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Climate Change What it Means for Us, Our Children, and Our Grandchildren: What It Means for Us, Our Children, and Our Grandchildren (American and ... and Comparative Environmental Policy Series)

Climate Change What it Means for Us, Our Children, and Our Grandchildren: What It Means for Us, Our Children, and Our Grandchildren (American and ... and Comparative Environmental Policy Series)

by JosephFCDimento (Author), PamelaDoughman (Author)

  • Used

    Paperback 2007

    $8.64
Synopsis

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.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 232
 Edition: 1
 Publisher: MIT Press
Published: 18 Sep 2007
ISBN 10: 0262541939
ISBN 13: 9780262541930
Book Overview: 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

Media Reviews
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
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 * Reviews *
Author Bio
Joseph F. C. DiMento is Professor in the School of Law and former Director of the Newkirk Center for Science and Society at the University of California, Irvine. He is coeditor of Climate Change: What It Means for Us, Our Children, and Our Grandchildren (MIT Press). Pamela Doughman is an Energy Specialist with the California Energy Commission. Pamela Doughman is an Energy Specialist with the California Energy Commission. Naomi Oreskes is Professor of the History of Science and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. Richard A. Matthew is Associate Professor of International and Environmental Politics in the Schools of Social Ecology and Social Science at the University of California, Irvine. Joseph F. C. DiMento is Professor in the School of Law and former Director of the Newkirk Center for Science and Society at the University of California, Irvine. He is coeditor of Climate Change: What It Means for Us, Our Children, and Our Grandchildren (MIT Press). Michael E. Kraft is Professor of Political Science and Public Affairs Emeritus and Herbert Fisk Johnson Professor of Environmental Studies Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Sheldon Kamieniecki is Dean of the Division of Social Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is the author or editor of many other books.