Climate Change: What It Means for Us, Our Children, and Our Grandchildren (American and Comparative Environmental Policy) [Paperback]

Joseph F.C. DiMento (Editor), Pamela Doughman (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0262541939 | ISBN-13: 978-0262541930 | Publication Date: August 3, 2007 | Edition: 1

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.Joseph F. C. DiMento is Director of the Newkirk Center for Science and Society, Professor of Planning, Policy, and Design, and Professor of Law and Society at the University of California, Irvine. He is the author of The Global Environment and International Law and other books. Pamela Doughman is Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield and an energy specialist at the California Energy Commission.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

As revealed in Al Gore's Oscar-winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, many interest groups are involved in the debate over climate change—groups with sometimes overlapping, and frequently diverging, concerns. This book seeks to introduce readers to "the science, politics, and policies of climate change" by taking this complex phenomenon "from the laboratory to the living room." In language understandable to the layperson, the authors begin with a "primer" on the earth's climate system—a balancing act involving the atmosphere, oceans, ice masses, land surface, and the biosphere—and explain how global climate change can impact individual nations. DiMento and Doughman move on to the science of why these changes are occurring, including discussion of greenhouse gases and aerosols and their effect on melting glaciers. They stress the need for the free flow of information and an avoidance of ungrounded scare tactics, and look to the challenges that will face the next generation. A lucid argument for the importance of small, individual steps in the effort to combat global warming, as well as global policy changes. Donovan, Deborah

Review

"A lucid argument for the importance of small, individual steps in the effort to combat global warming, as well as global policy changes." Deborah Donovan Booklist

"This book gives a great overview of the science and politics of climate change, from the causes and effects of climate change, to what we know and do not know about the science and how that knowledge has become politicized, to the many political efforts at all levels of governance to address the issue. Climate Change is written by acknowledged experts and yet reads with one voice; written in a way that will be accessible to novices and also appreciated by scholars. It gives both accurate information and hope. If you're only going to read one book on climate change, this one would certainly be a good candidate."--Elizabeth R. DeSombre, Frost Associate Professor of Environmental Studiesand Associate Professor of Political Science, Wellesley College

(Elizabeth Desombre, Dept. of Political Science )

"This ambitious book presents an accessible and engaging analysis of the multi-faceted issue of climate change. I recommend the book for anyone seeking to understand the process by which scientific consensus has been reached on the reality of human-caused climate change. I also recommend the book for those wishing to understand the societal and environmental threat posed by climate change, the challenges journalists face in conveying that threat, the political obstacles in dealing with it, and the ethical considerations that surround it."Michael Mann , Director of the Penn State Earth System Science Center, and co-founder of the website "RealClimate.org"

"This book gives a great overview of the science and politics of climate change, from the causes and effects of climate change, to what we know and do not know about the science and how that knowledge has become politicized, to the many political efforts at all levels of governance to address the issue. Climate Change is written by acknowledged experts and yet reads with one voice; written in a way that will be accessible to novices and also appreciated by scholars. It gives both accurate information and hope. If you"re only going to read one book on climate change, this one would certainly be a good candidate."Elizabeth R. DeSombre , Frost Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Associate Professor of Political Science, Wellesley College

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Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; 1 edition (August 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262541939
• ISBN-13: 978-0262541930
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #244,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Climate Change in understandable format, September 3, 2008

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converse_classic - See all my reviews

This review is from: Climate Change: What It Means for Us, Our Children, and Our Grandchildren (American and Comparative Environmental Policy) (Paperback)

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.