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Books > Earth & environment > The environment > Pollution & threats to the environment > Global warming
"This is, for my money, the best single-source primer on the state
of climate change." - New York Magazine "The right book at the
right time: accessible, comprehensive, unflinching, humane." - The
Daily Beast "A must-read." - The Guardian Climate Change: What
Everyone Needs to Know is the essential primer on what will be the
defining issue of our time. Newly updated with the latest in
climate science from COP26 and beyond, this third edition offers
user-friendly, scientifically rigorous answers to the most
difficult (and commonly politicized) questions surrounding climate
change. Drawing on the author's decades of experience as one of the
country's most influential communicators on climate science and
solutions, this authoritative guide highlights the following
topics: * Key updates from the 2021 United Nations Climate Change
Conference in Glasgow * Insights into changes in the political
landscape, such as COVID-19 and Donald Trump's presidency, and what
these have meant for climate action in the United States and
internationally * Contemporary implications of the clean energy
revolution, from solar and wind power to batteries and electric
cars
Since the HMS Challenger expedition of 1872-1876, our vision of the
ocean has changed completely. We now understand that it plays a key
role in biodiversity, climate regulation, and mineral and
biological resources, and as such, the ocean is a major service
provider for humanity. Oceans draws on data from new oceanographic
and satellite tools, acquired through international
interdisciplinary programs. It describes the processes that control
how the ocean functions, on different spatial and temporal scales.
After considering the evolution of concepts in physical, chemical
and biological oceanography, the book outlines the future of a
warmer, acidified, less oxygenated ocean. It shows how a view of
the ocean at different scales changes how we understand it.
Finally, the book presents the challenges facing the ocean in terms
of the exploitation of biological and mineral resources, in the
context of sustainable development and the regulation of climate
change.
This textbook provides an introduction to energy analysis for those
students who want to specialise in this challenging field. In
comparison to other textbooks, this book provides a balanced
treatment of complete energy systems, covering the demand side, the
supply side, and the energy markets that connect these. The
emphasis is very much on presenting a range of tools and
methodologies that will help students find their way in analysing
real world problems in energy systems. This new edition has been
updated throughout and contains additional content on energy
transitions and improvements in the treatment of several energy
systems analysis approaches. Featuring learning objectives, further
readings and practical exercises in each chapter, Introduction to
Energy Analysis will be essential reading for upper-level
undergraduate and postgraduate students with a background in the
natural sciences and engineering. This book may also be useful for
professionals dealing with energy issues, as a first introduction
into the field.
This textbook provides an introduction to energy analysis for those
students who want to specialise in this challenging field. In
comparison to other textbooks, this book provides a balanced
treatment of complete energy systems, covering the demand side, the
supply side, and the energy markets that connect these. The
emphasis is very much on presenting a range of tools and
methodologies that will help students find their way in analysing
real world problems in energy systems. This new edition has been
updated throughout and contains additional content on energy
transitions and improvements in the treatment of several energy
systems analysis approaches. Featuring learning objectives, further
readings and practical exercises in each chapter, Introduction to
Energy Analysis will be essential reading for upper-level
undergraduate and postgraduate students with a background in the
natural sciences and engineering. This book may also be useful for
professionals dealing with energy issues, as a first introduction
into the field.
Drawing on practices and theories of environmental justice,
'China's responsibility for climate change' describes China's
contribution to global warming and analyzes its policy responses.
Contributors critically examine China's practical and ethical
responsibilities to climate change from a variety of perspectives.
They explore policies that could mitigate China's environmental
impact while promoting its own interests and meeting the
international community's expectations. The book is accessible to a
wide readership, including academics, policy makers and activists.
All royalties from sales of this book will be donated to Friends of
the Earth.
This report takes a neutral and independent point of view in
attempting to show concrete ways to achieve the goal of reducing
CO2 emissions and limiting global warming to the 2-degree target.
It presents an overall picture spanning all key countries. In the
report, the temporal evolution of the main parameters is given from
1970 to 2011 for all regions of the world and all G-20 countries,
starting from the basic data, gross domestic consumption. The
parameters are then extrapolated to 2030, taking into account
current trends, local factors and the requirements of the 2-degree
climate target. An important basis is the structure of the current
energy consumption and energy flows of all regions of the world and
all G-20 countries, which is analyzed in the appendix in detail and
reproduced as clearly as possible. The reports from climate science
make it clear that with a greater level of warming, adaptation is
the more expensive option. Compliance with the 2-degree climate
target is a challenge, but not impossible. The book is intended not
only for the scientific community but also for decision makers in
government and industry.
The existence of the human race has created inevitable effects on
our surrounding environment. To prevent further harm to the world's
ecosystems, it becomes imperative to assess mankind's impact on and
create sustainability initiatives to maintain the world's
ecosystems. Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change
Adaptation Strategies is a pivotal reference source for the latest
scholarly material on the scientific, technical, and socio-economic
factors related to climate change assessment. Providing a
comprehensive overview of perspectives on sustainability protection
of environmental resources, this book is ideally designed for
policy makers, professionals, government officials, upper-level
students, and academics interested in emerging research on climate
change.
This open access book is designed as a continuation of the editor's
2019 book Achieving the Paris Climate Agreement Goals. This volume
provides an in-depth analysis of industry sectors globally, and its
purpose is to present emission reduction targets in 5-year steps
(2025 to 2050) for the main twelve finance sectors per the Global
Industry Classification System. This scientific analysis aims to
support the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment
initiative to give sustainability guidance for the global finance
industry. The industry sector pathways presented here are based on
the latest global and regional 100% renewable energy and non-energy
greenhouse gas Representative Concentration Pathways in order to
keep climate change significantly under +1.5 C and thereby achieve
the Paris Climate Agreement goals. The heart of this book is three
chapters presenting the results of industry scenario modelling.
These chapters cover twelve industry and service sectors as well as
transportation and buildings. The specific energy demand and
specific emissions are presented based on the emission accounting
concept of "Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3" emission pathways. This
methodology has been developed to measure the climate and
sustainability index for companies, and this research project
expands the methodology to apply it to entire industry sectors. The
results presented here are the first overall industry assessments
under Scope 1, 2 and 3 from 2020 through 2050. The base for the
energy pathways is the scenarios scenarios published in the
previous volume. The nonenergy GHG emission scenarios, broken down
to agriculture & forestry and industry, are detailed and
include all major greenhouse gases and aerosols. The final section
of the book presents the main conclusions of the industry pathway
development work and recommendations for the finance industry and
policy makers. Additionally, future qualitative future investment
requirements in specific technologies and measures are presented.
Join Sophie Pavelle on a low-carbon journey around Britain in
search of ten animals and habitats threatened by climate change in
the 21st century Forget-me-not - a beautiful flower and a plea from
our islands' wildlife. When climate change has driven dozens of our
most charismatic species to extinction, will they be forgotten?
Like many of her generation, Sophie Pavelle is determined to demand
action on climate change. In her hilarious and thought-provoking
first book, she describes the trips she took to see ten rare native
species: species that could disappear by 2050 and be forgotten by
the end of the century if their habitats continue to decline.
Sophie challenged herself to find them the low-carbon way,
travelling the length of Britain on foot, by bicycle, in an
electric car, by kayak, on ferries and in a lot of trains. From
Bodmin Moor to the Orkney Islands, Sophie encountered species on
the frontline of climate change in Britain. Which are going to be
seriously affected, and why? Could some bounce back from the brink?
Or are we too late to save them? Forget Me Not is a clarion call:
we all need to play a part in tackling this most existential of
threats. Everyone can see wildlife in the British Isles without
contributing to its destruction. With joyful irreverence, Sophie
shows us we can dare to hope. Journey with her, and she may even
inspire you to take action for nature and head out on your own
low-carbon adventure.
This book describes the risks, impacts, measures, actions and
adaptation policies that have developed globally as a result of the
severe impacts of global climate change. In-depth chapters focus on
climate change assessment (CCA) in terms of vulnerabilities and
reflection on the built environment and measures and actions for
infrastructure and urban areas. Adaptation actions specific to
developing countries such as Egypt are presented and illustrated.
Global Climate change adaptation projects (CCAPs) in developing
countries, in terms of their targets and performance, are presented
and compared with those existing CCAPs in Egypt to draw learned
lessons. Climate change scenarios 2080 using simulations are
portrayed and discussed with emphasis on a case-study model from
existing social housing projects in hot-arid urban areas in Cairo;
in an effort to put forward an assessment and evaluation of current
CCA techniques. This book helps researchers realize the global
impacts of climate change on the built environment and economic
sectors, and enhances their understanding of current climate change
measures, actions, policies, projects and scenarios. Reviews and
illustrates the impact of global climate change risks; Provides an
understanding of global climate change risks in seven continents;
Illustrates policies and action plans implemented at the global
level and developing countries' level; Discusses climate change
assessment and vulnerabilities with emphasis on urban areas;
Presents measures and action plans to mitigate climate change
scenarios by 2080.
Foodandwatersecurityissuesareregardedassinequanonif asocietywants
to p- mote health, peace and prosperity. People who are well fed
are also people with the means to changetheir situation. However,
this is still an immense challengefor Asia
especiallyintheglobalenvironmentalperspectiveinthe21stcentury.
Peoplearound the globe will be facing a combination of problems
concerning both environmental as well as social changes; therefore,
the policy for future food and water security has to be upgraded in
an integrated and holistic way. The need to put into persp- tive
the ever-mounting body of new information on environmental security
of food and water issues in Asia beyond the boundaries of separate
disciplines provided the impetus for the development of this book.
It is a compilation of selected ar- cles from two international
symposiums entitled "Food and Water Sustainability in China 2007"
and "Food and Water Sustainability in Asia 2008" which were held in
Macau, China. Eminent scientists/researchers from different parts
of Asia spoke at the symposium on topics such as the challenges in
sustainable water resource m- agement, future projection of
development strategies for sheries, increased yield of food grains
by rainwater management in arid lands, multi-functional role of
rice paddy area for food and water sustainability, the impact of
biofuel production on food security, reclaimed wastewater for
sustainable urban water use, heavy metal removal from contaminated
soil and water, and adaptation strategies to cope with the climate
change issues for food and water.
There is considerable growing global interest in Climate Change,
and Climate Change Education is on the minds of teachers, school
leaders, teacher educators, education researchers and policy
makers. This book will appeal to the above audience who work in
Geography, Geography Education, Science Education, and
Environmental Education, and Education in general. Policy makers
and school leaders are increasingly looking into CCE and its
implementation in schools. Teachers and teacher educators, for the
same reason, are increasingly looking into the issues of
curriculum, instruction and assessment of CCE. Researchers looking
into Climate Change and CCE will be also interested in the best
practices of an Asian environment.
In Climate Obstruction: How Denial, Delay and Inaction are Heating
the Planet, Kristoffer Ekberg, Bernhard Forchtner, Martin Hultman
and Kirsti Jylha bring together crucial insights from environmental
history, sociology, media and communication studies and psychology
to help us understand why we are failing to take necessary measures
to avert the unfolding climate crisis. They do so by examining the
variety of ways in which meaningful climate action has been
obstructed. This ranges from denial of the scientific evidence for
human-induced climate change and its policy consequences, to
(seemingly sincere) acknowledgement of scientific evidence while
nevertheless delaying meaningful climate action. The authors also
consider all those actions by which often well-meaning individuals
and collectives (unintendedly) hamper climate action. In doing so,
this book maps out arguments and strategies that have been used to
counter environmental protection and regulation since the 1960s by,
first and foremost, corporations supported by conservative actors,
but also far-right ones as well as ordinary citizens. This timely
and accessible book provides tools and lessons to understand,
identify and call out such arguments and strategies, and points to
actions and systemic and cultural changes needed to avert or at
least mitigate the climate crisis.
The idea for this book arose in 1993, after the Free State of
Bavaria through its Bayrisches Staatsministerium rur
Landesentwicklung und Umweltfragen (Bavarian Ministry of Regional
Development and the Environment) decided to discontinue both the
Bavarian project management (PBWU) for forest decline research and
the multidisciplinary field research on the Wank Mountain in the
Alps near Garmisch. Forest decline through the action of ozone and
other photooxidants was a main topic of the supported re search in
the Alps and will be a topic of new investigations in the Bavarian
Forest. Many interesting results were obtained, but the researchers
involved have not had sufficient time to allow reliable conclusions
to be drawn. It was therefore decided to ask inter national experts
for contributions in order to summarize the best available evidence
of a possible link between ozone and forest decline - a topic which
has been studied in the USA since the late 1950s and in Europe
since the early 1980s. The original idea of Waldsterben as an
irreversible large-scale dieback of forests in Germany was soon
recognized to be wrong (Forschungsbeirat 1989). However, the new
criteria used for the official German and European damage
inventories (loss or yel lowing of needles or leaves, tree
morphology) indicate that per sistently high percentages of damaged
spruce and pine remain, and there is an increasing percentage of
damaged beech and oak, with a high proportion of biotic disease
(Forschungsbeirat 1989; UN-ECE 1995).
This book is a brief history of the end of the world as seen
through the eyes of theatre. Since its inception, theatre has
staged the fall of empires, floods, doomsdays, shipwrecks,
earthquakes, plagues, environmental degradations, warfare, nuclear
annihilation, and the catastrophic effects of climate change. Using
a wide range of plays alongside contemporary thinkers, this study
helps guide and galvanize the reader in grappling with the climate
crisis. Kulick divides this litany of theatrical cataclysms into
four distinct historical phases: the Ancients, including Euripides
and Bhasa, the legendary Sanskrit dramatist; the Age of Belief,
with the anonymous authors of the medieval mystery cycles,
Shakespeare, and Pushkin; the Moderns, with Ibsen, Chekhov, Brecht,
Beckett, and Bond; and, finally, the way the world might end now,
encompassing Caryl Churchill, Tony Kushner, and Anne Washburn. In
tandem with the insights gleaned from these playwrights, the book
draws upon the work of contemporary scientists, ecologists, and
ethicists to further tease out the philosophical implications of
such plays and their relevance to our own troubled times. In the
end, Kulick shows how each of these ages and their respective
authors have something essential to say, not only about humanity's
potential end, but, more importantly, about the possibility for our
collective continuance.
Since its emergence in the 1990s, the field of Urban Political
Ecology (UPE) has focused on unsettling traditional understandings
of the 'city' as entirely distinct from nature, showing instead how
cities are metabolically linked with ecological processes and the
flow of resources. More recently, a new generation of scholars has
turned the focus towards the climate emergency. Turning up the heat
seeks to turn UPE's critical energies towards a politically engaged
debate over the role of extensive urbanisation in addressing
socio-environmental equality in the context of climate change. The
collection brings together theoretical discussions and rigorous
empirical analysis by key scholars spanning three generations,
engaging UPE in current debates about urbanisation and climate
change. Engaging with cutting edge approaches including feminist
political ecology, circular economies, and the Anthropocene, case
studies in the book range from Singapore and Amsterdam to Nairobi
and Vancouver. Contributors make the case for a UPE better informed
by situated knowledges: an embodied UPE that pays equal attention
to the role of postcolonial processes and more-than-human
ontologies of capital accumulation within the context of the
climate emergency. Acknowledging UPE's rich intellectual history
and aiming to enrich rather than split the field, Turning up the
heat reveals how UPE is ideally positioned to address contemporary
environmental issues in theory and practice. -- .
This open access edited volume critically examines a coherence
building opportunity between Climate Change Adaptation, the
Sustainable Development Goals and Disaster Risk Reduction agendas
through presenting best practice approaches, and supporting Irish
and international case studies. The Covid-19 pandemic has
highlighted existing global inequalities and demonstrated the scope
and scale of cascading socio-ecological impacts. The impacts of
climate change on our global communities will likely dwarf the
disruption brought on by the pandemic, and moreover, these impacts
will be more diffuse and pervasive over a longer timeframe. This
edited volume considers opportunities to address global challenges
in the context of developing resilience as an integrated
development continuum instead of through independent and siloed
agendas.
Invasive species have inspired concern for many reasons, including
economic and environmental impacts in specific jurisdictions within
particular countries. However, it is apparent that for some
invasive plant species, political borders offer only weak barriers
because these species have succeeded in invading many countries,
emerging as threats at a global level. With this level of threat, a
number of books on invasive plants and invasive species in general
have been published in recent years, but none explicitly provides
"global" coverage, perhaps because it is only recently that the
full geographical, economic and environmental implications of
widespread spread and adaptive nature of these particular invasive
plants have been recognized. We plan to make this volume unique by
profiling plant invasions in explicitly geographical contexts; on
the world continents (Chapters 5-11), as well as islands (Chapter
12) and mountains (Chapter 13). This global approach is supported
by an overview of invasion biology and recent advances (Chapter 1)
and how different communities differ in invasibility (Chapter 2).
Global factors influencing invasion are introduced in Chapter 3
(globalized trade) and Chapter 4 (climate change). Key species are
profiled through geographic treatments, continent by continent
(Chapters 5-11), and for islands (Chapter 12) and mountains
(Chapter 13). The impact of invasive plants is highlighted in
Chapter 14, both in biotic and economic terms, partly to counter
the tendency for the young field of invasion biology to rely too
much on anecdotal evidence. This chapters is also designed to bring
home the message that these are serious problems that must be dealt
with, as covered in the subsequent chapters. The book concludes
with three chapters casting light on solutions to the many problems
described in the rest of the volume. Chapter 15 features new,
innovative technologies that are being developed to monitor and
manage invasive plants, and Chapter 16 presents comprehensive
strategies for public education and implementation of management on
local and global scales. Chapter 17 describes different future
scenarios depending on current trends in plant invasion and its
management, just as climate change predictions employ various
scenarios to project the future. The future is very much up to us,
as humanity grapples with the question of how best to strategically
meet the problems of global invasive plant problems that we
ourselves have created that is further challenged by a changing
climate. We are confident that this book will be of interest to
invasion biologists, resource managers, and the legion of others
who must deal with these invasive plants across the globe on a
daily basis.
Rejecting cries of gloom and doom, Hope for a Heated Planet shows
how the fight against global warming can be won by the grassroots
efforts of individuals. Robert K. Musil, who led the Nobel Peace
Prize-winning organization Physicians for Social Responsibility,
explains that a growing new climate movement can produce
unprecedented change-in the economy, public health, and home-while
saving the planet.Musil draws on personal experience and compelling
data in this practical and rigorous analysis of the causes and
cures for global warming. The book presents all the players in the
most pressing challenge facing society today, from the massive
fossil fuel lobby to the enlightened corporations that are joining
the movement to ""go green."" Musil thoroughly explains the
tremendous potential of renewable energy sources-wind, solar, and
biofuel-and the startling conclusions of experts who say society
can do away entirely with fossil fuels. He tells readers about the
engaged politicians, activists, religious groups, and students who
are already working together against climate change. But the future
depends, Musil insists, on what changes ordinary citizens make.
Through personal choices and political engagement, he shows how
readers can cut carbon emissions and create green communities where
they live. With practical and realistic solutions, Hope for a
Heated Planet inspires readers to be accountable and enables them
to usher in an age of sustainability for future generations.
Fossil fuels will remain the backbone of the global energy economy
for the foreseeable future. The contribution of nuclear energy to
the global energy supply is also expected to increase. With the
pressing need to mitigate climate change and reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, the fossil energy industry is exploring the possibility
of carbon dioxide disposal in geological media. Geological disposal
has been studied for decades by the nuclear industry with a view to
ensuring the safe containment of its wastes. Geological disposal of
carbon dioxide and that of radioactive waste gives rise to many
common concerns in domains ranging from geology to public
acceptance. In this respect, comparative assessments reveal many
similarities, ranging from the transformation of the geological
environment and safety and monitoring concerns to regulatory,
liability and public acceptance issues. However, there are profound
differences on a broad range of issues as well, such as the
quantities and hazardous features of the materials to be disposed
of, the characteristics of the targeted geological media, the site
engineering technologies involved and the timescales required for
safe containment at the disposal location. There are ample
opportunities to learn from comparisons and to derive insights that
will assist policymakers responsible for national energy strategies
and international climate policies.
Climate Change and Soil Interactions examines soil system
interactions and conservation strategies regarding the effects of
climate change. It presents cutting-edge research in soil
carbonization, soil biodiversity, and vegetation. As a resource for
strategies in maintaining various interactions for
eco-sustainability, topical chapters address microbial response and
soil health in relation to climate change, as well as soil
improvement practices. Understanding soil systems, including their
various physical, chemical, and biological interactions, is
imperative for regaining the vitality of soil system under changing
climatic conditions. This book will address the impact of changing
climatic conditions on various beneficial interactions operational
in soil systems and recommend suitable strategies for maintaining
such interactions. Climate Change and Soil Interactions enables
agricultural, ecological, and environmental researchers to obtain
up-to-date, state-of-the-art, and authoritative information
regarding the impact of changing climatic conditions on various
soil interactions and presents information vital to understanding
the growing fields of biodiversity, sustainability, and climate
change.
Conceptual Boundary Layer Meteorology: The Air Near Here explains
essential boundary layer concepts in a way that is accessible to a
wide number of people studying and working in the environmental
sciences. It begins with chapters designed to present the language
of the boundary layer and the key concepts of mass, momentum
exchanges, and the role of turbulence. The book then moves to
focusing on specific environments, uses, and problems facing
science with respect to the boundary layer.
Climate Change Temporalities explores how various timescales,
timespans, intervals, rhythms, cycles, and changes in acceleration
are at play in climate change discourses. It argues that nuanced,
detailed, and specific understandings and concepts are required to
handle the challenges of a climatically changed world, politically
and socially as well as scientifically. Rather than reflecting
abstractly on theories of temporality, this edited collection
explores a variety of timescales and temporalities from narratives,
experience, popular culture, and everyday life in addition to
science and history - and the entanglements between them. The
chapters are clustered into three main sections, exploring a range
of genres, such as questionnaires, interviews, magazines, news
media, television series, aquariums, and popular science books to
critically examine how and where climate change understandings are
formed. The book also includes chapters historising notions of
climate and temporality by exploring scientific debates and
practices. Climate Change Temporalities will be of great interest
to students and scholars of humanistic climate change research,
environmental humanities, studies of temporality and historicity,
cultural studies, cultural history, and popular culture.
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