The Climate Crisis
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An incredible wealth of scientific data on global warming has been collected in the last few decades. The history of the Earth's climate has been probed by drilling into polar ice sheets and sediment layers of the oceans' vast depths, and great advances have been made in computer modeling of our climate. This book provides a concise and accessible overview of what we know about ongoing climate change and its impacts, and what we can do to confront the climate crisis. Using clear and simple graphics in full color, it lucidly highlights information contained in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, and brings the subject completely up-to-date with current science and policy. The book makes essential scientific information on this critical topic accessible to a broad audience. Obtaining sound information is the first step in preventing a serious, long-lasting degradation of our planet's climate, helping to ensure our future survival.
Preface ix1 Retrospective: what we knew and when we knew it 1Awareness of the past 4Understanding climate 7Finding the smoking gun 11Summary 152 Earth's energy budget 16The concept of radiative forcing 17Greenhouse gases 21Other human-related climate forcings 32Climate forcings that are not our fault 34Summary 373 Climate change so far 39Temperature changes 40Rain and snow 47Clouds and radiation 51Patterns of atmospheric circulation 54Tropical storms 57Causes of the observed climate changes 62Summary 674 Snow and ice 68Ice sheets 69Sea ice 78Permafrost 81Summary 845 How the oceans are changing 86The oceans are heating up 87Sweet or salty? 91Are ocean currents changing? 93Sea level rise 94The oceans are turning sour 98Summary 1036 The past is the key to the future 105Climate changes over millions of years 106The Paleocene Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) 106Pliocene 109Glacial cycles 109Our current interglacial period 118The last 2000 years 119The instrumental period 122Summary 1237 What the future holds 125Scenarios or predictions? 126How future climate is computed 127How warm will it get? 129Rainfall changes 135How high will the seas rise? 139Changing ocean currents? 145Ice and snow changes 146How sour will the oceans get? 148Summary 1508 Impacts of climate change 151Are plants and animals already feeling the heat? 152The future of nature 160Food, water, health: how global warming will affect us 170Climate impacts by region 178Can we adapt? 1879 Avoiding climate change 191Energy supply: the present, the forecast, and what can be changed 196Energy consumption 205Other mitigation strategies 210A more optimistic vision 213What it will cost 21710 Climate policy 221Do we need a climate policy? 222What global policy targets? 224Global conflict, or unprecedented global cooperation? 227Epilogue 231References 232Illustration credits 235Index 240
