knowledge of the subject, and for those who have a strong need to know these things the book is very useful.The most interesting and thought provoking section is on discount rates for benefits and costs for future generations:is there any moral justification for valuing the welfare of future generations less than our own?This and other economic questions are dealt with clearly.If there is a fault with the book it is Stern's dry and boring style.There is a lack of humor, of engaging anecdote, or any commentary on man's foibles. The tone is unrelentingly serious and prescriptive.This is a good basic textbook and guide, but it is not a great book.

now or never
From the author of the Stern Report chronicling the threat of global warming and the cost of waiting decades to address it comes this well-done analysis of climate change, its causes, the threat it poses, and what we need to be doing--urgently--to address it.

Stern calls global warming history's greatest "market failure" as we have failed to build into the price of carbon-based fuels their true cost for the future of our planet. He goes on to show the expected impacts of sea level rise (1 meter rise=displacement of 150 million Asians); the true culprits (China is out-CO2'ing us now, but in the past century the US emitted 50 times more CO2 than China: 290 billion tons v. 5.4 bt); and what we need to do about it (cut back on meat-based diets; stop subsidies for fossil fuels; halt deforestation; pay for the impact of climate change on the world's poor; quintuple spending on R&D for alternative energy options).

Call to action: a 4-5 degree increase in global average temperature will lead to a "radical transformation of the world we know," rewriting the physical geography of the planet.

No substance, no direction
Mr. Stern frequently uses the word "should". This is less a book of what will happen or how to make it happen so much as a book of what "should" happen. Most of what "should" happen are vague expectations and fantastic goals, the kind of rhetoric one could apply to any problem. Mr. Stern says effective climate change will depend on "clear and strong political leadership", developing "international markets", "credible action plans" on the part of developing countries, "substantial sums", "international collaboration" (which he admits is "unprecedented"), an "analysis of ethics", and finally a "global deal". While one could argue that global warming is the first truly global crisis (discounting nuclear weapons), one is quick to recognize that humanity has a poor track record of reaching consensus on any other vital issue - not on forms of government, economics, race, poverty, religion, ethics, nationalism, or labor. Yet, in order to solve global warming, it will be necessary to approach solutions to all of the above simultaneously.
Without realizing it, Mr. Stern has painted a pretty bleak picture of the future.
As a read on climate change, this book falls short. There is very little substance here. Having not yet waded through the Stern Report, I had expected a distilled version for mass consumption. Instead, it has been distilled to pure vapor. For all the "should"s in this book, I'll have to add one more: you should not read this book.
... Read more

Product Description
Existing climate change governance regimes in the US and the EU contain complex mixtures of regulatory, market, voluntary, and research-based strategies. The EU has adopted an approach to climate change that is based on mandatory greenhouse gas emission reductions; it is grounded in 'hard' law measures and accompanied by 'soft' law measures at the regional and Member State level. In contrast, until recently, the US federal government has carefully avoided mandatory emission reduction obligations and focused instead on employing a variety of 'soft' measures to encourage - rather than mandate - greenhouse gas emission reductions in an economically sound, market-driven manner. These macro level differences are critical yet they mask equally important transatlantic policy convergences.

The US and the EU are pivotal players in the development of the international climate change regime. How these two entities structure climate change laws and policies profoundly influences the shape and success of climate change laws and policies at multiple levels of governance. This book suggests that the overall structures and processes of climate change law and policy-making in the US and the EU are intricately linked to international policy-making and, thus, the long-term success of global efforts to address climate change. Accordingly, the book analyses the content and process of climate change law and policy-making in the US and the EU to reveal policy convergences and divergences, and to examine how these convergences and divergences impact the ability of the global community to structure a sustainable, effective and equitable long-term climate strategy. ... Read more

Product Description
"A landmark study in the struggle to contain climate change, the greatest challenge of our era. I urge everyone to read it."
Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States of America

Climate change differs from any other problem that, as collective humanity, we face today. If it goes unchecked, the consequences are likely to be catastrophic for human life on earth. Yet for most people, and for many policy-makers too, it tends to be a 'back of the mind' issue. We recognise its importance and even its urgency, but for the most part it is swamped by more immediate concerns. Politicians have woken up to the dangers, but at the moment their responses are mainly on the level of gesture rather than being, as they have to be, both concrete and radical.

Political action and intervention, on local, national and international levels, is going to have a decisive effect on whether or not we can limit global warming, as well as how we adapt to that already occurring. At the moment, however, Anthony Giddens argues controversially, we do not have a systematic politics of climate change. Politics-as-usual won't allow us to deal with the problems we face, while the recipes of the main challenger to orthodox politics, the green movement, are flawed at source. Giddens introduces a range of new concepts and proposals to fill in the gap, and examines in depth the connections between climate change and energy security.

This book is likely to become a classic in the field. It will be of appeal to everyone concerned about how we can cope with what amounts to a crisis for our civilisation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Carbon taxes better than carbon trading
This book offers to the climate change solution discussion the considerable informed experience of a renowned social scientist, political adviser and modern thinker. The short summary of this book is that national carbon taxes are the way to go, not carbon trading based on big international agreements like Kyoto. Climate action and agreement at the international level, like Kyoto, is unlikely to succeed or to produce significant results. Most fruitful is work at the national level, followed by the regional and bilateral level, where action can be based on self interest and targeted to specific needs and local conditions. New forms of collaboration may well be needed. International universal agreement, as the World Trade Organization has shown, is too hard to reach and too watered down to be meaningful. Going deeper, practical politics needs to be based on the key driving forces on the world scene: economics, energy and security. Projects that can combine two or more of these forces have greater potential, for example, the energy saving work in Germany and Sweden give both energy security and economic advantage. Finally, population control (reduction) and conflict resolution/stability can only be achieved in a convergent world, where poverty is eliminated and nations feel an equal responsibility. Until that time, the rich nations (and the rich segments of poorer nations?) must take the lead and solve their self-created problem. Corollary to this is that Kyoto CDM activities, in which rich nations get credit for carbon reduction projects that they finance in poor nations, are insignificant. What is needed is a complete restructuring of the existing developed nations' own economies to low carbon societies.

The author speaks from the practical experience of top political circles. Politicians and business leaders, who are probably the main intended audience, are well advised to listen. For an environmentally concerned person like myself, the main message is probably: vote for well-thought-out carbon taxes and other measures in your own country and stop hoping for a miracle from Kyoto.

Note: the author could have presented his main ideas in a more focused manner (there is a lot of extraneous material, particularly criticism of others, which detracts from his worthwhile contributions). Archie Duncanson, author of Ecology Begins at Home, [...].

Good on climate change, pretty feeble on the politics
This review first appeared on Oxfam's 'From Poverty to Power' blog on http://www.oxfamblogs.org/fp2p

This is definitely the right subject - enough of `if I ruled the world' policy solutions by environmental snake-oil salesmen, what are the politics of getting a breakthrough on climate change in time to stop the earth frying? Giddens' new book even gets in a dig at his fellow LSE peer Nicholas Stern, saying `"Extraordinarily, there is no mention of politics in Stern's discussion, no analysis of power. It is as if the `global deal' will be reached as soon as the nations of the world see reason." Although there is a lot of good stuff in here, sadly, Giddens fails to deliver on the title's promise - lots of policy wonkery and techno-whizzery, but the politics is actually rather thin. Very frustrating.

Here are some of the main arguments:
- he starts off with a sideswipe at the Greens, claiming that their origin as a reaction to industrialization and modernity and insistence on participatory approaches to everything `is now more of a problem rather than any help'. He is particularly critical of the `precautionary principle', aka `better safe than sorry', arguing that when it comes to climate change, its opposite `he who hesitates is lost' is more relevant - hare argues that we must be prepared to take at least some technological risks in battling climate change.
- Similarly, he is critical of the hairshirtists: `most prescriptions are about saving, cutting back, retreating. Many are important, but no approach based mainly upon deprivation is going to work. We must create a positive model of a low carbon future. There is no such model at the moment.'
- He reckons the shock tactics and `politics of fear' practiced by some climate change activists undermines the chance of building a broad coalition, pointing out that Martin Luther King didn't stir people to action by declaring `I have a nightmare.'
- He's big on the state, bigger in fact than when he was when promoting the `Third Way' that so captivated Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. He believes `it will be national policy-making which will in the end determine how much progress really is made.' Climate change, he argues, requires an `ensuring state' not just an enabling one - there are now absolute carbon reduction targets that the state has to meet. However, he defaults to Blairite market-friendly approaches when he criticises the thinking behind the Green New Deal as being too much about governments picking winners.
- He's been listening to yet another LSE peer, Richard Layard: `We can no longer equate progress with economic growth. Above a certain level of affluence, growth no longer correlates highly with wider criteria of welfare. Placing the notion of welfare at the forefront might mesh very closely with climate change goals. Economic growth elevates emissions: what is the point of making a fetish of growth if in some large part it diminishes rather than promotes welfare?' He calls it `over-development' - nice.
- He insists on the need to reunite the debates on climate change and energy security. This is where he sees the real politics at work, (for good or ill) and this is where the solutions to climate change must lie.

Overall, he's much clearer on what he thinks won't work, than what will: he's critical of carbon markets (he prefers carbon taxes, provided their impact on inequality is taken into account). He thinks the Kyoto negotiators are largely wasting their breath, arguing that the process is like the WTO - a few systemically significant `major emitters' being held back from reaching agreement by the need for cat-herding universalism. Instead he thinks progress on reducing emissions (mitigation) will come through the climate equivalent of regional trade agreements between the big emitters, while the UN system channels finance to the poor countries to help them cope with the impacts (adaptation).

So what's missing? There are tantalising glimpses of history, but nowhere near enough substance - what have been the domestic and international conditions that allowed Sweden, Germany and others to get their emissions down in recent decades? Are they replicable or were they driven by specific events, national institutions, traditions etc? What magnitude of shock might shift governments sufficiently (The Great Depression? World War Two?), and where might it come from? What analogous international or national processes can be identified, like arms control, nuclear weapons reductions, bans on chemical warfare etc?

At its heart this shares the same weaknesses as Stern's work - a technocrat's view of climate change, with little emphasis on power or how change actually happens. It's much more about policies, planning and wise governments busily seeking win wins, along with the `peacetime politics' of diplomacy, agenda setting and shaping public opinion. He calls for consensus and urges politicians not to make climate change a party political issue, but has few ideas (beyond standing committees) about how to achieve this. This is exhortation not politics. None of it approaches the kind of radical political and institutional step change that is required to keep emissions within the planet's atmospheric limits.

`We have no politics of climate change' laments the introduction. After Lord Giddens' efforts, we still don't. And it's not as if the NGOs or anyone else really has a convincing answer, so the disappointment really matters. Anyone else want to give it a go?

... Read more

Product Description
Climate change represents a "tragedy of the commons" on a global scale, requiring the cooperation of nations that do not necessarily put the Earth's well-being above their own national interests. And yet international efforts to address global warming have met with some success; the Kyoto Protocol, in which industrialized countries committed to reducing their collective emissions, took effect in 2005 (although without the participation of the United States). Reversing the lens used by previous scholarship on the topic, Global Commons, Domestic Decisions explains international action on climate change from the perspective of countries' domestic politics.

In an effort to understand both what progress has been made and why it has been so limited, experts in comparative politics look at the experience of seven jurisdictions in deciding whether or not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and to pursue national climate change mitigation policies. By analyzing the domestic politics and international positions of the United States, Australia, Russia, China, the European Union, Japan, and Canada, the authors demonstrate clearly that decisions about global policies are often made locally, in the context of electoral and political incentives, the normative commitments of policymakers, and domestic political institutions. Using a common analytical framework throughout, the book offers a unique comparison of the domestic political forces within each nation that affect climate change policy and provides insights into why some countries have been able to adopt innovative and aggressive positions on climate change both domestically and internationally.

Contributors: Steinar Andresen, Inga Fritzen Buan, Kate Crowley, Kathryn Harrison, Gørild Heggelund, Laura A. Henry, Miranda A. Schreurs, Lisa McIntosh Sundstrom, Yves Tiberghien ... Read more

Product Description
Encyclopedia of Weather features:
• Spectacular color photographs, detailed diagrams, beautiful graphics, and maps
• Easy-to-understand text that is packed with enough detail for scientists yet accessible in classrooms from the junior high school level (and up)
• The most up-to-date information based on the most recent scientific findings
• Succinct explanations of climate change, the enhanced greenhouse effect, global warming, and ozone depletion
• "Fact files" that put information at readers' fingertips
This beautiful, comprehensive, and up-to-date volume covers in amazing depth all aspects of the world's weather. Liberally illustrated with more than 2,000 color photographs, supplemental maps, diagrams, and other images, The Encyclopedia of Weather and Climate Change takes the reader beyond simple definitions to explore where weather comes from and the roles played by oceans and water cycles, and explains such related phenomena as the shaping of landforms, the creation of biological provinces, and the lasting ramifications of climate change. It also discusses how humans have survived and adapted in extreme climates like deserts, jungles, and icy regions. Each of the book's six sections is written and vetted by a different expert. "Engine" discusses what weather is, the solar powerhouse that supplies it, and Earth's atmospheric systems and seasons. "Action" delves into the dynamics of various weather forms. "Extremes" covers blizzards, heat waves, wildfires, and more. "Watching" tracks how weather is measured, mapped, monitored, and forecast. "Climate" delineates the continental climate zones and describes the plant, animal, and human adaptations for each. "Change" considers the history of climate change--ice ages, dinosaur extinction, melting glaciers, human impact, and more--and what we can expect in the future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent reference and great for the coffee table too!
Honestly, I haven't found weather/atmospheric science books very interesting - but this is a great book! The authors do an excellent job covering a huge variety of topics related to climate and weather while providing stunning and detailed visual models so that non-scientists (like myself) can actually understand what they are talking about!I highly recommend this book and wish that Amazon would give more peeks of the inside pages.The price is also incredible.This is a hardbound high quality book that I would usually expect to pay at least $150 for - no kidding. ... Read more

Product Description
Today's headlines and recent events reflect the gravity of climate change. Heat waves, droughts, and floods are bringing death to vulnerable populations, destroying livelihoods, and driving people from their homes.
Rigorous in its science and insightful in its message, this atlas examines the causes of climate change and considers its possible impact on subsistence, water resources, ecosystems, biodiversity, health, coastal megacities, and cultural treasures. It reviews historical contributions to greenhouse gas levels, progress in meeting international commitments, and local efforts to meet the challenge of climate change.
With more than 50 full-color maps and graphics, this is an essential resource for policy makers, environmentalists, students, and everyone concerned with this pressing subject.
The Atlas covers a wide range of topics, including:
* Warning signs
* Future scenarios
* Vulnerable populations
* Health
* Renewable energy
* Emissions reduction
* Personal and public action
Copub: Myriad Editions ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

great idea, but
This book has a great idea, which is to use maps to show how climate change is expected to affect various areas.The big flaw is that it lumps the entire United States together, rather than showing the changes expected in each region.Surely, climate change will have very different effects on Arizona, Maine, and Oregon.How about doing a book specific to the US?

Well Written, Well Presented Primer on Global Warming
Written to be a textbook, this book is a good introductory primer into the physical science behind global warming. There are also graphs and discussions on what each country is doing financially (by GDP) to help solve the problem and which countries emit carbon and at what rate.It utilizes an extensive amount of graphs and maps, which makes it very easy to visualize the various topics presented.

I am using this currently as a supplemental text book in a community college class in global warming and have found it to be wonderful. It is not, as some other reviewers have seemed to imply, the end all book on the subject and does not delve into extreme detail into any on particular aspect of global warming. In fact, at a mere 128 pages, I cannot see it as more than a light treatment of the subject. What is does is supplement other textbooks which contain more discussion and less visualization.

This would be a good book for those interested in global warming but that have a hard time visualizing the issues. Combined with other, more detailed books, this would provide excellent information. This would also be recommended as text for us in a high school or college introductory environmental science class.

Geography of Climate Change Issues
This is an excellent book for those wishing to study the issue of climate change from a geographical standpoint.The maps are excellent - they show exactly where evidence is being found to support global warming, what aeas of the world will be most impacted by global warming, and which nations have committed resources to slowing carbon emissions.

It is a visual guide to global warming, giving a very graphic perspective of the earth as a whole.The scientific explanations of the interacting systems of global winds, ocean currents, atmospheric gasses, and how they are being affected by human alterations, are particularly easy to understand because of the clear diagrams and colorful maps.

As an instructor of physical geography, I find this to be an excellent book for the non-scientist to undertand the physical processes and the science of global warming.The detailed yet easy-to-understand maps and diagrams add another dimension to an often dry and theoretical topic.

Good effort but misses a major point
This book enters the fray with a good overview relative to alternative energy as the answer - but, in my opinion,fails to embrace the "source" of today's dilemma. To precipitate a change in climate - we need a sea-change in the overall interaction of humanity with water. To achieve this, it would be wise for each of us to become conscious of how our daily decisions impact the world within our reach. What products we buy, how we use energy, the examples we set, what we say to others, how we help ease the burden of other life forms we come into contact with - all have an impact on water and the future of life in our biosphere. And, it is the condition of water within our biosphere that will determine the success or failure of our civilization.

Excellent Understandable Information!
My title says it all!This book is easy to read, pleasant to the eyes with its use of color and visuals, and food for the mind.At last, someone has taken pity on individuals who hear about climate change problems, but have not had the facts about it.I think this book is useful for everyone, and can be used in church, school, and living room settings.

Jay S. Southwick ... Read more

Product Description
Today’s climate variability already has a large impact on water supply and protection. Millions of people are affected every year by droughts and floods. Future climate change is likely to make things worse. Many people within the water sector are aware that climate change is affecting water resource management, but they are unsure how to incorporate climate information into their management structures. This book offers a compendium of specific climate variability and adaptation strategies for water resource management.The book shows how to use climate data in decision support and/or managing water resources and what kind of data or information on climate change and variability are available and how they can be used within the water sector.

The book consists of two parts: the first part describes the general issues and is written mainly by the editors of the book and the second part contains specific case studies, drawn from a wide range of contrasting countries.
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Product Description

Climate Change is geared toward a variety of students and general readers who seek the real science behind global warming. Exquisitely illustrated, the text introduces the basic science underlying both the natural progress of climate change and the effect of human activity on the deteriorating health of our planet. Noted expert and author Edmond A. Mathez synthesizes the work of leading scholars in climatology and related fields, and he concludes with an extensive chapter on energy production, anchoring this volume in economic and technological realities and suggesting ways to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

Climate Change opens with the climate system fundamentals: the workings of the atmosphere and ocean, their chemical interactions via the carbon cycle, and the scientific framework for understanding climate change. Mathez then brings the climate of the past to bear on our present predicament, highlighting the importance of paleoclimatology in understanding the current climate system. Subsequent chapters explore the changes already occurring around us and their implications for the future. In a special feature, Jason E. Smerdon, associate research scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, provides an innovative appendix for students.

Customer Reviews (1)

A Missed Opportunity to Broker Peace
When interpretations of scientific evidence differ radically and acrimoniously, you can be certain that the interest of at least one of the parties is not a better understanding of what makes things tick in the natural world.Whether the topic is the heliocentric solar system, descent with modification, or rapid climate change, rarely are the scientific facts themselves a matter of contention.Edmond Mathez' book is a case in point.

The true value in Mathez' book is his treatment of the carbon cycle and the complexity of the interrelationships between the atmosphere, the lithosphere, the biosphere, the hydrosphere, and the cryosphere.Mathez' packaging of these topics for the scientifically literate reader, complete with illustrations, is masterful.Once Mathez equips us with the necessary vocabulary and the conceptual framework, he takes us back into deep geologic time to experience "climates past."Here we learn how carbon cycle disequilibria have created millennia of glacial and interglacial cycles, and we learn where we are in the present interglacial.And he shows the complexities and limitations of the climate models designed to forecast our destiny.

Mathez describes the three types of irregularities in the Earth's orbit which interact to create Milankovitch cycles, which explain much of the naturally-occurring cyclicality in Earth's' historic climate.He also describes the naturally-occurring accelerators, principally the polar albedo effect and water vapor, as well as the climate system's balancing factors.

One of the most startling of the historic cycles is the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), some 55 million years ago, which the author states "is analogous to resent-day climate change."During the Paleocene, climate had been slowly warming, but then a sudden, enormous mass of carbon flooded the ocean and atmosphere.During the PETM, 1,500 to 4,500 gigatons (billion metric tons) of carbon entered the Earth's climate system. This influx of carbon increased the Earth's temperature by 9 to 16 degrees Fahrenheit, about the amount of carbon and temperature we'd expect at current levels of anthropogenic carbon production.Another startling precedent was the Younger Dryas, only about 12,900 years ago, which in the space of only 1,300 years increased the Earth's temperature some 13 degrees Fahrenheit.The Younger Dryas warming period does not appear, however, to have been caused by an increase in carbon, but to a sudden decrease in the salinity of the oceans.

The author shows that in the last 100 thousand years there have been 23 naturally-occurring warm periods, the last of them causing the current increases in atmospheric and hydrospheric temperatures which account for the retreating glaciers.It is clear that with humans introducing some 36 gigatons of carbon dioxide annually, the current rate of naturally-occurring warming can only accelerate.

Edmond Mathez, provides all of this information, and more, yet he fails to draw the key conclusion which could have easily brokered a peace between partisans in the climate debate.Why doesn't he state unequivocally that there are both natural and anthropogenic causes to the current interglacial warming period and that climate research should focus on quantifying the percentages of each?Of course it makes sense for humans to reduce carbon emissions, but won't the impact of any reductions depend on the relative impact of our emissions?That is a question that Mathez curiously leaves unanswered.
... Read more

Product Description

In this book Donald Rapp provides a balanced assessment of global warming, tending neither to the views of alarmists or nay-sayers. Rapp has the ability to move into a highly technical field, assimilate the content, organize the knowledge base and succinctly describe the field, its content, its unresolved issues and achievements. This is precisely what he does in this book in relation to global climate change. As such his approach is refreshingly different.

Product Description
It's time for the real story behind climate change. Climate change has been a hot topic in recent years. Everyone has something to say about global warming, but most of the information has been presented in one-sided fashion. With so many conflicting views, it has been difficult to determine the best course of action to solve the problem everyone's talking about. Now, author Steven E. Sondergard presents the balanced approach needed for appropriate solutions. Weighing both sides of the issue, readers will finally be able to find the truth about global warming. Complete with extensive research and numerous calculations testing theories, Sondergard provides readers with an unbiased, in-depth look at the many questions frequently asked, such as: What is climate, and what causes it to change? Are all greenhouse gases created equal? Is global warming real? What impact does mankind have on increased greenhouse gases? Can mankind take action to avoid a climate 'jump'? How much should human-caused greenhouse gas production be reduced? What is the outlook for fossil fuels? What can we reasonably do? Find a balanced and realistic view of climate change with Sondergard's thought-provoking Climate Balance. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Clear and Excellent Treatise
Whether the reader has an extensive technical background, or no technical background at all, this book will make the facts and the theories surrounding this important and topical subject clear. In a unique format, Sondergard presents a non-technical summary of each of the major topics in the climate change controversy, and follows that with an optional but very well presented technical discussion of the chemistry, physics, history and some of the economics of "climate change."

This is an important book, one that at last brings sanity, clarity, and balance to this highly charged subject. A few hours with this book can help anyone understand this issue. I highly recommend it. Climate Balance: A Balanced and Realistic View of Climate Change

Contains Important Objection Analysis
The issues involved in understanding global warming and the complex data being used to chart a course for realistically dealing with the issue are professionally discussed in this book.The book offers one of the most extensive analyses of the environmental dynamics of greenhouse-gas emissions and climate change and provides the reader the information to better understand both sides of the issue. Steve Sondergard has gone to great lengths to provide an objective analysis of the information that will allow the reader to decide for himself what course of action should be taken.Each chapter has a summary at the beginning followed by an in depth discussion of the details behind climate change.I found this approach to be very helpful since it allow me to dig into the details on specific topics I was more interested in.Having read several book on this subject, this is the best book I have read on this important subject.

This Stuff is Complicated!
After reading Mr. Sondergard's well written and organized book, my main conclusion is that our climate and the natural/man-made effects on our climate is far from being well understood.The author does an excellent job explaining the science and research that has been published relating to climate change over thousands of years.He effectively explains difficult scientific issues to the layperson in a balanced and non-judgmental approach.

It seems that a comprehensive understanding of our climate and how we affect it is still many years off.I have to wonder if our political approach to solving problems will ever be able to comprehend the science and make effective policy to manage the issues.

This is a must read for those truly interested in understanding the science and real issues affecting climate change.

Climate Balance, A Balanced and Realistic View of Climate Change
If you have been searching for information that provides a comprehensive, balanced view about "global warming" and the role of man-made "green-house" gasses, there is finally a book, Climate Balance," by Steven Sondergard that provides just that kind of information.Sodergard begins the first 15 chapters with a "Layman's Brief" that translates the complicated, mathematics and science information into understandable language for interested, concerned readers.This section is followed by a "Quick Reference" section that provides definitions and explanations that are essential to grasping the associated scientific terms and concepts.These first two sections are followed by "More Detail" essays that present the extensive scientific data from the original studies with numbered citations referred to in the Notes section.Chapter 16 is a "Quick Summarization" about the "reality" of global warming.In Chapter 17, Sondergard provided over 35 "suggested policy points" that deserve consideration in planning actions to deal with the human element in climate change.Sondergard concluded in Chapter 18, Final Summarization, on page 359 that "the future does appear to hold increased difficulties and turbulence.But these problems can be solved."
Finally, I found the "Notes" section extremely helpful because I sometimes had difficulty remembering what all of the letter abbreviations (e.g., CAFÉ or OECD) represented.Although I found the book to be a challenging read even with a good background in mathematics and science, I believe any intelligent reader can use this book to improve their understanding about the issues involved in the current controversy concerning global warming, human contributions to that phenomenon and what may need to be done to manage the changing situation.I recommend Sondergard's book without reservation to any level of reader.

A long-awaited balanced analysis of global warming
The current global warming debate is an argument between two extremes. On one side there are those who believe we are totally responsible through our excessive use of fossil fuels while on the other hand there are those who claim we have nothing to do with it. Steve Sondergard has gone to great lengths to illustrate that the truth is somewhere between these positions. He explains, in depth, the data describing climatic cycles, explains the extent various airborne gas (including water vapor) cause warming and even takes a stab at telling us how much of the warming we have experienced in recent years is caused by people and how much is a result of normal climatic cycles. Based upon the data he presents we are still in the warming portion of the current 15,000 year cycle and the temperature will continue to rise for some period of time. He does this in a way that the reader can delve into as much technical material as desired or can just read the extensive summaries for each chapter. It is far and away the best book I have read to date on the subject. ... Read more

Product Description
The Winds of Change places the horrifying carnage unleashed on New Orleans, Mississippi, and Alabama by Hurricane Katrina in context.

Climate has been humanity's constant, if moody, companion. At times benefactor or tormentor, climate nurtured the first stirrings of civilization and then repeatedly visited ruin on empires and peoples. Eugene Linden reveals a recurring pattern in which civilizations become prosperous and complacent during good weather, only to collapse when climate changes -- either through its direct effects, such as floods or drought, or indirect consequences, such as disease, blight, and civil disorder.

The science of climate change is still young, and the interactions of climate with other historical forces are much debated, but the evidence mounts that climate loomed over the fate of societies from arctic Greenland to the Fertile Crescent and from the lost cities of the Mayans in Central America to the rain forests of Central Africa. Taking into account the uncertainties in both science and the historical record, Linden explores the evidence indicating that climate has been a serial killer of civilizations. The Winds of Change looks at the present and then to the future to determine whether the accused killer is on the prowl, and what it will do in the future.

The tragedy of New Orleans is but the latest instance in which a region prepared for weather disasters experienced in the past finds itself helpless when nature ups the ante. In the closing chapters, Linden explores why warnings about the dangers of climate change have gone unheeded and what is happening with climate today, and he offers perhaps the most explicit look yet at what a haywire climate might do to us. He shows how even a society prepared to absorb such threshold-crossing events as Katrina, the killer heat wave in Europe in 2003, or the floods in the American Midwest in the 1990s can spiral into precipitous decline should such events intensify and become more frequent.

The Winds of Change places climate change, global warming, and the resulting instability in historical context and sounds an urgent warning for the future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

Scientifically sound, equilibrate and clear
The Winds of Change: Climate, Weather, and the Destruction of Civilizations
The book is written as a crime investigation, with the climate change as a serial killer suspect. Eugene Linden proves as a detective that climate change has been one of the causes of decline of some of human civilizations. Proving this, he investigates the damages that recent climate change can inccur on our moder society, but he does it with equlibrium, as a scientist, not as an activist. This is good, even if the conclusion will make you warry.

Great overview of climate change issues
Linden is a science journalist with a long history of work in the area of climate. This book is more about the history of climate change than global warming per se. It details many past instances of climate change events and how they affected civilizations at the time. It is an excellent overview of past events and gives the feel of being well-researched. There are decent references to other studies and works. The main concern ends up being worries about rapid climate change, including the potential for a rapid cooling spell. At times the book seems to bog down a bit in endless details or examples, but in the end it comes off as being fairly complete. Along the way there is decent coverage of some of the key figures and events in climate research. His conclusion is that there is ample reason to believe that current climate change trends could lead to devastating effects for civilization. Most of the explicit coverage of global warming comes near the end and seems almost tacked-on with regard to the focus of the main narrative. This is just one of many books on climate change available. The strong points of this one are that it covers the whole range of issues related to climate change, not just global warming, and it does a pretty good job of summarizing and giving references to many issues that get thrown around in discussions of climate change without being well understood in context.

Good overview of climate change
I thought it was a very good introduction to climate change.It covers:
1) The history of the young science of climate change;
2) Basic concepts in how energy from the sun is distributed by the world's oceans and atmosphere, and how this creates weather patterns and affects the earth's climate;
3) How scientists currently believe the earth's climate has changed through the ages;
4) Techniques that are used to determine how the earth's climate has changed over the past thousands of years;, and
5) Reasons why understanding climate change is so important.

The book's main theme is that a stable climate has been vital to the development and survival of civilization.If the climate had not been fairly stable for the past 4,000 years the human race would not be where it is today.But this stability cannot and should not be taken for granted.In fact, a very large body of evidence indicates that in the past the earth's climate has changed quickly and radically many times through the ages, and we may be on the verge of another radical shift.The effect of such a shift (or shifts, as the the climate 'flickers' back and forth between brief warmer and cooler periods before stabilizing again) would be calamities unprecedented since the dawn of civilzation.

This is not a book about green-house gasses.The first two-thirds of the book hardly mention C02 and methane at all.And in the final chapters the focuses on the evidence that the climate IS changing, and the consequences of that change, and doesn't spend much time on the debate about humankind's part in it, other than citing studies showing that of 700 peer-reviewed journal articles between 1993 and 2003 regarding modern climate change, "not one took issue with the consensus that humans are changing climate."

Minor criticisms:some sections of the book include technical explanations that were so complicated that I glossed over them; certain parts of the book emphasize that much of what we 'know' about what the climate was doing thousands of years ago are just theories, while in other places he states them as 'facts'; and many of the little charts at the start of each chapter look very technical and official, most label only one axis, so that they're essentially meaningless.

I learned a lot from this book, and recommend it to others.People should read it (or a similar book on the same topic) before becomping opinionated on the issue of global warming and climate change.

Quality material in a sea of junk-science
I was pleased, overall. The author has the credentials to discuss the topic with some authority (unlike some other books I've read recently...) The beginning is somewhat slow; it seemed to re-cover historical ground (i.e. the Norse experiment in Iceland and Greenland) that was already discussed at length by Jarred Diamond in "Collapse."

The best part of the book was the explanation of the mechanics of the oceans: how temperature and salinity work to create currents and climate.

I agree with those other reviewers who though the book could have used a bit more focus. Overall, however, WoC is a very informative read: scientific without being technical and boring. As a non-scientist, I thought this was very accessible. Quality material in a sea of rhetoric and junk-science.

Very educational. Recommended.

Interesting use of history with science
Using the known history of climate change, together with a discussion of the kinds of scientific evidence, provides the basis for conclusions regarding the human factor.

Dismissing all chnage as somehow normal (or ignoring it regarding policy) clearly is unacceptable and dangerous. As "practical" people report to the government (only to be edited, delayed, given scant attention) other practical folks like the insurance industry and some investors show increasing awareness.

Draw your own conclusions; to me immediate and meaningful action are required with real policy changes. It may force some settled business interests to change but seems critical, healthy, and could provide new industries and jobs in the process. Many of these jobs by their very nature could not be shipped overseas so pracical politicians and business people for even selfish motives may come around. Will it be soon enough? ... Read more

Product Description
This IPCC Working Group II volume provides a completely up-to-date scientific assessment of the impacts of climate change, the vulnerability of natural and human environments, and the potential for response through adaptation. Written by the worlds leading experts, the IPCC volumes will again prove to be invaluable for researchers, students, and policymakers, and will form the standard reference works for policy decisions for government and industry worldwide. (Includes CD-ROM) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent Climate Change Resource - Although Technical
The second of three large volumes produced by the IPCC, the world's leading authority and source of information of unbiased climate change science.This second volume from Working Group II, as the title indicates, focuses on the impacts on human society and nature from climate change.The first volume lays out the science that has compelled scientists to take climate change seriously.This second volume is probably of interest to a smaller group of people, such as those who are interested in good background information to help develop policy or solutions to help assess and adapt to climate change.

The report goes out of its way to avoid politics and policy implications, in an attempt to be extremely unbiased.However, this rigid neutrality leads often to some very dull exposition and distillation of very boring studies.Nevertheless, the report is quite important, and I give it five stars for sheer comprehensiveness, if nothing else.One caveat:very technical, very dry, very slow reading.

The latter half of this review is an excerpt of the IPCC reports, from an article titled "Global warming: Stop worrying, start panicking?" by Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, as posted on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences website. The following excerpt of the article sums up some of my feelings about the IPCC reports that Hans Schellnhuber put into words better than I could:

The scientific evidence about climate change comes in thousands of parcels, yet the monumental reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are the guideposts for both experts and stakeholders. The IPCC format, perfected by the late Bert Bolin, is a painstaking self-interrogation process of the pertinent scientific community. In this process, virtually every stone in the cognitive landscape is turned and the findings, however mundane or ugly, are synthesized into encyclopedic accounts. Unfortunately, such an approach is inherently tuned for burying crucial insights under heaps of facts, figures, and error bars.

Also, by construction, the IPCC vessel tends to steer clear of value judgments that might be easily converted into "policy-prescriptive" statements. The downside of this well-meaning attitude is that the 2007 report does not, for instance, make a systematic attempt to characterize what dangerous anthropogenic interference (DAI) with the natural climate system is all about. Again, all of the relevant information is implicitly contained in the IPCC tomes, most notably in chapter 19 of the Working Group II report "Assessing key vulnerabilities and the risk from climate change". Yet even that chapter shies away from updating the "burning embers diagram" which provides a direct scientific way to gauge the political target of limiting global mean temperature rise to less than 2 degrees Celsius against avoided climate impacts.

Update February 2010:This is the IPCC report that has been in the news that "proves" to some people that the IPCC reports are full of mistakes and can't be trusted.I refer to an error on page 493 of this report (in the section on the Himalayas) that mistakenly stated "The likelihood of glaciers disappearing by 2035 is very high." Unfortunately, the author had used a World Wildlife Fund report which in turn had used a glaciologist's study that estimated that it was very likely Himalayan glaciers would disappear by the year 2350 (not 2035).This was a simple transcription error, but it definitely should have been caught before publication.As a result, certain industries have jumped on this mistake and called into question the credibility of the entire IPCC climate reports.Interestingly, IPCC's volume 1 Physical Science report of the same year contained a 45-page, perfectly valid and error-free chapter 4 on glaciers, snow and ice; and also several pages in chapter 10 on future glacier decline.So, if the author had just used the existing IPCC Volume 1 findings instead of using an improperly transcribed report, the error would not have been made.In no way does this slight error in any way negate the science behind global warming.Most journalists who covered this so-called story of "false science" that "proved" climate scientists were lying had never even seen this large volume before, let alone read a single word of it. Seriously, let's put this into perspective.One insignificant error in a 900-page dense, dense, report is not bad. ... Read more

Product Description
Climate change affects all living organisms; it has done so in the past and will do so in the future. However, current climate change is exceptional both in terms of the rate of change and the impact of multiple types of global change on individuals, populations, species, and ecosystems.

Effects of Climate Change on Birds provides an exhaustive and up-to-date synthesis of the science of climate change as it relates to birds. Compared with any other class of animals, birds provide more long-term data and extensive time series (some dating back more than 100 years), a more geographically and taxonomically diverse source of information, and a longer tradition of extensive research. In fact this research record exceeds what is available in all other organisms combined. ... Read more

Product Description
The Kyoto Protocol is a landmark international agreement totackle the problem of global climate change. Most operational detailsof the Protocol, however, were not decided in Kyoto but deferred tofollowing conferences. This deferral of the details, while probablyappropriate to initially reach the agreement, has become a majorstepping stone for the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.
This study elaborates in six essays on some of the most pressingpolicy problems of the Kyoto Protocol. These are the problems of `hotair', the accounting of biological sources and sinks, and themodalities of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). A specific focusof this book is on how the issues of climate change and globalsustainable forestry can be linked. The authors develop some newinnovative solutions to achieve durability and political acceptabilityfor CDM forest conservation projects, such as escrow account financingand bundling of forest conservation and bioenergy. The sum of freshinsights into up-to-date legal and political problems of the KyotoProtocol makes this book indispensable for policy makers, negotiators,environmental activists, academics, and anyone involved in post-Kyotostrategies. ... Read more

Product Description
The international framework for a climate change agreement is up for review as the initial Kyoto period to 2012 comes to an end. Though there has been much enthusiasm from political and environmental groups, the underlying economics and politics remain highly controversial. This book takes a cool headed look at the critical roadblocks to agreement, examining the economics of climate change, the incentives of the main players (the US, EU, China) and examines the policies governments can put in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and ultimately shift our economies onto a low-carbon path.

The volume brings together leading climate change policy experts to set out the economic analysis and the nature of the negotiations at Copenhagen and beyond. In addition to reviewing the main issues discussed above, a number of the articles question the basis of much of the climate change consensus, and debate the Stern Report's main findings.

The book is in four parts. Following an overview of the main issues, the first part is a reassessment of the economics of climate change. This is fundamental to the rest of the volume, and it contains new material which goes well beyond what might be called the new conventional wisdom. The second part looks at the geography of the costs and benefits of climate change - the very different perspectives of Africa, China, the US and Europe. These chapters provide a building block to considering the prospects for a new global agreement - the very different interests that will have to be reconciled at Copenhagen and beyond. The third part looks at policy instruments at the global level (whereas much of the literature to date is nationally and regionally based). Trading and R&D feature in the chapters, but so too do more radical unilateral options, including geo-engineering. Part four turns to the institutional architecture - drawing on evidence from previous attempts in other areas, as well as proposals for new bodies. ... Read more

Product Description
Representing the first major global assessment of climate change science in six years, Climate Change 2007 - The Physical Science Basic issued by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirms that our scientific understanding of the climate system and its sensitivity to greenhouse gas emissions is now richer and deeper than ever before. The chapters forming the bulk of this report describe scientists assessment of the state-of-knowledge in their respective fields. The report will be highly relevant as Governments and industry consider their options for moving forward together to address the challenge of climate change. (Includes CD-ROM) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

The definitive statement of the global warming theory
This is the most recent official statement by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the science relating to global warming.It is a very long and a very technical book.It is, beyond all question, the most definitive statement of the scientific case in favor of the theory that the global climate is warming to a dangerous extent, that this warming is caused primarily by human activity -- primarily the release of carbon dioxide into the air -- and that various disasters will occur if these trends are not reversed.Anyone who wishes to form a serious opinion on this subject has to read this book; it is the basis for, and foundation of, nearly all of the other discussions on this question.

Considered as a book, it is well done.There are many attractive charts, graphs and photos.The science is thorough and well written.While no one would consider this an easy read or an entertaining book, it is no more technical than any other deeply serious book on a very technical subject. Whatever your point of view on the subject, you will learn a good deal reading this book.

That said, I was not persuaded either way; I do not know if the theory is right or wrong.Here are the facts and the argument, in a nutshell:

First, the Earth has gotten slightly warmer since 1750.This is well-established.The increase is not large, but it is real.

Second, humanity has released a great deal of carbon dioxide into the air in the last century or so.Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, meaning that it has a scientifically proven tendency to heat up the atmosphere in a way similar to that of the glass in a greenhouse.Other greenhouse gases, such as methane, have also been released in large quanities.

Third, the amount of energy put out by the Sun has also increased since 1750.The increase is not huge, and it is not constant.There have been many decades in recent time in which solar energy has not increased.However, in the time since 1750 -- which is the time frame with which the theory is concerned -- solar output has increased.

This is all well established and uncontroversial.Here is where the IPCC makes a big judgment call.They conclude that the increase of carbon dioxide in the air has a huge effect on climate, and the increase in solar energy has had a trivial effect on climate.

How do they know this is true? How can you differentiate between the warming caused by carbon dioxide, and the warming caused by the sun, when both are occurring at the same time?

As best as I could figure, the IPCC thinks that, since solar energy has not consistently increased since, say 1970, it cannot be the driver of the increase in temperatures which we have seen since 1970.That argument does not wash, however, for several reasons.First, there are lag times in the climate system.Heat is stored in the ocean, and re-circulated around the world.No sensible person expects to see an immediate link between the variables in so complex a system.Second, we have NOT seen a consistent increase in temperature since 1970.The temperature has not risen, at all, since about 1999.IPCC apologists tell us, of course, that one decade does not mean anything, one way or the other.I agree with them.But that undercuts their argument that the Sun cannot be the driver of climate change, because solar output has not risen consistently.No, the Sun has not gotten consistently warmer.Neither has the Earth.

Our sister planet, Venus, has a hellishly hot climate, due to runaway global warming.Its atmosphere is more than 90% carbon dioxide.The carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere has increased from about 250 parts per million to about 400 parts per million.In other ways, CO2 is a trace gas.Its amount has increased, but it is still a trace gas.Maybe a trace gas can deeply influence climate.But, again, how do we know?

About the year 1000, Norse settlers in Greenland were growing crops in a rich land.They built a sizable colony, with a large enough surplus from farming that they were able to build a large cathedral. Then, the climate changed, it grew colder, ice covered their crop lands and the colony died out, to the last person around the year 1400.Since then, Greenland has an ice-covered wasteland, that cannot support a farm economy.

This gives us a good idea of how much the climate varies, naturally.So far, Greenland is not yet as warm as it was in the time of Eric the Red.In other words, we are still within the range of what past experience tells us is natural variability.That being so, I do not think the IPCC has proven its case.If it gets so warm that Greenland is warmer than it was in 1000, then I think the IPCC will have the better end of this argument.

And on this point, this book is very unpersuasive.Prior to the modern rise of the global warming theory, it was pretty well accepted that there had been a Medieval Warming Period, at time from roughly 950 to roughly 1300, when the climate was warmer.This was followed by the Little Ice, from 1350 to 1850, when the climate was cooler.There is abundant historical evidence of the reality of these natural climate changes.

The IPCC, however, denies that the Medieval Warming period occurred.They acknowledge the earlier view, but then they just wave their hands in the air, and say that, gosh golly, nobody really knows; the science is not proven.This is nonsense.All you need to prove the existence of the Medieval Warming Period is to read the old Norse accounts of the settlement of Iceland, Greenland and Vineland.When the IPCC finds it necessary to claim that historical facts did not occur, their credibility becomes very low.In case it is not obvious, the IPCC has an agenda.They are here to prove the theory of human caused global warming.That does not mean that they are wrong.It does mean, however, that they are not objective.

One could argue that the Medieval Warming Period was a regional, not a global, thing.You could contend that, yes, it was warmer in Greenland, but it was not warmer in the rest of the world.That, at least, is a coherent argument not based upon denial of well-established facts. As I recall, Spencer pretty completely demolished that argument in Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1, 500 Years, in which he cited abundant evidence that the Medieval Warming Period was all over the world.In any event, the IPCC does not claim that the Medieval Warming Period was regional.It claims, instead, that we do not know,one way or the other, whether it happened.That is not a credible argument; it is disproven by well-known facts.

The best in Climate Science
A must-read for all you climate change doubters out there.This is the real story!

save a tree, get it directly from IPCC
If you're interested in this in depth review of the current knowledge on global warming you can directly download the report from the IPCC at

http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-wg1.htm

Comprehensive Reference for Climate Change Science and Understanding
This is the most important reference currently available on the understanding of the scientific basis for climate change - the main reason it is the most important is because this volume will become the basis for most climate change policy in the world, at least until the next IPCC Climate Change Report becomes available in 2013.

The IPCC does not conduct original research - rather, it synthesizes and summarizes the most up-to-date scientific research regarding climate change - causes, effects, and ramifications of future scenarios ranging from do nothing (business-as-usual) to reducing greenhouse gas emissions significantly.Because of the comprehensive and exhaustive consensus policy that IPCC follows, the results are the best science as we now understand climate change, without the usual histrionics of those opposed to reducing greenhouse gases (climate change denyers/delayers) or even those who want to reduce greenhouse gases to near zero (some of the more extreme environmental action groups).In other words, this is an incredibly balanced, sober look at climate change and its potential to negatively impact the entire world in a very short time (if nothing is done).

More than 5 stars, consider this an indispensable reference if you are interested in global warming and climate change.However, I am not sure if I can agree with another reviewer that no scientific understanding is necessary before reading this IPCC report. It helps to have a little understanding of the basic science before reading this (although the "frequent questions and answers" parts of the book are indispensable).At a minimum, I would recommend viewing "An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore before tackling this 1,000 page titan.

If you purchase this (highly recommended), and actually read it (also highly recommended), you will get automatic bragging rights at the next social function you attend, because as the conversation will inevitably touch on global warming, you can just off-handedly comment, "Well, I just finished reading the IPCC complete report on climate change, and it says....".

Impress your environmental friends, keep your finger on the pulse of an important global topic, and broaden your mind, all in one volume.Worth every penny.

What Percentage of the U.S. Populationwill Read This?
I think we know the answer to that. Instead, check out the 127 page technical summary.
(Note that when I entered the ISBN for the Summary (92-9169-121-6) to do this review it did not come up on Amazon. However, the cover and title are the same for both documents.
Climate Change 2007 includes a Summary for Policymakers, FAQs, and a useful glossary. The confidence displayed in this document should convince even the strongest of naysayers that we'll be entering a new climate regime, and fairly rapidly. See especially pages 81-91: 'Robust Findings vs Key Uncertainties'.
Feb. 9 2008--
I just finished Novacek's chapter 'Heat Wave' in TERRA (2007). Here's what this paleontologist had to say about this IPCC Summary, p 314:

"Scientific consensus is now overwhleming. In Feb '07, the IPCC issued the conclusion that global warming is unequivocal and humans are very likely (more than 90% likelihood) to be the cause. Ther last time the IPCC reported in 2001, it assigned a conservative 60% likelihood to warming and stated that the link between human activity and climate change was only 'likely.' Even so, some scientist protested that the IPCC 2007 report was too conservative in its estimates of sea level rise because it discounts the recent disclosures on the melting polar ice caps and sliding glaciers. In years past, many scientists regarded the IPCC results as overextended; now many are saying the opposite." ... Read more

Product Description
Most of us are familiar with the terms climate change and global warming, but not too many of us understand the science behind them. We don't really understand how climate change will affect us, and for that reason we might not consider it as pressing a concern as, say, housing prices or the quality of local education. This book explains the scientific knowledge about global climate change clearly and concisely in engaging, nontechnical language, describes how it will affect all of us, and suggests how government, business, and citizens can take action against it.

If people don't quite understand the seriousness of climate change, it is partly because politicians and the media have misrepresented the scientific community's strong consensus on it—politicians by selectively parsing the words of mainstream scientists, and the media by presenting "balanced" accounts that give the views of a small number of contrarians equal weight with empirically supported scientific findings. The science is complex, couched in the technical language of sinks, forcing, and albedo, and invokes probabilities, risks, ranges, and uncertainties. Policy discussions use such unfamiliar terms as no regrets policy, clean development mechanism, and greenhouse-gas intensity.

Climate Change explains the nuts and bolts of climate and the greenhouse effect and describes their interaction. It discusses the nature of consensus in science, and the consensus on climate change in particular. It describes both public- and private-sector responses, considers how to improve the way scientific findings are communicated, and evaluates the real risks both to vulnerable developing countries and to particular areas of the United States. We can better tackle climate change, this book shows us, if we understand it. We can use this knowledge to guide our own behavior and pressure governments and businesses to take action.

Contributors:
John Abatzoglou, Joseph F. C. DiMento, Pamela Doughman, Richard A. Matthew, Stefano Nespor, Naomi Oreskes, and Andrew C. Revkin ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Climate Change in understandable format
This book is very enlightening although easy to understand.It puts factual basis behind the global climate crisis and evaluates the real scope of the problem. It also addresses the political side of the argument in an understandable and interesting fashion.A very good read for anyone interested in the green movement, especially those who are just getting in on it. ... Read more