Global warming and climate change demystified

CONTENTS Acknowledgments xiii CHAPTER 1 Global Perspective—Thinking about the Earth 1 PART ONE WHAT WE KNOW AND HOW WE KNOW IT CHAPTER 2 Taking the Earth’s Temperature 7 Global Temperature Measurement—The Basics 8 How Is the Earth’s Temperature Changing? 10 Going Back in Time—The Next Best Thing to Having a Thermometer 15 Different Places, Different Temperature Changes 22 What the Data Are Telling Us 27 Cause and Effect 28 Key Ideas 28 Review Questions 29 CHAPTER 3 Signs of Global Warming 33 Direct and Indirect Evidence 33 The Oceans 34 Melting Ice and Snow 41 Impact on Wildlife—Some Examples 55 Wacky Weather 57 Key Ideas 63 Review Questions 64 PART TWO WHY CLIMATE CHANGES CHAPTER 4 The Earth’s Thermostat—Keeping the Earth Warm 69 The Earth’s Orbit 70 How the Sun Warms the Earth 71 Natural Climate Cycles 90 Distribution of Heat around the Earth—Thermohaline Circulation and the Gulf Stream 101 Key Points 103 Review Questions 104 CHAPTER 5 Greenhouse Chemistry 107 Gases in the Atmosphere 108 Generating Carbon Dioxide 108 Absorption of Light by Gases in the Atmosphere 111 Trace Gases with a Major Potential Impact 114 Carbon Sinks 116 Comparison of Fuels 117 The Effect of Increasing Concentration 120 Isotopes—Determining How Old Something Is 121 Key Ideas 123 Review Questions 124 CHAPTER 6 Origin and Impact of Greenhouse Gases 127 What People Add to Nature’s Greenhouse 128 How Do We Know Where the Greenhouse Gases Come From? Human Fingerprints versus Nature’s Pawprints 135 How the Greenhouse Gases Affect the Atmosphere 137 Where the Human-Added Greenhouse Gases Come From 141 World Energy Use 144 Defi ning the Problem—Key Ideas 146 Review Questions 147 x Global Warming and Climate Change Demystifi ed PART THREE WHAT WE CAN EXPECT AND WHAT WE CAN DO CHAPTER 7 Consequences of Global Warming 151 Climate Models 151 How Much and How Soon Will Climate Change? 157 Impacts of Climate Change 165 Regional Climate Changes 167 Back to the Future—Will the Past Repeat Itself? 170 Results of Climate Models—Levels of Certainty 173 Key Ideas 180 Review Questions 181 CHAPTER 8 Resetting the Earth’s Thermostat—Solutions 185 Electrical Power: The Problem with Coal 186 Transportation—The Problem with Oil 203 Steps Toward a Solution 210 Stepping Up to the Plate—Taking Action 212 Emissions Trading—Cap and Trade 218 Turing Your Money “Green” 219 Adaptation—Global Band-Aids 219 So Crazy It Just Might Work 220 What You Can Do—Individual Actions 223 Final Thoughts 225 Key Ideas 226 Review Questions 227 Final Exam 231 APPENDIX A Glossary 247 APPENDIX B Milestones in the History of Climate Change 251 APPENDIX C Satellites That Monitor Weather and Climate 255 APPENDIX D Units of Measurement Applied to Climate Change 259 Temperature Units 260 Measurement of Wavelength 260 Contents xi Energy and Power 260 Examples of the Use of Prefi xes 261 APPENDIX E Selected Resources 263 Publications 263 Web Sites 263 APPENDIX F Summary of Key Climate Variables 265 APPENDIX G Lingering Doubts and Concerns 269 APPENDIX H Answers to Chapter Review Questions 273 APPENDIX I Answers to Final Exam 275 Index 277