Climate change is one of the most challenging issues of our time. As key sites in the production and management of emissions of greenhouse gases, cities will be crucial for the implementation of international agreements and national policies on climate change. This book provides a critical analysis of the role of cities in addressing climate change and the prospects for urban sustainability.
In the post-Rio era, international organizations and transnational networks have promoted the need for local action on global environmental issues. Part I considers the implications of these developments for understanding global environmental governance and urban sustainability. It outlines international and national responses to climate change, and documents the evidence to date on local responses to climate change, examining in detail the international Cities for Climate Protection programme. Part II presents a series of case-studies drawn from this transnational network in the UK, USA and Australia. Each case-study examines the development and implementation of local climate change policy, focusing on the issues of energy conservation, planning and transport. Part III compares the experience of the case-study cities in addressing climate change, and assesses the implications of these findings for urban sustainability and global environmental governance.
"Cities and Climate Change" is the first in-depth analysis of the role of cities in addressing climate change. The book argues that key challenges concerning the resources and powers of local government, as well as conflicts between local goals for economic development and climate change mitigation, have restricted the level of localaction on climate change. These findings have significant implications for the prospects of mitigating climate change and achieving urban sustainability. This book provides a valuable interdisciplinary analysis of these issues, and will appeal to students and researchers interested in sustainability at local and global scales.

How will future climates be different from today's world-and what consequences will changes in climate have for societies and their development strategies? This book is a primer on the essential science for grasping the workings of climate change and climate prediction. It is accessible for readers with little to no background in science, with an emphasis on the needs of those studying sustainable development. John C. Mutter gives a just-the-facts overview of how the climate system functions and what we know about why changes occur. He recounts the evolution of climatology from the earliest discoveries about Earth's climate to present-day predictive capabilities, and clearly presents the scientific basis of fundamental topics such as climate zones, ocean-atmosphere dynamics, and the long-term cycles from glacial to interglacial periods. Mutter also details the mechanisms of climate change and the ways in which human activity affects global climate. He explains the science behind some known consequences of rising temperatures, such as sea level rise, hurricane behavior, and climate variability. The primer discusses how climate predictions are made and examines the sources of uncertainty in forecasting. Climate Change Science is a straightforward and easy-to-read treatment of the fundamental science needed to comprehend one of today's most important issues.

This is a charming and beautifully illustrated book, first published in 1893, covering all aspects of the weather including: Times and Seasons, Months, Days of the week, Winter birds and times of their arrival, Sun, Moon and Stars, Wind, Clouds, Mists, Haze, Dew, Fog, Sky, Air, Sound, Sea, Tide, Heat, Rain, Rainbow, Frost, Hail, Snow, Ice, Thunder and Lightning. Measuring instruments include: Barometer, Thermometer, Hygrometer, Telescope, Spectroscope. Animals include: Quadrupeds, Birds, Fish, Molluscs, Reptiles, Insects, Plants etc. This new edition has been completely redesigned and is fully illustrated with reproductions of woodcuts, photographs and drawings throughout.

This beautiful, weather-inspired journal features gorgeous papercut artwork by the popular Pacific Northwest author of Arrow to Alaska, S is for Salmon, and B is for Bear. This beautiful, high-quality lined journal will inspire you to record your thoughts and ideas or even just make notes and keep lists. You may even be inspired to record the weather. Filled with gorgeous, evocative, papercut illustrations, it highlights the stunning beauty of the Pacific Northwest through the region's dramatic weather.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the illegal extraction of metals and minerals from the perspectives of organized crime theory, green criminology, anti-corruption studies, and victimology. It includes contributions that focus on organized crime-related offences, such as drug trafficking and trafficking in persons, extortion, corruption and money laundering and sheds light on the serious environmental harms caused by illegal mining. Based on a wide range of case studies from the Amazon rainforest through the Ukrainian flatlands to the desert-like savanna of Central African Republic and Australia's elevated plateaus, this book offers a unique insight into the illegal mining business and the complex relationship between organized crime, corruption, and ecocide. This is the first book-length publication on illegal extraction, trafficking in mined commodities, and ecocide associated with mining. It will appeal to scholars working on organized crime and green crime, including criminologists, sociologists, anthropologists, and legal scholars. Practitioners and the general public may welcome this comprehensive and timely publication to contemplate on resource-scarcity, security, and crime in a rapidly changing world.

The book is a collection of the lectures delivered during the 7th International Summer School on Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (ISSAOS) titled "Integrated Ground-Based Observing Systems Applications for Climate, Meteorology, and Civil Protection". Its aim is to contribute to the scientific understanding of basic concepts and applications of integrated ground-based observing systems. The first part describes the most common instrumentations showing their strengths and limitations. Furthermore, strategic plans for the deployment of an observation site are discussed along with an overview of techniques for integrating heterogeneous data. The second part introduces cutting-edge applications, including assimilation in numerical weather prediction, climate benchmarking, air quality monitoring and meteo/hydrological warnings.

As the planet warms, winter is shrinking. In the last fifty years, the Northern Hemisphere lost a million square miles of spring snowpack, and high-elevation snowpacks in the western United States have decreased by nearly half since 1982. On average, winter has shrunk by a month in most northern latitudes. In this deeply researched, beautifully written, and adventure-filled book, journalist Porter Fox travels along the edge of the Northern Hemisphere's snow line to track the scope of this drastic change and how it will literally change everything-from rapid sea level rise, to fresh water scarcity for two billion people, to massive greenhouse gas emissions from thawing permafrost, and several climate tipping points that could very well spell the end of our world. This original research is animated by four harrowing and illuminating journeys-each grounded by interviews with idiosyncratic, charismatic experts in their respective fields and Fox's own narrative of growing up on a remote island in northern Maine. Timely, atmospheric, and expertly investigated, The Last Winter showcases a shocking and unexpected casualty of climate change-which may well set off its own unstoppable warming cycle.

This monograph deals with the main principles of large-scale atmospheric dynamics on the basis of adiabatic motion constants. It can be considered as an introduction to the theory of quasi two-dimensional fluid motion concentrating primarily on nearly horizontal fluid parcel displacements in a stably stratified compressible fluid. A thorough mathematical treatment of the governing equations is coupled with a clear interpretation of the phenomena studied and accompanied by examples of real meteorological data analysis. Topics include a complete set of compressible fluid dynamic equations along with a survey on fluid dynamical conservation laws used in meteorology and atmospheric physics; the derivation of two-dimensional atmospheric models; large-scale flows; isentropic analysis of large-scale atmospheric processes; and the principles of kinetic energy sinks and their relation to the energy balance in the atmosphere.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203216482

This Second Edition of An Introduction to Atmospheric Radiation has been extensively revised to address the fundamental study and quantitative measurement of the interactions of solar and terrestrial radiation with molecules, aerosols, and cloud particles in planetary atmospheres. It contains 70% new material, much of it stemming from the investigation of the atmospheric greenhouse effects of external radiative perturbations in climate systems, and the development of methodologies for inferring atmospheric and surface parameters by means of remote sensing. Liou's comprehensive treatment of the fundamentals of atmospheric radiation was developed for students, academics, and researchers in atmospheric sciences, remote sensing, and climate modeling.
Key Features
*Balanced treatment of fundamentals and applications
*Includes over 170 illustrations to complement the concise description of each subject
*Numerous examples and hands-on exercises at the end of each chapter

This textbook aims to be a one stop shop for those interested in aerosols and their impact on the climate system. It starts with some fundamentals on atmospheric aerosols, atmospheric radiation and cloud physics, then goes into techniques used for in-situ and remote sensing measurements of aerosols, data assimilation, and discusses aerosol-radiation interactions, aerosol-cloud interactions and the multiple impacts of aerosols on the climate system. The book aims to engage those interested in aerosols and their impacts on the climate system: graduate and PhD students, but also post-doctorate fellows who are new to the field or would like to broaden their knowledge. The book includes exercises at the end of most chapters. Atmospheric aerosols are small (microscopic) particles in suspension in the atmosphere, which play multiple roles in the climate system. They interact with the energy budget through scattering and absorption of solar and terrestrial radiation. They also serve as cloud condensation and ice nuclei with impacts on the formation, evolution and properties of clouds. Finally aerosols also interact with some biogeochemical cycles. Anthropogenic emissions of aerosols are responsible for a cooling effect that has masked part of the warming due to the increased greenhouse effect since pre-industrial time. Natural aerosols also respond to climate changes as shown by observations of past climates and modelling of the future climate.

It is now accepted that the world's climate has warmed by about 0.5A DegreesC over the past one hundred years and will continue to warm by as much as 6A DegreesC by the end of the current century. What, however, do such fundamental changes actually mean for life and the economy at the local and regional scales for the industrialized nations? This extensive study represents a state-of-the-art regional assessment of the impacts of climate change in an industrialized European nation. Providing a comprehensive set of tools, techniques and strategies, it explores the potential impacts of climate change upon key landscapes, economic and social sectors.

Synoptic and Dynamic Climatology provides the first comprehensive account of the dynamical behaviour and mechanisms of the global climate system and its components, together with a modern survey of synoptic-scale weather systems in the tropics and extra tropics, and of the methods and applications of synoptic climate classification.

* An introduction to the global climate system and the space-time scales of weather and climate processes, * Climate data and their analysis
* General circulation of the global atmosphere * Nature and causes of global teleconnection patterns
* Synoptic weather systems in the extra tropics and tropics and satellite-based climatologies of synoptic features * Descriptions of applications of synoptic climatology * Summary of current climatic research and its directions.

The work is thoroughly up to date, with extensive bibliographies by chapter. It is illustrated with nearly 300 figures and plates. Its comprehensive reference lists provide an invaluable guide to further study.

'...another tour-de-force that must make these volumes landmarks in their field' - Journal of Meteorology

Bleeters come and bleeters go, they never, never stay - if it's not raining now more rain is on the way. It's widely reported that Eskimos have over 50 words for snow. Given the equivalent ubiquity of rain in Britain's northern climes, it is not surprising that Scots have coined just as many (and possibly many more) expressions for the many different types of precipitation that fall from our skies. In this book Ron Butlin introduces 50 of the most colourful Scottish words for rain in humorous and memorable verse, imaginatively accompanied with illustrations by Tim Kirby.

In this collection of eight provocative and timely essays, John Hardwig sets forth his views on the need to replace patient-centred bioethics with family-centred bioethics.
Starting with a critique of the awkward language with which philosophers argue the ethics of personal relationships, Hardwig goes on to present a general statement on the necessity of family-centred bioethics. He reflects on proxy decisions, the effects of elder care on the family, the financial and lifestyle consequences of long-term care, and physician-assisted suicide from the perspective of the family.

Global Warming: The Hard Science presents a comprehensive, qualitatively rigorous, and critical discussion of the science underlying the global warming issue. The major processes in the climate system needed to understand projected human-induced climatic change are presented in detail. Observational systems used to monitor changes in the climate system and the ways in which the raw data are analyzed in order to produce estimates of current trends are also critically reviewed.
The author discusses the hierarchy of computer models used to project changes in the carbon cycle, in climate, and in sea level and examines the physical principles underlying the greenhouse effect and projected warming. The text also presents a detailed discussion of the carbon cycle, of climate sensitivity, and of projected patterns of climatic change through time. Sea level rise and issues of risk and potential surprises are also critically assessed. Emphasis is placed throughout on developing an intuitive understanding of those results that do not depend on the details of any one computer simulation model. A series of boxes illustrate the key points through step-by-step calculations.

This book is a thorough introduction to climate science and global change. The author is a geologist who has spent much of his life investigating the climate of Earth from a time when it was warm and dinosaurs roamed the land, to today's changing climate. Bill Hay takes you on a journey to understand how the climate system works. He explores how humans are unintentionally conducting a grand uncontrolled experiment which is leading to unanticipated changes. We follow the twisting path of seemingly unrelated discoveries in physics, chemistry, biology, geology, and even mathematics to learn how they led to our present knowledge of how our planet works. He explains why the weather is becoming increasingly chaotic as our planet warms at a rate far faster than at any time in its geologic past. He speculates on possible future outcomes, and suggests that nature itself may make some unexpected course corrections. Although the book is written for the layman with little knowledge of science or mathematics, it includes information from many diverse fields to provide even those actively working in the field of climatology with a broader view of this developing drama. Experimenting on a Small Planet is a must read for anyone having more than a casual interest in global warming and climate change - one of the most important and challenging issues of our time. This new edition includes actual data from climate science into 2021. Numerous Powerpoint slides can be downloaded to allow lecturers and teachers to more effectively use the book as a basis for climate change education.

Climate is an enduring idea of the human mind and also a powerful one. Today, the idea of climate is most commonly associated with the discourse of climate-change and its scientific, political, economic, social, religious and ethical dimensions. However, to understand adequately the cultural politics of climate-change it is important to establish the different origins of the idea of climate itself and the range of historical, political and cultural work that the idea of climate accomplishes. In Weathered: Cultures of Climate, distinguished professor Mike Hulme opens up the many ways in which the idea of climate is given shape and meaning in different human cultures - how climates are historicized, known, changed, lived with, blamed, feared, represented, predicted, governed and, at least putatively, re-designed.

All life on Earth (biota) is dependent on the surrounding physical and chemical climate. This module explores current research concerning the biological consequences of climate change (temperature, rainfall and UV radiation) and considers chemical changes in the atmosphere. Problems and discussion questions are included.

Offering all aspects of humidity measurement and instrumentation, this work includes rudiments and theory, common applications, advantages and limitations of frequently-used sensors and techniques, and guidelines for installation, maintenance and calibration. The disk is intended for easy conversions of humidity parameters and units.

Why, despite all we know about the causes and harms of global heating, has so little effective action been taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and what we can do to change that? This book explains the mechanisms and impacts of the climate crisis, traces the history and reasons behind the lack of serious effort to combat it, describes some people's ongoing scepticism and how to shift it, and motivates an urgent program of action. It argues that the pathway to stopping dangerous global heating will require a much larger mobilization of advocacy and activism to impel decision makers to abandon fossil fuels, and transition to renewable energy and electrification embedded in a political and social framework guided by justice principles. It is an excellent resource for students and researchers on the climate crisis, the need for a renewable energy transition, and the current blocks to progress.

Our understanding of climate and its role in human affairs has changed markedly over recent years, as have climate observation systems and modelling capabilities. Reliance on recent weather statistics to provide a guide for future climate is no longer viable. Evidence of human-induced climate change has placed climate high on political and the media agendas. This text provides an account of what we know about climate and changing climates at the end of the 20th century. Integrating the historical and geographical dimensions of climate, the crucial link between past and future climatic conditions is examined through the geographical lens of the British Isles. Climates of past ages are reconstructed and full descriptions of the present climate are illustrated by graphs, maps and images. Important climate data sets are provided. Marking the 25th anniversary of the Climatic Research Unit, this book distils much of the leading research of present and recent members of the unit and presents a view of climatic change and prospects for the next millenium and beyond.

IDEAL, the International Decade for East African Lakes, is a ten-year multi-national, multi-disciplinary investigation of the biological, geological, chemical, and physical limnology of the East African Lakes, taking into special account the Great Lakes of the East African Rift Valley and the climatology and paleoclimatology of the Rift Valley itself. The selected papers in this book serve as baseline knowledge for this intensive examination, with most of the contributing authors already actively researching these lakes. The oldest in the world and the largest on the continent, the lakes are vital resources for the indigenous populations of their basins. They are unique not only in their diverse populations of endemic species of fish and invertebrates, but in their sensitivity to climatic change, unusual circulation dynamics and water-column chemistry in relation to higher altitudes, and continuous record of climatic change in tropical Africa. This volume provides an overview of our current knowledge of the lakes combined with the most recent results of specific research efforts by African, American, and European investigators. Included also are some discussions on the impact of man, as well as comprehensive bibliographies.