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Abrupt Climate Events During The Last Deglaciation And Media Audience Perception Of Climate Change
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Book Synopsis Abrupt Climate Events During the Last Deglaciation and Media Audience Perception of Climate Change by : Elizabeth A. Obbink
Download or read book Abrupt Climate Events During the Last Deglaciation and Media Audience Perception of Climate Change written by Elizabeth A. Obbink and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis Abrupt Climate Change by : Committee on Abrupt Climate Change
Download or read book Abrupt Climate Change written by Committee on Abrupt Climate Change and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2002-04-23 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Annotation This report addresses what is known about abrupt climate changes and their impacts, based on paleoclimate proxies, historical observations, and modeling. The focus is on climate change occurring when gradual causes push the earth system across a threshold, as opposed to large, abrupt changes such as nuclear war or giant meteorite impacts. The report considers patterns, magnitudes, mechanisms, and impacts of abrupt climate changes, possible implications for the future, critical gaps in knowledge about the potential for future abrupt changes, and a research strategy. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).
Book Synopsis Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change by : National Research Council
Download or read book Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2013-12-31 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate is changing, forced out of the range of the past million years by levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases not seen in the Earth's atmosphere for a very, very long time. Lacking action by the world's nations, it is clear that the planet will be warmer, sea level will rise, and patterns of rainfall will change. But the future is also partly uncertain-there is considerable uncertainty about how we will arrive at that different climate. Will the changes be gradual, allowing natural systems and societal infrastructure to adjust in a timely fashion? Or will some of the changes be more abrupt, crossing some threshold or "tipping point" to change so fast that the time between when a problem is recognized and when action is required shrinks to the point where orderly adaptation is not possible? Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change is an updated look at the issue of abrupt climate change and its potential impacts. This study differs from previous treatments of abrupt changes by focusing on abrupt climate changes and also abrupt climate impacts that have the potential to severely affect the physical climate system, natural systems, or human systems, often affecting multiple interconnected areas of concern. The primary timescale of concern is years to decades. A key characteristic of these changes is that they can come faster than expected, planned, or budgeted for, forcing more reactive, rather than proactive, modes of behavior. Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change summarizes the state of our knowledge about potential abrupt changes and abrupt climate impacts and categorizes changes that are already occurring, have a high probability of occurrence, or are unlikely to occur. Because of the substantial risks to society and nature posed by abrupt changes, this report recommends the development of an Abrupt Change Early Warning System that would allow for the prediction and possible mitigation of such changes before their societal impacts are severe. Identifying key vulnerabilities can help guide efforts to increase resiliency and avoid large damages from abrupt change in the climate system, or in abrupt impacts of gradual changes in the climate system, and facilitate more informed decisions on the proper balance between mitigation and adaptation. Although there is still much to learn about abrupt climate change and abrupt climate impacts, to willfully ignore the threat of abrupt change could lead to more costs, loss of life, suffering, and environmental degradation. Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change makes the case that the time is here to be serious about the threat of tipping points so as to better anticipate and prepare ourselves for the inevitable surprises.
Book Synopsis Patterns, Mechanisms, and Legacies of Abrupt Climate Change by : David Fastovich
Download or read book Patterns, Mechanisms, and Legacies of Abrupt Climate Change written by David Fastovich and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Increasing global temperatures from anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are driving widespread climatological and ecological changes globally. Abrupt global changes that share rates of climate change similar to those experienced today (Overpeck et al. 2003; Williams and Burke 2019) are recorded throughout the geologic record and offer important insights that can help predict future anthropogenic change. The Deglacial period (19,000 to 11,000 years before present) after the Last Glacial Maximum has been a key interval for understanding ecological and climatological responses to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations and a warming climate (COHMAP Project Members 1988; Nolan et al. 2018; Mottl et al. 2021). Imposed on this gradual warming are abrupt climate oscillations that onset within decades to centuries, last for millennia, and are commonly attributed to changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation forced by the input of freshwater into the North Atlantic Ocean. The most recent of these millennial-scale climate events is the Younger Dryas (ca. 12,900 to 11,700 years before present) and caused spatially complex climate changes globally. In this dissertation, we first aim to determine the spatial patterns of climate change and the atmospheric mechanisms responsible for driving abrupt climate change regionally in eastern North America through the use of organic temperature biomarkers (brGDGTs) and climate models. Second, we seek to disentangle the contributions of glacial and millennial-scale climate variability upon modern patterns of species richness in eastern North America. Chapter 2 seeks to determine the spatial fingerprint of Younger Dryas temperature changes in eastern North America. We develop a spatially dense multiproxy network of temperature reconstructions relying upon statistical transfer functions applied to fossil-pollen abundances and an independent proxy, based on organic biomarkers (brGDGTs). This analysis indicates that temperature changes during the Younger Dryas followed a dipole pattern in eastern North America. Temperatures lowered abruptly in maritime Canada and the northeastern United States nearly synchronously with temperature records from Greenland (Severinghaus et al. 1998). Cooling is also reconstructed in the Great Lakes region but delayed by ~400 years. Sites south of 35℗ʻN exhibited an antiphased response and lack YD cooling, with Florida sites indicating a thermal maximum. Warming in Florida during the Younger Dryas suggests that the 'bipolar-seesaw' conceptualization is an oversimplification of the spatial patterns of global climate changes. Focus must be placed on constraining regional climate changes to refine the mechanisms of abrupt climate change. Chapter 3 aims to better understand the atmospheric mechanisms for these antiphased temperature changes in eastern North America. We accomplish this by combining our multiproxy temperature network with a synthesis of hydroclimate reconstructions to compare against four climate models with meltwater hosing experiments that resemble the onset of the Younger Dryas. Precipitation changes followed a tripole pattern with wetting in the northeastern United States and Florida and drying from the Great Lakes region to the Carolinas, in contrast to the temperature dipole resolved in Chapter 2. Analysis of the climate models highlights the dual role of ice sheets and meltwater-induced weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation as the key drivers of the reconstructed warming and wetting in the southeastern United States. Reduced northward oceanic heat transport in the Atlantic Ocean increased the latitudinal temperature gradient and strengthened the jet stream, leading to upper-level divergence over eastern North America and the transport of warmer and moister air into the southeastern United States. For Chapter 4, we use our multiproxy temperature and precipitation reconstruction from prior chapters, alongside 11 climate simulations of millennial- scale climate events forced by meltwater pulses, to assess whether legacies of these climate changes can be detected in the contemporary diversity of amphibians, birds, mammals, reptiles, and trees in eastern North America. Generalized additive models that use both contemporary and paleoclimatic predictors suggest that past millennial scale climate oscillations have left an imprint on contemporary amphibian and arboreal biodiversity, though the exact role of past climate changes remains uncertain. Generalized additive models that use the multiproxy network of Younger Dryas climate reconstructions and a subset of the climate models analyzed suggest that greater millennial scale climate variability is predictive of greater contemporary biodiversity. However, generalized additive models that use four of the climate models suggest that millennial-scale climate stability is predictive of greater contemporary richness in eastern North America. Disagreement in the sign, magnitude, and spatial fingerprint of climate changes among the 11 climate simulations and the multiproxy climate reconstructions precludes further refining the role of millennial-scale climate oscillations at this time. This uncertainty highlights that caution should be used when attempting to model contemporary biodiversity based on individual paleoclimatic simulations. Higher resolution climate simulations forced with accurate boundary conditions are necessary to constrain the relationship between past millennial-scale climate changes and contemporary biodiversity.
Author :Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change / Working Group Technical Support Unit Publisher : ISBN 13 :9789291691234 Total Pages :200 pages Book Rating :4.6/5 (912 download)
Book Synopsis Climate Change and Water by : Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change / Working Group Technical Support Unit
Download or read book Climate Change and Water written by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change / Working Group Technical Support Unit and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Technical Paper addresses the issue of freshwater. Sealevel rise is dealt with only insofar as it can lead to impacts on freshwater in coastal areas and beyond. Climate, freshwater, biophysical and socio-economic systems are interconnected in complex ways. Hence, a change in any one of these can induce a change in any other. Freshwater-related issues are critical in determining key regional and sectoral vulnerabilities. Therefore, the relationship between climate change and freshwater resources is of primary concern to human society and also has implications for all living species. -- page vii.
Author :Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Publisher :Cambridge University Press ISBN 13 :1107025060 Total Pages :593 pages Book Rating :4.1/5 (7 download)
Book Synopsis Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation by : Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Download or read book Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation written by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-05-28 with total page 593 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extreme weather and climate events, interacting with exposed and vulnerable human and natural systems, can lead to disasters. This Special Report explores the social as well as physical dimensions of weather- and climate-related disasters, considering opportunities for managing risks at local to international scales. SREX was approved and accepted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on 18 November 2011 in Kampala, Uganda.
Book Synopsis With Speed and Violence by : Fred Pearce
Download or read book With Speed and Violence written by Fred Pearce and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2007-03-15 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nature is fragile, environmentalists often tell us. But the lesson of this book is that it is not so. The truth is far more worrying. Nature is strong and packs a serious counterpunch . . . Global warming will very probably unleash unstoppable planetary forces. And they will not be gradual. The history of our planet's climate shows that it does not do gradual change. Under pressure, whether from sunspots or orbital wobbles or the depredations of humans, it lurches-virtually overnight. —from the Introduction Fred Pearce has been writing about climate change for eighteen years, and the more he learns, the worse things look. Where once scientists were concerned about gradual climate change, now more and more of them fear we will soon be dealing with abrupt change resulting from triggering hidden tipping points. Even President Bush's top climate modeler, Jim Hansen, warned in 2005 that "we are on the precipice of climate system tipping points beyond which there is no redemption." As Pearce began working on this book, normally cautious scientists beat a path to his door to tell him about their fears and their latest findings. With Speed and Violence tells the stories of these scientists and their work-from the implications of melting permafrost in Siberia and the huge river systems of meltwater beneath the icecaps of Greenland and Antarctica to the effects of the "ocean conveyor" and a rare molecule that runs virtually the entire cleanup system for the planet. Above all, the scientists told him what they're now learning about the speed and violence of past natural climate change-and what it portends for our future. With Speed and Violence is the most up-to-date and readable book yet about the growing evidence for global warming and the large climatic effects it may unleash.
Book Synopsis Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years by : National Research Council
Download or read book Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2007-01-05 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In response to a request from Congress, Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years assesses the state of scientific efforts to reconstruct surface temperature records for Earth during approximately the last 2,000 years and the implications of these efforts for our understanding of global climate change. Because widespread, reliable temperature records are available only for the last 150 years, scientists estimate temperatures in the more distant past by analyzing "proxy evidence," which includes tree rings, corals, ocean and lake sediments, cave deposits, ice cores, boreholes, and glaciers. Starting in the late 1990s, scientists began using sophisticated methods to combine proxy evidence from many different locations in an effort to estimate surface temperature changes during the last few hundred to few thousand years. This book is an important resource in helping to understand the intricacies of global climate change.
Book Synopsis Methane Hydrates in Quaternary Climate Change by : James P. Kennett
Download or read book Methane Hydrates in Quaternary Climate Change written by James P. Kennett and published by American Geophysical Union. This book was released on 2003-01-10 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent discoveries from ice-core and marine sediments suggest that global climate systems can change from glacial to near-interglacial temperatures within decades. In order to explain this phenomenon, the authors (all affiliated with the Department of Geological Sciences, U. of California) advance a hypothesis that suggests that the massive energy needed for these changes came for the release of "frozen" methane hydrates (clathrates) stored in marine sediments on continental margins. They argue that the release of the methane caused feedback processes that would explain the surprisingly rapid changes. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.
Book Synopsis Holocene Climate Variability by : E. Jansen
Download or read book Holocene Climate Variability written by E. Jansen and published by Elsevier Science & Technology. This book was released on 2004 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides an update of results on the record of past ocean variability since the end of the ice age. This work gives an overview of many aspects of natural climate variability and give both scholars and students a means of keeping up to date on recent developments in the field.
Book Synopsis Experimenting on a Small Planet by : William W. Hay
Download or read book Experimenting on a Small Planet written by William W. Hay and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-13 with total page 999 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a thorough introduction to climate science and global change. The author is a geologist who has spent much of his life investigating the climate of Earth from a time when it was warm and dinosaurs roamed the land, to today's changing climate. Bill Hay takes you on a journey to understand how the climate system works. He explores how humans are unintentionally conducting a grand uncontrolled experiment which is leading to unanticipated changes. We follow the twisting path of seemingly unrelated discoveries in physics, chemistry, biology, geology, and even mathematics to learn how they led to our present knowledge of how our planet works. He explains why the weather is becoming increasingly chaotic as our planet warms at a rate far faster than at any time in its geologic past. He speculates on possible future outcomes, and suggests that nature itself may make some unexpected course corrections. Although the book is written for the layman with little knowledge of science or mathematics, it includes information from many diverse fields to provide even those actively working in the field of climatology with a broader view of this developing drama. Experimenting on a Small Planet is a must read for anyone having more than a casual interest in global warming and climate change - one of the most important and challenging issues of our time.
Book Synopsis Climate Change 2007 by : Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Working Group 2
Download or read book Climate Change 2007 written by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Working Group 2 and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 93 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis The Discovery of Global Warming by : Spencer R. Weart
Download or read book The Discovery of Global Warming written by Spencer R. Weart and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2001 a panel representing virtually all the world's governments and climate scientists announced that they had reached a consensus: the world was warming at a rate without precedent during at least the last ten millennia, and that warming was caused by the buildup of greenhouse gases from human activity. The consensus itself was at least a century in the making. The story of how scientists reached their conclusion--by way of unexpected twists and turns and in the face of formidable intellectual, financial, and political obstacles--is told for the first time in The Discovery of Global Warming. Spencer R. Weart lucidly explains the emerging science, introduces us to the major players, and shows us how the Earth's irreducibly complicated climate system was mirrored by the global scientific community that studied it. Unlike familiar tales of Science Triumphant, this book portrays scientists working on bits and pieces of a topic so complex that they could never achieve full certainty--yet so important to human survival that provisional answers were essential. Weart unsparingly depicts the conflicts and mistakes, and how they sometimes led to fruitful results. His book reminds us that scientists do not work in isolation, but interact in crucial ways with the political system and with the general public. The book not only reveals the history of global warming, but also analyzes the nature of modern scientific work as it confronts the most difficult questions about the Earth's future. Table of Contents: Preface 1. How Could Climate Change? 2. Discovering a Possibility 3. A Delicate System 4. A Visible Threat 5. Public Warnings 6. The Erratic Beast 7. Breaking into Politics 8. The Discovery Confirmed Reflections Milestones Notes Further Reading Index Reviews of this book: A soberly written synthesis of science and politics. --Gilbert Taylor, Booklist Reviews of this book: Charting the evolution and confirmation of the theory [of global warming], Spencer R. Weart, director of the Center for the History of Physics of the American Institute of Physics, dissects the interwoven threads of research and reveals the political and societal subtexts that colored scientists' views and the public reception their work received. --Andrew C. Revkin, New York Times Book Review Reviews of this book: It took a century for scientists to agree that gases produced by human activity were causing the world to warm up. Now, in an engaging book that reads like a detective story, physicist Weart reports the history of global warming theory, including the internal conflicts plaguing the research community and the role government has had in promoting climate studies. --Publishers Weekly Reviews of this book: It is almost two centuries since the French mathematician Jean Baptiste Fourier discovered that the Earth was far warmer than it had any right to be, given its distance from the Sun...Spencer Weart's book about how Fourier's initially inconsequential discovery finally triggered urgent debate about the future habitability of the Earth is lucid, painstaking and commendably brief, packing everything into 200 pages. --Fred Pearce, The Independent Reviews of this book: [The Discovery of Global Warming] is a well-written, well-researched and well-balanced account of the issues involved...This is not a sermon for the faithful, or verses from Revelation for the evangelicals, but a serious summary for those who like reasoned argument. Read it--and be converted. --John Emsley, Times Literary Supplement Reviews of this book: This is a terrific book...Perhaps the finest compliment I could give this book is to report that I intend to use it instead of my own book...for my climate class. The Discovery of Global Warming is more up-to-date, better balanced historically, beautifully written and, not least important, short and to the point. I think the [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] needs to enlist a few good historians like Weart for its next assessment. --Stephen H. Schneider, Nature Reviews of this book: This short, well-written book by a science historian at the American Institute of Physics adds a serious voice to the overheated debate about global warming and would serve as a great starting point for anyone who wants to better understand the issue. --Maureen Christie, American Scientist Reviews of this book: I was very pleasantly surprised to find that Spencer Weart's account provides much valuable and interesting material about how the discipline developed--not just from the perspective of climate science but also within the context of the field's relation to other scientific disciplines, the media, political trends, and even 20th-century history (particularly the Cold War). In addition, Weart has done a valuable service by recording for posterity background information on some of the key discoveries and historical figures who contributed to our present understanding of the global warming problem. --Thomas J. Crowley, Science Reviews of this book: Weart has done us all a service by bringing the discovery of global warming into a short, compendious and persuasive book for a general readership. He is especially strong on the early days and the scientific background. --Crispin Tickell, Times Higher Education Supplement A Capricious Beast Ever since the days when he had trudged around fossil lake basins in Nevada for his doctoral thesis, Wally Broecker had been interested in sudden climate shifts. The reported sudden jumps of CO2 in Greenland ice cores stimulated him to put this interest into conjunction with his oceanographic interests. The result was a surprising and important calculation. The key was what Broecker later described as a "great conveyor belt'"of seawater carrying heat northward. . . . The energy carried to the neighborhood of Iceland was "staggering," Broecker realized, nearly a third as much as the Sun sheds upon the entire North Atlantic. If something were to shut down the conveyor, climate would change across much of the Northern Hemisphere' There was reason to believe a shutdown could happen swiftly. In many regions the consequences for climate would be spectacular. Broecker was foremost in taking this disagreeable news to the public. In 1987 he wrote that we had been treating the greenhouse effect as a 'cocktail hour curiosity,' but now 'we must view it as a threat to human beings and wildlife.' The climate system was a capricious beast, he said, and we were poking it with a sharp stick. I found the book enjoyable, thoughtful, and an excellent introduction to the history of what may be one of the most important subjects of the next one hundred years. --Clark Miller, University of Wisconsin The Discovery of Global Warming raises important scientific issues and topics and includes essential detail. Readers should be able to follow the discussion and emerge at the end with a good understanding of how scientists have developed a consensus on global warming, what it is, and what issues now face human society. --Thomas R. Dunlap, Texas A&M University
Book Synopsis Earth 2020: An Insider’s Guide to a Rapidly Changing Planet by : Philippe Tortell
Download or read book Earth 2020: An Insider’s Guide to a Rapidly Changing Planet written by Philippe Tortell and published by Open Book Publishers. This book was released on 2020-04-22 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fifty years have passed since the first Earth Day, on 22 April 1970. This accessible, incisive and timely collection of essays brings together a diverse set of expert voices to examine how the Earth’s environment has changed over this past half century, and what lies in store for our planet over the coming fifty years. Earth 2020: An Insider’s Guide to a Rapidly Changing Planet responds to a public increasingly concerned about the deterioration of Earth’s natural systems, offering readers a wealth of perspectives on our shared ecological past, and on the future trajectory of planet Earth. Written by world-leading thinkers on the front-lines of global change research and policy, this multi-disciplinary collection maintains a dual focus: some essays investigate specific facets of the physical Earth system, while others explore the social, legal and political dimensions shaping the human environmental footprint. In doing so, the essays collectively highlight the urgent need for collaboration across diverse domains of expertise in addressing one of the most significant challenges facing us today. Earth 2020 is essential reading for everyone seeking a deeper understanding of the past, present and future of our planet, and the role of humanity in shaping this trajectory.
Book Synopsis Understanding Earth's Deep Past by : National Research Council
Download or read book Understanding Earth's Deep Past written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-08-02 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is little dispute within the scientific community that humans are changing Earth's climate on a decadal to century time-scale. By the end of this century, without a reduction in emissions, atmospheric CO2 is projected to increase to levels that Earth has not experienced for more than 30 million years. As greenhouse gas emissions propel Earth toward a warmer climate state, an improved understanding of climate dynamics in warm environments is needed to inform public policy decisions. In Understanding Earth's Deep Past, the National Research Council reports that rocks and sediments that are millions of years old hold clues to how the Earth's future climate would respond in an environment with high levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases. Understanding Earth's Deep Past provides an assessment of both the demonstrated and underdeveloped potential of the deep-time geologic record to inform us about the dynamics of the global climate system. The report describes past climate changes, and discusses potential impacts of high levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases on regional climates, water resources, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and the cycling of life-sustaining elements. While revealing gaps in scientific knowledge of past climate states, the report highlights a range of high priority research issues with potential for major advances in the scientific understanding of climate processes. This proposed integrated, deep-time climate research program would study how climate responded over Earth's different climate states, examine how climate responds to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and clarify the processes that lead to anomalously warm polar and tropical regions and the impact on marine and terrestrial life. In addition to outlining a research agenda, Understanding Earth's Deep Past proposes an implementation strategy that will be an invaluable resource to decision-makers in the field, as well as the research community, advocacy organizations, government agencies, and college professors and students.
Book Synopsis Understanding Climate's Influence on Human Evolution by : National Research Council
Download or read book Understanding Climate's Influence on Human Evolution written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2010-04-17 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The hominin fossil record documents a history of critical evolutionary events that have ultimately shaped and defined what it means to be human, including the origins of bipedalism; the emergence of our genus Homo; the first use of stone tools; increases in brain size; and the emergence of Homo sapiens, tools, and culture. The Earth's geological record suggests that some evolutionary events were coincident with substantial changes in African and Eurasian climate, raising the possibility that critical junctures in human evolution and behavioral development may have been affected by the environmental characteristics of the areas where hominins evolved. Understanding Climate's Change on Human Evolution explores the opportunities of using scientific research to improve our understanding of how climate may have helped shape our species. Improved climate records for specific regions will be required before it is possible to evaluate how critical resources for hominins, especially water and vegetation, would have been distributed on the landscape during key intervals of hominin history. Existing records contain substantial temporal gaps. The book's initiatives are presented in two major research themes: first, determining the impacts of climate change and climate variability on human evolution and dispersal; and second, integrating climate modeling, environmental records, and biotic responses. Understanding Climate's Change on Human Evolution suggests a new scientific program for international climate and human evolution studies that involve an exploration initiative to locate new fossil sites and to broaden the geographic and temporal sampling of the fossil and archeological record; a comprehensive and integrative scientific drilling program in lakes, lake bed outcrops, and ocean basins surrounding the regions where hominins evolved and a major investment in climate modeling experiments for key time intervals and regions that are critical to understanding human evolution.
Book Synopsis Storms of My Grandchildren by : James Hansen
Download or read book Storms of My Grandchildren written by James Hansen and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2011-01-04 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: _______________ 'When the history of the climate crisis is written, Hansen will be seen as the scientist with the most powerful and consistent voice calling for intelligent action to preserve our planet's environment' - Al Gore 'Few people know more about climate change than James Hansen ... This unnerving and fluently written book is the definitive one to read' - BBC Wildlife 'Anyone concerned about the world our children and grandchildren must inherit owes it to themselves to read this book' - Irish Times _______________ An urgent and provocative call to action from the world's leading climate scientist Dr James Hansen, the world's leading scientist on climate issues, speaks out with the full truth about global warming: the planet is hurtling to a climatic point of no return. Hansen - whose climate predictions have come to pass again and again, beginning in the 1980s when he first warned US Congress about global warming - is the single most credible voice on the subject worldwide. He paints a devastating but all-too-realistic picture of what will happen if we continue to follow the course we're on. But he is also a hard-headed optimist, and shows that there is still time to take the urgent, strong action needed to save humanity. _______________ 'James Hansen gives us the opportunity to watch a scientist who is sick of silence and compromise; a scientist at the breaking point - the point at which he is willing to sacrifice his credibility to make a stand to avert disaster' - LA Times
