Suchergebnisse

Global Warming takes one of the hot-button issues of our time and surveys it in historical context, creating an intellectual portrait of the multi-century shifts in thinking that have led to gradual acceptance of the concept. The book summarizes pertinent aspects of geology, earth science, and climate science in easy-to-read terms. It then frames this background in terms of cultural and social shifts, including the Industrial Revolution, conspicuous consumption, and modern environmentalism. In addition, a study of the ebb and flow of cultural and political reception relates the issue to religious and social ideas. The information presented here will enable the reader to understand the scientific case stating that human activity has caused an unprecedented warming in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Technical and political objections to this thesis are also covered, so that readers may form their own opinions on this critical subject.

As the U.N. moves closer to a new global warming treaty, it is time to examine the calls for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The health and welfare of humanity has benefited from access to fossil fuels, and any drastic move to limit that access must have extraordinary evidence to support it. While alternative energy technologies will increasingly be relied upon in the face of dwindling fossil fuel supplies, leading climate researcher Dr. Roy W. Spencer argues that the free market is the best mechanism for solving the problem. In addition, Dr. Spencer addresses the new science that suggests that our modern fears of anthropogenic global warming might well be unfounded, because the climate system itself might be responsible for causing what is now known as "climate change.".

The first part of the conference explores two major environmental concerns that arise from fuel use: (1) the prospect that the globe will become warmer as a result of emissions of carbon dioxide, and (2) the effect upon health of the fine particles emitted as combustion products. The conference focused on the fact that there was lack of data direct enough to enable us to predict an entirely satisfactory result, and that makes policy options particularly difficult. With regard to (1) above, in the second half of the 20th century there were major increases in anthropogenic C02 emissions, and it is generally agreed that these were responsible for an increase in C02 concentrations. But the relationship between global temperature and CO2 concentrations remains murky. The principal problem is that water vapor is a more important greenhouse gas than C02 and that the concentrations of water vapor vary widely in time and space. The approach to this problem is probably, but not certainly, a positive feedback effect: as temperature increases so does the water vapor leading to further temperature increases. Scientists associated with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) tend to believe the general features of the models. Other scientists are often less convinced

This title offers an objective look at the controversial topic of global warming. It is an undisputed fact that the Earth's climate is changing, and although the scientific community continues to debate the exact correlation between human activity and climatic change, there is now almost universal consensus that humankind directly impacts Earth's climate - an idea referred to as global warming. Scientists are continuously gathering data that hints at a bleak future. Despite ever-increasing technological advances, recent events such as Hurricane Katrina in the United States and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar reveal how vulnerable humanity is to the weather. This is the reason many scientists advocate that countries take an active role in limiting the damages they cause, expanding the global warming movement from an environmental issue to a political and social one. "Global Warming" offers a clear, objective account of the science behind climate change, the potential harm that industrial economies cause to the environment, the international debates that have emerged, and the potential for mitigation. This new volume explores specific case studies, including the United States, Brazil, Australia, Germany, and China, analyzing the effects each country has had on the climate and the steps they are taking to ensure a sustainable future.

"Our planet is changing, and we need to understand why...Record temperatures, shrinking glaciers, dying coral reefs, and weather extremes are just a few of the ways in which global warming is affecting our precious blue planet. Learn what causes global warming and what needs to be done to correct it. Astonishing photos and detailed facts will help you understand the science of climate change and how it affects every part of Earth's fragile ecosystem."--