Dire Predictions: Understanding Climate Change, 2nd Edition

Cover......Page 1
Title Page......Page 4
Contents......Page 5
Introduction......Page 7
The IPCC/About the Authors......Page 9
What’s Up with the Weather (And the Climate!)?......Page 11
Part 1: Climate Change Basics......Page 17
The Relative Impact of Humans and Nature on Climate......Page 19
Taking Action in the Face of Uncertainty......Page 21
Why is it called the Greenhouse Effect?......Page 23
Positive Feedback Loops Compound the Greenhouse Effect of Carbon Dioxide......Page 25
What are the Important Greenhouse Gases, and Where Do They Come from ?......Page 27
Greenhouse Gases on the Rise......Page 31
Is the Increase in Atmospheric CO2 the Result of Natural Cycles?......Page 33
It’s Getting Hotter!......Page 35
Where is All that Heat Going?......Page 37
Is Our Atmosphere Really Warming?......Page 39
Back to the Future......Page 41
Suffocating the Ocean......Page 45
Weren’t Scientists Warning Us of a Coming Ice Age only Decades Ago?......Page 47
How does Modern Warming Differ from Past Warming Trends?......Page 49
Welcome to the Anthropocene......Page 51
What can 15 Years of Western U.S. Drought Tell Us About the Future?......Page 53
Signs of Things to Come?......Page 57
Does a Cold Snap in Peoria Invalidate Global Warming?......Page 61
A Tempest in a Greenhouse......Page 63
The Vanishing Snows of Kilimanjaro......Page 65
The Last Interglacial......Page 67
How to Build a Climate Model......Page 69
Profiles in Climate Change Science: James Hansen, Stephen Schneider, Susan Solomon, Warren Washington......Page 71
Comparing Climate Model Predictions with Observations......Page 73
Regional Vs Global Trends......Page 75
Some Climates Disappear as Others Emerge......Page 77
“Fingerprints” Distinguish Human and Natural Impacts on Climate......Page 79
Part 2: Climate Change Projections......Page 83
How Sensitive is the Climate?......Page 85
Fossil-Fuel Emissions Scenarios......Page 93
The “Faux Pause”......Page 95
Past IPCC Projections......Page 97
The Next Century......Page 99
The Geographical Pattern of Future Warming......Page 103
Tipping Points, Irreversibility, and Abrupt Climate Change......Page 105
Carbon-Cycle Feedbacks......Page 107
Melting Ice and Rising Sea Level......Page 111
Future Changes in Extreme Weather......Page 113
Stabilizing Atmospheric CO2......Page 117
Part 3: The Impacts of Climate Change......Page 119
The Rising Impact of Global Warming......Page 121
Is it Time to Sell that Beach House?......Page 123
Ecosystems......Page 125
Coral Reefs......Page 127
The Highway to Extinction?......Page 131
Too Much and Too Little......Page 133
Is Warming from Carbon Dioxide Leading to More Air Pollution?......Page 137
War…......Page 139
Famine…......Page 141
…Pestilence and Death......Page 143
Earth, Wind, and Fire......Page 145
Too Wet and Too Hot......Page 147
The Polar Meltdown......Page 149
Part 4: Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change......Page 151
Is Global Warming the Last Straw for Vulnerable Ecosystems?......Page 153
What is the Best Course for the Coming Century?......Page 155
It’s All About the Economy!......Page 157
A Finger in the Dike......Page 159
Keeping the Water Flowing......Page 161
A Hard Row to Hoe......Page 163
Part 5: Solving Climate Change......Page 165
Solving Global Warming......Page 167
Where Do All Those Emissions Come from ?......Page 169
Keeping the Power Turned on......Page 171
On the Road Again......Page 175
Building Green......Page 179
Reducing CO2 Pollution......Page 181
The Water–Energy Nexus......Page 183
Greener Acres......Page 185
Forests......Page 189
Waste Not, Want Watts?......Page 191
Geoengineering......Page 193
But What Can I Do About It?......Page 195
Sustainability Success Stories......Page 197
What’s Your Carbon Footprint?......Page 199
Global Problems Require International Cooperation......Page 201
Can We Achieve Sustainable Development?......Page 205
The Ethics of Climate Change......Page 207
The Known Unknowns & the Unknown Unknowns......Page 209
The Urgency of Climate Change......Page 211
Our Greatest Challenge......Page 213
Glossary......Page 215
Index......Page 220
Credits/Acknowledgements......Page 224