Climate Change Books
1. The Vanishing Face of Gaia: A Final Warning
James Lovelock described his previous book, The Revenge of Gaia, as "a wake-up call for humanity". Stark though it was in many respects, in The Vanishing Face of Gaia, Lovelock says that though the weather currently seems cooler and pollution lessens as the recession bites, the environmental problems we will face in the 21st century are even more terrifying than he previously realised. The Arctic and Antarctic icecaps are melting very quickly, and water shortages and natural disasters are more common occurrences than at any time in recent history. Almost all predictions of the likely rate of climate change have been based on estimates that professional observers now (read more)
2. The A-Z of Global Warming
Time is running out for Planet Earth...Atmospheric co2 has increased by 36 per cent since 1750: How does this effect Earth's climate? Is mankind to blame? What is the "Greenhouse effect"?Earth's oceans are rising and ice caps melting - What is the cause? What are the consequences? What about Earth's historical climate?This book takes a look back over the millennia to find out what may lie ahead.Earth's temperature is increasing - How do we know? What's the cause? Is the sun to blame?Renewable energy - What is it? Are biofuels really environmentally friendly?Global warming and the weather - Are hurricanes becoming more intense? (read more)
3. An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About it
The truth about the climate crisis is an inconvenient one that means we are going to have to change the way we live our lives. Our climate crisis may at times appear to be happening slowly, but in fact it has become a true planetary emergency and we must recognise that we are facing a crisis. So why is it that some leaders seem not to hear the clarion warnings? Are they resisting the truth because they know that the moment they acknowledge it, they will face a moral imperative to act? Is it simply more convenient to ignore the warnings? Perhaps, but inconvenient truths do not go away just because they are not seen, rather, their significance grows. Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States, (read more)
4. Global Warming A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions S.)
Global warming is arguably the most critical and controversial issue facing the world in the twenty-first century. This Very Short Introduction provides a concise and accessible explanation of the key topics in the debate: looking at the predicted impact of climate change, exploring the political controversies of recent years, and explaining the proposed solutions. Fully updated for 2008, Mark Maslin's compelling account brings the reader right up to date, describing recent developments from US policy to the UK Climate Change Bill, and where we now stand with the Kyoto Protocol. He also (read more)
5 . Heaven and Earth: Global Warming, the Missing Science
Ian Pilmer
Plimer argues that there has been no critical due diligence of the science of climate change, dogma dominates, sceptics are pilloried and 17th century thinking promotes prophets of doom, guilt and penance.
Pilmer argues that t he Earth is an evolving dynamic system. Current changes in climate, sea level and ice are within variability. Atmospheric CO2 is the lowest for 500 million years. Climate has always been driven by the Sun, the Earth's orbit and plate tectonics and the oceans, atmosphere and life respond. Humans have made their mark on the planet, thrived in warm times and struggled in cool times. The hypothesis that humans can actually change climate is unsupported by evidence from geology, archaeology, history and astronomy. The hypothesis is rejected. A new ignorance fills the yawning spiritual gap in Western society. Climate change politics is religious fundamentalism masquerading as science. (read more)
6. An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming
In recent years, sensational warnings about climate change have dominated the headlines. In this hard-hitting response to the scaremongering of climate alarmists, Nigel Lawson, former Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for Energy, argues that it is time for us to take a cool look at global warming. Lawson carefully and succinctly examines all aspects of the global warming issue - the science, the economics, the politics and the ethics - concluding that conventional wisdom on the subject is deeply flawed. He asserts that, even if the majority view of the science is correct, the proposed solution to the problem would be more damaging than the threat it has been designed to avert - and, in any case is, for very good reasons, not politically attainable. Insightful, brilliantly reasoned and thoroughly researched, this is a much-needed corrective to the barrage of hype and spin surrounding a subject that affects every one of us. (read more)
7. Global Warming: The Complete Briefing
John Houghton's market-leading textbook is now in full colour and includes the latest IPCC findings, making it the definitive guide to climate change. Written for students across a wide range of disciplines, its simple, logical flow of ideas gives an invaluable grounding in the science and impacts of climate change and highlights the need for action on global warming. Is there evidence for climate changing due to human activities? How do we account for recent extremes of weather and climate? Can global electricity provision and transport ever be carbon free? Written by a leading figure (read more)
8. The Atlas of Climate Change: Mapping the World's Greatest Challenge
Today's headlines and recent events reflect the seriousness of climate change. Heatwaves, droughts and flooding are driving people from their homes, destroying livelihoods and causing death among vulnerable populations. Rigorous in its science and insightful in its message, this atlas examines the possible impact of climate change on our ability to feed the world's people, avoid water shortages, conserve biodiversity, improve health, and preserve cities and cultural treasures. It also reviews historical contributions to greenhouse gas levels, progress in meeting Kyoto commitments and local efforts to meet the challenge of climate change (read more)
9. Global Warming for Dummies
Hotly debated in the political arena and splashed across the media almost 24/7, global warming has become the topic of the moment. Whatever one's views on its cause, there is no denying that the earth's climate is changing, and people everywhere are worried. "Global Warming For Dummies" sorts out fact from fiction, explaining the science behind climate change and examining the possible long-term effects of a warmer planet. This no-nonsense yet friendly guide helps readers explore solutions to this challenging problem, from what governments and industry can do to what readers can do at home and how to get involved. (read more)
10. Poles Apart: The Great Climate Change Debate
Gareth Morgan couldn't decide whether he believed in climate change or not, so he hired the best international scientists to answer his questions and these are his findings. Combined with anecdotes from his own recent trips to Antarctica and the Arctic this is something completely unique in books about climate change - somebody who has approached the topic with an open mind, somebody who has the resources to explore such a topic and somebody who has personally investigated all of the issues. So what was his conclusion? Read the book to find out. (read more)
Carbon Counter: Calculate Your Carbon Footprint
Covering everything from gas and electricity usage to the carbon cost of shipping in exotic foods, this handy green calculator provides all the tools you need to calculate your daily impact on the environment. Advice is also offered on small, simple ways to greatly reduce carbon footprints, such as limiting usage of plastic and Styrofoam and shoppin
g for local produce. Insightful information on the global trends in carbon usage and the growing effects of global warming, as well as helpful websites for further investigation, is also included. More
Climate Code Red: The Case for Emergency Action
By David Spratt, Philip Sutton
In this call to action, David Spratt and Philip Sutton reveal extensive scientific evidence that the global warming crisis is far worse tahn official reports and national governments have indicated, and that we are almost at the point of no return. P Sutton is a former president of The Aust & NZ Society for Ecological Economics. More
Climate Wars
The core problem with climate change is not sea level rise or biodiversity; it is food supply. We are just barely able to feed the current six-and-a-half billion people on the planet. At 2 degrees hotter, many hundreds of millions are at risk but, with global cooperation and a switch away from meat production (let people eat the grain, not cows), they wouldn't have to starve. At 5 degrees hotter, there are no good options left. What makes this a political and potentially a strategic issue is the fact that the misery will not be equally shared. As rainfall patterns shift, some countries lose most of their best croplands while others come through the change unharmed or even gain new food-growing areas in the sub-Arctic. There is a bitter irony here, for the list of beneficiaries includes most of the countries that industrialised early and caused the problem to grow to its current size. There is also huge scope for conflict, including armed conflict, because nobody will sit quietly and watch their children starve when any alternatives remain, including violent ones. More
Dire Predictions: Understanding Global Warming
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been issuing the essential facts and figures on climate change for nearly two decades. But the hundreds of pages of scientific evidence quoted for accuracy by the media and scientists alike, remain inscrutable to the general public who may still question the validity of climate change.
Esteemed climate scientists Michael E. Mann and Lee R. Kump, have partnered with DK Publishing to present Dire Predictions??????an important book in this time of global need. "Dire Predictions" presents the information documented by the IPCC in an illustrated, visually-stunning, and undeniably powerful way to the lay reader. The scientific findings that provide validity to the implications of climate change are presented in clear-cut graphic elements, striking images, and understandable analogies. More
Forecast: The Consequences of Climate Change, from the Amazon to the Arctic, from Darfur to Napa Valley
While reporting just outside of Darfur, Stephan Faris discovered that climate change was at the root of that conflict, and began to wonder what current and impending - and largely unanticipated - crises such changes have in store for the world. Forecast provides the answers. Global warming will spur the spread of many diseases. Malaria is gaining ground in Africa. The warming world will shift huge populations and potentially redraw political alliances around the globe, driving environmentalists into the hands of anti-immigrant groups. Crops will fail in previously lush places and thrive in some formerly barren zones, altering huge industries and remaking traditions. The result of wide travel and reporting, Forecast is a powerful, gracefully written account of the surprising ways that climate change will affect the world in the near future - politically, economically, and culturally. More
Heat: How We Can Stop the Planet Burning
Started to worry about just how hot our world is going to get, and whether you can do anything about it? As the effect of climate change grows by the day, so does the amount of hot air and bluster spouted by politicians and businessmen on what we should do about it. What with the excuses, the lies, the fudged figures, the PR greenwashing and the downright misinformation on the power of everything from wind turbines to carbon trading, when it comes to saving the world, most people don't know what they're talking about. Luckily, George Monbiot - scourge of big business, riler of governments, arch-enemy of climate change deniers everywhere - does. Packed with killer facts and inspiring ideas, shot through with passion and underlined by brilliant investigative journalism, with a copy of "Heat" you really can protect the planet. 'I defy you to read this book and not feel motivated to change' - "The Times". More
The Chilling Stars: A New Theory of Climate
By Henrik Svensmark, Nigel Calder
Scientists agree that the earth has become hotter over the last century. But on the causes, despite what looks to the public mind like a consensus, there are dissenting voices. Based on Henrik Svensmark's research at the Danish National Space Center, this book outlines a brilliant and daring new theory that has already provoked fresh thinking on global warming. As prize-winning science writer Nigel Calder and Svensmark himself explain, an interplay of the sun and cosmic rays - sub-atomic particles from exploded stars - seem to have more effect on the climate than man-made carbon dioxide. For anyone interested in the real science behind our climate, this book is a must-read.
Shouldn't Our Grandchildren Know
By Graham Chittleborough
Issues raised when this book was first published are even more important today. Graham Chittleborough's clear and straightforward presentation of the facts about the current state of the environment is a compelling read. Focusing on Australia, but relevant on a global basis, he casts an environmental scientist's keen eye on the legacy we will leave our grandchildren unless action is taken immediately. More
