Book Description
An accessible guide to the threat of global warming and practical ways to help. Global warming is the biggest environmental threat facing humanity. From drought to hurricanes, global warming has various effects on our lives, some positive but most are negative. People fear potentially catastrophic consequences but there is a disturbing lack of understanding about global warming and what can be done about it.Global Warmingbreaks through the jargon, offering readers both a clear description of the problem and a practical guide to solutions, from decreasing reliance on automobiles to increased recycling to political activism. It offers hope that each of us can do something to solve the problem and encourages us to act-not only for ourselves, but for future generations.
Customer Reviews:
The Missing Book ... but Worth the Wait.......2005-11-03
I ordered this book 3 months ago on Amazon. The book didn't turn up so unfortunately I couldn't make a proper review. I wasn't too impressed with Amazon - after numerous emails unananswered the book finally turned up 3 months and 20 days since the date of ordering. What can i say? ... It was definitely worth the wait. A very readable account of a highly complex topic demonstrating just how important it is that we all take action! I especially liked the advice on pp143 ...
interesting, engaging, makes you want to know more.......2005-08-19
In this book, Chris Spence was able to present global warming as a real and compelling issue and to entice the reader to investigate deeper into the complexities of this subject. This is more than any technical essay on global warming could have achieved in terms of drawing the attention to such an important subject, often disregarded because too "technical".
Easy Read.......2005-08-17
Good book that gets to the heart of the issues surrounding global warming, and does so without pummeling the reader with environmental jargon.
Important, Smart, and Readily Accessible.......2005-07-29
This book brings the issue of Global Warming to the masses. Chris Spence does an excellent job making this topic understandable and interesting while still impressing upon the reader the magnitude of this problem. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is trying to decipher the simple truth about Global Warming and what we can do, on a personal level, to help alleviate this problem.
Book Description
Global warming is perhaps the most prominent and urgent environmental issue of the past decade, continuing to make front-page headlines. Award-winning science and nature writer Laurence Pringle describes the cause of this worldwide trend, exploring its past, present, and potential future damage to our climate, ecology, and economy. He also offers solutions that may help avert a global disaster. With over 30 color photographs and an extensive glossary, here is an authoritative look at a timely topic that all children and adults must face—and soon.
Customer Reviews:
Good emotion, but light on facts.......2006-12-31
While I was looking for a critical analysis of the dicussion regarding global warming, this book rather presents one side and ignores half of the evidence regarding the phenomina. This book is poorly researched, weak arguments, but high on emotion.
Global Warming .......2006-02-17
This book is about what is happening on our world. Global warming can lead to global disaster. Discover how this worldwide warming trend beagan, what problems it is causing, and how it can be reversed.This book talkes about how each day earth is geting warmer and that humans are warming earth's atmosphere by their every day activities.As a result,the polar ice is melting, and the sea level are racing nearly about two feet in this century. Warming climates are also causing more frequentand violent thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes.These effects of climate changes will almost certainly increase and accelerate. The author examines the causes of this worldwide warming trend, from the burning of the heattrapping gases into the atmosphere to the destruction of forests. Scientists explore the present and future damage to the world's climate, ecology, and economy. Scientists offer parctical solutions that could avert a global disaster of our own making.
BY:Wendy B.
Book Description
In Boiling Point, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ross Gelbspan argues that, unchecked, climate change will swamp every other issue facing us today. Indeed, what began as an initial response of many institutions-denial and delay-has now grown into a crime against humanity. Gelbspan's previous book, The Heat Is On, exposed the financing of climate-change skeptics by the oil and coal companies. In Boiling Point, he reveals exactly how the fossil fuel industry is directing the Bush administration's energy and climate policies -payback for helping Bush get elected. Even more surprisingly, Gelbspan points a finger at both the media and environmental activists for unwittingly worsening the crisis. Finally, he offers a concrete plan for averting a full-blown climate catastrophe.
According to Gelbspan, a proper approach to climate change could solve many other problems in our social, political, and economic lives. It would dramatically reduce our reliance on oil, and with it our exposure to instability in the Middle East. It would create millions of jobs and raise living standards in poor countries whose populations are affected by climate-driven disease epidemics and whose borders are overrun by environmental refugees. It would also expand the global economy and lead to a far wealthier and more peaceful world. A passionate call-to-arms and a thoughtful roadmap for change, Boiling Point reveals what's at stake for our fragile planet
Customer Reviews:
Enviro-skeptics are barbarians at the gate!.......2006-10-24
Better than your usual global warming book..and there a lot of good ones..(this is one of my favorite genres so to speak). Yes..this is a little more interesting. While it speaks about the science, there is more needed analysis of the "debate" and politics of this pressing and vast subject as well a very much needed scathing indictment of the American press' approach to the subject. The author offers some breathtaking solutions to this problem that could really make for a great new world. If only. If only. I'll mail a copy to the next president. Now..if only someone would write a whole book about how science is too dangerous (biotechnology excepted of course) for America as it threatens to make Americans think and challenge the status quo. Espcially at this point in our history. The Vatican once had America's attitude about science.
The Cusp of a Change.......2006-02-12
Gelbspan argues convincingly that we are all aparticipants in our environmental well-being and that the changes wrought are just beginning to be felt. Climate change, he asserts, has come from our relentless production of greenhouse gases and it seems the weight of scientific opinion is lining up behind him.
The effcts are multi-dimensional including changes in weather patterns with resultant decrements in crop production and distressing increments in disease distribution as insect vectors find the warmer climate more to their liking.
His logic is, unfortunately, hard to refute, his prose easily comprehended and his tone earnest, if alarmist. This book should be read by everybody in congress.
Hot stuff!.......2006-02-06
Gelbspan is angry. His wrath is prominent on nearly every page of this stimulating work. He's irate because he's convinced climate change looms as a threat to our planet. Certain that today's nearly runaway "global warming" is at least accelerated by our society, if not basically initiated by our industrialised lifestyle, he vigorously censures the perpetrators. Living in the USA, and aware of how much his nation contributes to the worsening condition of our biosphere, he addresses his treatise directly at his fellow countrymen. Resource and energy industries have combined to blind North Americans to the results of their high profit commercial ventures. "Wake up!", Gelbspan admonishes. "You've been led into a bad situation! Fix it!"
The author's unsparing in his condemnation of lax standards and half-hearted solutions. No segment of contemporary US society, whether energy producer, consumer, politician is exempted from condemnation. Even environmental activists don't escape his lash. His primary target is the fossil fuel and coal industries. With their long-standing role as the foundation of US economic growth, they've grown nearly omnipotent. That power has been applied to guiding political figures in their development, or dearth, of policies regarding environmental issues. As the planet's largest producer of polluting agents, Gelbspan wants the US to start countering the prowess of industrial lobbyists in his nation. The time for action is overdue. And the solutions are available to be implemented. The first step is for the current adminstration to recognise that climate change is happening and much of it is human-induced. The time for obfuscation and delaying tactics is past.
Knowing how difficult it is for most citizens to cut through the propaganda they've been inundated with, Gelbspan provides a wealth of references to studies justifying his ire. The mass of evidence should convince the "enviro-sceptics" dominating the Bush administration and guiding journalists. Gelbspan recognises the "equal time" philosophy dominating most issues in the US, but charges that "equal time" is a fallacy when "the other side" is producing false or misleading information. Publishing "selective results" is anathema to any researcher worth the name, but it's rich fare for subservient politicians and lobbyists.
The solutions are available, says Gelbspan. He lists and examines several proposed plans of action. Most are found wanting for a variety of reasons. He's clear in why he considers them inadequate, noting that most are good, but cannot provide effective action in the needed time span or geographic scope required. The US may be the planet's worse polluter, but the problem is global, not confined by two oceans, a river and the "world's longest undefended border". His endorsement goes to The World Energy Modernization Plan put together in 1998 by a consortium of executives and experts in various fields. "The World" aspect in the group's title represents the need to gain firm support from many nations to implement the plan. The Montreal Protocol of 1987 diminishing atmospheric flourocarbons is an example the Plan could follow. It drastically reduced a serious threat to the upper atmosphere without impinging on the chemical's manufacturers to continue profitable operation. Where changing to new, safer chemicals worked there, changing to carbon-free energy can have the same effect now. To find out how it works, read Gelbspan's case and proposed solution. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Important Topic, but Boring and Lacking Credibility!.......2006-01-10
"It is an excruciating experience to watch the planet fall apart piece by piece in the face of persistent and pathological denial." So begins "Boiling Point," a book filled with early symptoms of earth's warming - melting icecaps and glaciers, species moving northward, increasing temperatures, storms, and the severity of those storms. Gelbspan then goes on to place the blame for the U.S. not taking positive corrective action on oil and coal company lobbying, a weak press, and morally corrupt politicians. (President Bush is not the only politician to disappoint Gelbspan - President Putin also rejected the Kyoto treaty, though Gelbspan missed the most obvious reason - warming would benefit Russian agriculture.)
Clearly global warming is a very important topic, as is declining sources of carbon-based fuels. The "good news" is that both issues can be addressed through the same actions, and there are many very good books out there on the coming energy shortage. The "bad news" is that "Boiling Point" is boring and way too long, and that Gelbspan lacks the credibility that a respected scientist would have on this topic.
Re: Boiling Point.......2006-01-08
It's always good to come across some whole truth on this topic, considering how much misinformation and half-truth we see on the web and even in the media. Many people are quick to accept, without further research, things like petitions on climate change, claims that the Arctic (or the globe) is actually cooling, or that we shouldn't be concerned because climate change has happened in the past (which ignores the nature of the current trend - something unseen since a highly volcanic prehistory). Books like this, along with sites like GlobalWarmingTruth.org and RealClimate.org, provide the "rest of the story" and help people understand they're being bamboozled.
Although the book is a little strong on rhetoric in places, I like it's discussion of potential solutions, and the way it encourages people to consider the source of contrarian claims. If it's not firmly rooted in peer-reviewed science, get out the salt.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent overview of our global environmental situation.......2000-05-16
This book, though now a decade old, still provides the interested reader with an understandable overview of a range of environmental change that we face.
The book is a publication of the National Academy of Sciences, and was written with a non-technical, but educated audience in mind. The topics are still pertinent, the concepts and problems are well defined, and possible solutions presented still bear consideration.
If you are interested in the environment, and changes that we are faced with, you ought to read this book. Topics include global warming, feeding the human population, forests and deforestation, acidification of water resources, and more.
The afterword by Gro Harlem Grundtland is a fitting end to this book.
An excellent book that still bears consideration.
Average customer rating:
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Climate Change: Human Effects On The Nitrogen Cycle (Extreme Environmental Threats)
Jeri Freedman
Manufacturer: Rosen Publishing Group
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ASIN: 1404207449 |
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Is Global Warming a Threat? (At Issue Series)
Manufacturer: Greenhaven Press
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ASIN: 073771333X |
Customer Reviews:
Interesting Perspectives.......2007-02-13
This book has a listing in the back giving information about the organzations that are involved in this topic. From there you can look at the author, and then the organization they are representing, to be able to piece together what kind of bias and political perspective each article is representing. It's interesting because by the time you read it you can see how different the opposing sides are and then try to decide who, if anybody, really knows what they are talking about. I loved it!
Average customer rating:
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Global Environmental Change: Past, Present, and Future
Karl K. Turekian
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
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ASIN: 013303447X |
Book Description
The vast majority of scientists agree that human activity has significantly increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere--most dramatically since the 1970s. In February 2007 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that global warming is "unequivocal" and that human-produced carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are chiefly to blame, to a certainty of more than 90 percent. Yet global warming skeptics and ill-informed elected officials continue to dismiss this broad scientific consensus. In What We Know About Climate Change, MIT atmospheric scientist Kerry Emanuel outlines the basic science of global warming and how the current consensus has emerged. Although it is impossible to predict exactly when the most dramatic effects of global warming will be felt, he argues, we can be confident that we face real dangers. Emanuel, whose work was widely cited in media coverage of Hurricane Katrina, warns that global warming will contribute to an increase in the intensity and power of hurricanes and flooding and more rapidly advancing deserts.
But just as our actions have created the looming crisis, so too might they avert it. Emanuel calls for urgent action to reduce greenhouse gases and criticizes the media for playing down the dangers of global warming (and, in search of "balance," quoting extremists who deny its existence).
An afterword by environmental policy experts Judith Layzer and William Moomaw discusses how the United States could lead the way in the policy changes required to deal with global warming.
Customer Reviews:
Words of authority.......2007-10-17
Be forewarned this is a very small book: 82 pages of text, one B&W figure and no references. On a typical page I counted 120 words. I spotted no typos. I found only one sentence where I thought the physical explanation was muddled. The text could provide an excellent narration to a video documentary. A typical citizen needing to get wise about the physics of global warming might be better served by something more than a book without graphics.
Nevertheless, the book is a very quick read and professionals in this field may still enjoy scouring the pages of this book to find out where Professor Emanuel stands on certain issues. I got my money's worth on page 67 where we can read: "Scientists are most effective when they provide sound, impartial advice, but their reputation for impartiality is severely compromised by the shocking lack of political diversity among American academics, who suffer from the kind of group-think that develops in cloistered cultures. Until this profound and well-documented intellectual homogeneity changes, scientists will be suspected of constituting a leftist think tank."
15 of the 82 pages are not Prof. Emanuel's words, but is an "Afterword" provided by other authors. These words carry less authority. For example, the Afterword attributes the melting of the snows of Kilimanjaro to global warming, but some recent scientific research implicates land use changes around Kilimanjaro.
The Afterword also lays out a plan to save us from global warming, with a claim that "addressing global warming could be relatively painless". Here is the plan: "the United States and other industrial economies reduce their emissions by three percent per year between now and mid-century" which will ultimately "reduce global emissions by 75 percent or more". Some of the means to do this provide a chuckle: "driving less aggressively". No account is made for global population growth and global ambitions for prosperity.
Product Description
This up-to-date and comprehensive electronic book on CD-ROM provides vital information about global warming and climate change. Is it a serious threat to humanity, or does the concern over greenhouse gases represent a false alarm? Will ongoing warming cause the sea level to rise, glaciers to melt, coastlines to be destroyed, and ecosystems to be damaged? This collection of important documents, reports, and publications about every facet of the vital issue of global warming and climate change will give you a complete understanding of the issue and knowledge is power! Topics covered in detail include: greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide), emissions and impacts, the global carbon cycle, land-use and land-cover changes, ecosystems, observation and monitoring, American and international research and cooperation, human contributions and responses, sea level rises, beach erosion, wetlands, global water cycle, climate variability, solar influence, future climate trends and computer models, uncertainties, possible effect on extreme weather and hurricanes, science programs, and ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There is material for everyone with an interest in this crucial matter: concerned citizens, educators and students, scientific researchers, small business and , industry people, public officials, coastal residents, health professionals, weather experts, and outdoor enthusiasts. There is no better source of up-to-date material on global warming and climate change. According to the National Academy of Sciences, the Earth's surface temperature has risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past century, with accelerated warming during the past two decades. There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities. Human activities have altered the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The heat-trapping property of these gases is undisputed although uncertainties exist about exactly how earths climate responds to them. Energy from the sun drives the earths weather and climate, and heats the earths surface; in turn, the earth radiates energy back into space. Atmospheric greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse. Without this natural greenhouse effect, temperatures! would be much lower than they are now, and life as known today would not be possible. Instead, thanks to greenhouse gases, the earths average temperature is a more hospitable 60°F. However, problems may arise when the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases increases. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30%, methane concentrations have more than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations have risen by about 15%. These increases have enhanced the heat-trapping capability of the earths atmosphere. Sulfate aerosols, a common air pollutant, cool the atmosphere by reflecting light back into space; however, sulfates are short-lived in the atmosphere and vary regionally. Scientists generally believe that the combustion of fossil fuels and other human activities are the primary reason for the increased concentration of carbon dioxide. Plant respiration and the decomposition of organic matter release more than 10 times the CO2 released by human activities; but these releases have generally been in balance during the centuries leading up to the industrial revolution with carbon dioxide absorbed by terrestrial vegetation and the oceans. What has changed in the last few hundred years is the additional release of carbon dioxide by human activities. In all, this CD-ROM has over 24,000 pages reproduced using Adobe Acrobat PDF software - allowing direct viewing on Windows and Apple Ma
Product Description
This up-to-date and comprehensive electronic book on two CD-ROMs presents an incredible collection of important documents, reports, and publications from the federal government about the science of global warming and climate change. There is speculation that ocean currents could change in a way that actually triggers a new ice age, or at least significant localized cooling, in some parts of the Northern Hemisphere. There is extraordinary material from the federal agencies and departments working on this vital issue: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Energy (DOE), Commerce Department, State Department, Agriculture Department (USDA), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Department of Interior, Department of Transportation (DOT), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). There are hundreds of references, position papers, action reports, and more from the U.S. Global Change Research Program (GCRP) and other activities of the federal government. Topics covered include: Greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide), emissions and impacts, the global carbon cycle, land-use and land-cover changes, ecosystems, observation and monitoring, American and international research and cooperation, human contributions and responses, sea level rises, beach erosion, wetlands, global water cycle, climate variability, solar influence, future climate trends and computer models, uncertainties, possible effect on extreme weather and hurricanes, science programs, and ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With over one and a half gigabytes of valuable information, there is no better source of up-to-date material on global warming and climate change. According to the National Academy of Sciences, the Earth's surface temperature has risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past century, with accelerated warming during the past two decades. There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities. Human activities have altered the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The heat-trapping property of these gases is undisputed although uncertainties exist about exactly how earths climate responds to them. Energy from the sun drives the earths weather and climate, and heats the earths surface; in turn, the earth radiates energy back into space. Atmospheric greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse. Without this natural greenhouse effect, temperatures! would be much lower than they are now, and life as known today would not be possible. Instead, thanks to greenhouse gases, the earths average temperature is a more hospitable 60°F. However, problems may arise when the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases increases. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30%, methane concentrations have more than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations have risen by about 15%. These increases have enhanced the heat-trapping capability of the earths atmosphere. Sulfate aerosols, a common air pollutant, cool the atmosphere by reflecting light back into space; however, sulfates are short-lived in the atmosphere and vary regionally. Scientists generally believe that the combustion of fossil fuels and other human activities are the primary reason for the increased concentration of carbon dioxide. Plant respiration and the decomposition of organic matter release more than 10 times the CO2 released by human activities; but these releases have generally been in balance during the centuries leading up to the industrial revolution with carbon dioxide absorbed by terrestrial
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