Global Fever: How to Treat Climate ChangeUniversity of Chicago Press, 15 apr 2008 - 337 pagina's Every decade since 1950 has seen more floods and more wildfires on every continent. Deserts are expanding, coral reefs are dying, fisheries are declining, hurricanes are strengthening. The debate about climate change is over: there’s no question that global warming has made the Earth sick, and the outlook for the future calls for ever-warmer temperatures and deadlier results. Something must be done—but how quickly? With Global Fever, William H. Calvin delivers both a clear-eyed diagnosis and a strongly worded prescription. In striking, straightforward language, he first clearly sets out the current state of the Earth’s warming climate and the disastrous possibilities ahead should we continue on our current path. Increasing temperatures will kill off vegetation and dry up water resources, and their loss will lead, in an increasingly destructive feedback loop, to even more warming. Resource depletion, drought, and disease will follow, leading to socioeconomic upheaval—and accompanying violence—on a scale barely conceivable. It is still possible, Calvin argues, to avoid such a dire fate. But we must act now, aggressively funneling resources into jump-starting what would amount to a third industrial revolution, this one of clean technologies—while simultaneously expanding our use of existing low-emission technologies, from nuclear power to plug-in hybrid vehicles, until we achieve the necessary scientific breakthroughs. Passionately written, yet thoroughly grounded in the latest climate science, Global Fever delivers both a stark warning and an ambitious blueprint for saving the future of our planet. |
Inhoudsopgave
1 The Big Picture | 3 |
2 Were Not in Kansas Anymore | 13 |
3 Will This Overheated Frog Move? | 21 |
4 Pop Goes the Climate | 33 |
5 Droughts Slippery Slope | 41 |
6 Why Deserts Expand | 59 |
7 From Creeps to Leaps | 71 |
8 What Makes a Cycle Vicious? | 87 |
14 A Sea of CO2 | 173 |
15 The Extended Forecast | 189 |
16 Doing Things Differently | 205 |
17 Cleaning Up Our Act | 219 |
18 The Climate Optimist | 227 |
19 Turning Around by 2020 | 239 |
20 Arming for a Great War | 273 |
21 Get It Right on the First Try | 279 |
Overige edities - Alles bekijken
Veelvoorkomende woorden en zinsdelen
already American areas atmosphere become better building carbon cars cause century Chapter City civilization climate change climate scientists coal collapse comes countries create decades developing doubling drought dust Earth effects electricity emissions energy example fail fever fires flood forests fossil fuels future geothermal global global fever global warming greenhouse Greenland growth half happen heat ice sheet increase IPCC keep land less live major means melting methane million models natural Niño nuclear ocean ocean acidification once past percent plants power plants present problem produce rain reason reducing remaining require result rise river Rock scientific sea level shows sinks society sources started stop surface temperature things turn United usual warming winds