Climatic change, now more than ever in this age of global warming, is seen as fundamental to the study of the environment. This text examines the importance of climate as one of the major forcing functions in the global environmental change process. It emphasizes both human-induced climatic change and natural climatic change, providing a comprehensive historical context and important projections for the future. It offers a thorough, up-to-date, critical overview of the physical science behind global warming concerns.

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.

Transforming our energy supplies to be more sustainable is seen by many to be the biggest challenge of our times. In this comprehensive textbook, L.D. Danny Harvey sets out in unprecedented detail the path we must take to minimize the effects that the way we harness energy will have on future climate change.

The book opens by highlighting the importance of moving to low carbon technologies for generation, then moves on to explain the functioning, potential and social/environmental issues around:

• solar energy
• wind energy
• biomass energy
• geothermal energy
• hydroelectric power
• ocean energy
• nuclear energy.

It also covers the options for carbon capture and storage and the contexts in which low carbon energy can best be utilized (potential for community integrated systems, and the hydrogen economy). The book closes with scenarios that combine the findings from its companion volume (concerning the potential for limiting future energy demand) with the findings from this volume (concerning the cost and potential of C-free energy systems) to generate scenarios that succeed in limiting future atmospheric CO2 concentration to no more than 450 ppmv. Detailed yet accessible, meticulously researched and reviewed, this work constitutes an indispensible textbook and reference for students and practitioners in sustainable energy and engineering.

Online material includes: Excel-based computational exercises, teaching slides for each chapter, links to free software tools.

Transforming our energy supplies to be more sustainable is seen by many to be the biggest challenge of our times. In this comprehensive textbook, L.D. Danny Harvey sets out in unprecedented detail the path we must take to minimize the effects that the way we harness energy will have on future climate change. The book opens by highlighting the importance of moving to low carbon technologies for generation, then moves on to explain the functioning, potential and social/environmental issues around: - solar energy - wind energy - biomass energy - geothermal energy - hydroelectric power - ocean energy - nuclear energy It also covers the options for carbon capture and storage and the contexts in which low carbon energy can best be utilized (potential for community integrated systems, and the hydrogen economy). The book closes with scenarios that combine the findings from its companion volume (concerning the potential for limiting future energy demand) with the findings from this volume (concerning the cost and potential of C-free energy systems) to generate scenarios that succeed in limiting future atmospheric CO2 concentration to no more than 450 ppmv. Detailed yet accessible, meticulously researched and reviewed, this work constitutes an indispensible textbook and reference for students and practitioners in sustainable energy and engineering. Online material includes: Excel-based computational exercises, teaching slides for each chapter, links to free software tools.

Winner of Choice Magazine - Outstanding Academic Titles for 2007 Buildings account for over one third of global energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Reducing energy use by buildings is therefore an essential part of any strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and thereby lessen the likelihood of potentially catastrophic climate change. Bringing together a wealth of hard-to-obtain information on energy use and energy efficiency in buildings at a level which can be easily digested and applied, Danny Harvey offers a comprehensive, objective and critical sourcebook on low-energy buildings. Topics covered include: thermal envelopes, heating, cooling, heat pumps, HVAC systems, hot water, lighting, solar energy, appliances and office equipment, embodied energy, buildings as systems and community-integrated energy systems (cogeneration, district heating, and district cooling). The book includes exemplary buildings and techniques from North America, Europe and Asia, and combines a broad, holistic perspective with technical detail in an accessible and insightful manner.

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.

@lt;P@gt;Climatic change, now more than ever in this age of global warming, is seen as fundamental to the study of the environment. This text examines the importance of climate as one of the major forcing functions in the global environmental change process. It emphasizes both human-induced climatic change and natural climatic change, providing a comprehensive historical context and important projections for the future. It offers a thorough, up-to-date, critical overview of the physical science behind global warming concerns. @lt;BR@gt;@lt;/P@gt;

Winner of Choice Magazine - Outstanding Academic Titles for 2007 Buildings account for over one third of global energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Reducing energy use by buildings is therefore an essential part of any strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and thereby lessen the likelihood of potentially catastrophic climate change. Bringing together a wealth of hard-to-obtain information on energy use and energy efficiency in buildings at a level which can be easily digested and applied, Danny Harvey offers a comprehensive, objective and critical sourcebook on low-energy buildings. Topics covered include: thermal envelopes, heating, cooling, heat pumps, HVAC systems, hot water, lighting, solar energy, appliances and office equipment, embodied energy, buildings as systems and community-integrated energy systems (cogeneration, district heating, and district cooling). The book includes exemplary buildings and techniques from North America, Europe and Asia, and combines a broad, holistic perspective with technical detail in an accessible and insightful manner.