Global Environmental Change

Ronald E. Hester, Roy M. Harrison

Royal Society of Chemistry, 2002 - Nature - 197 pages

Few people today are unaware of the far-reaching effects of global environmental change, and it is now generally accepted that human activities are the root cause of the changes in climate. Global Environmental Change provides a balanced overview of the problems associated with global warming. Commencing with a chapter on the evidence for global warming presented by Sir John Houghton, the book then goes on to discuss the many problems associated with air pollution. Subsequent chapters cover rising sea levels, the effect of climate change on human health and the role of environmental performance in industry. This readable and factually detailed book will have wide appeal but will be of particular interest to environmental scientists, industrial managers, policy-makers and students.

Contents

• Background: 1
• Formation of the IPCC: 2
• The IPCC 1990 Report: 3
• Ownership by Scientists and by Goverments: 4
• The Science Policy Interface: 5
• IPCCs Work in Science Applications and in Social Sciences: 6
• The 1992 1994 and 1995 IPCC Reports: 7
• Attacks on the IPCC: 8
• The FCCC and the IPCC: 9
• The Third Assessment Report: 11
• The Future Work of the IPCC: 18
• The IPCC in the Context of Other Global Issues: 19
• Acknowledgements: 20
• A Perspective on Global Air Pollution Problems: 21
• Impacts of Air Pollution: 25
• The Regional Status of Air Pollution: 36
• Policy Development for Air Pollution Abatement: 45
• Initiatives to Improve Urban Air Quality in Developing Countries: 53
• Future Action: 55
• Influence of Climate Variability and Change on the Structure Dynamics and Exploitation of Marine Ecosystems: 57
• Coupling Atmospheric and Biological Processes in the Ocean: 63
• Anthropogenic Effects: 76
• Conclusions and Way Forward: 80
• Acknowledgements: 82
• Issues in Environmental Science and Technology No 17: 83
• Sealevel Rise and Climate Change in Coastal Areas: 84
• Impact and Vulnerability Assessment of Sealevel Rise: 89
• Responding to Sealevel Rise: 100
• The Future of Vulnerability Assessments: 104
• DiscussionConclusions: 107
• Climate Change Global Food Supply and Risk of Hunger: 109
• Initial Estimations for Climate Scenarios from Low Resolution Climate Models: 110
• Recently Estimated Effects for Climate Scenarios from Higher Resolution GCMs with New Socioeconomic Projections: 123
• Reducing Impacts by Stabilizing Co Concentrations at Lower Levels: 129
• Conclusions: 137
• Global Environmental Changes and Human Health: 139
• Local Regional and Global Environmental Changes: 140
• Environmental Conflict and Security: 154
• Environmental Global Public Goods for Health and Scientific Uncertainty: 156
• Acknowledgement: 160
• Corporate Environmental Performance: 161
• Environmental and Social Reporting: 165
• Environmental Performance Measurement and Reporting: 166
• Standardization Initiatives: 167
• Analysis of Environmental and Financial Performance of Firms: 170
• The MEPI Study: 175
• Subject Index: 185

About the author

The series has been edited by Professors Hester and Harrison since it began in 1994.

Professor Roy Harrison OBE is listed by ISI Thomson Scientific (on ISI Web of Knowledge) as a Highly Cited Researcher in the Environmental Science/Ecology category. He has an h-index of 54 (i.e. 54 of his papers have received 54 or more citations in the literature). In 2004 he was appointed OBE for services to environmental science in the New Year Honours List. He was profiled by the Journal of Environmental Monitoring (Vol 5, pp 39N-41N, 2003). Professor Harrison's research interests lie in the field of environment and human health. His main specialism is in air pollution, from emissions through atmospheric chemical and physical transformations to exposure and effects on human health. Much of this work is designed to inform the development of policy.

Now an emeritus professor, Professor Ron Hester's current activities in chemistry are mainly as an editor and as an external examiner and assessor. He also retains appointments as external examiner and assessor / adviser on courses, individual promotions, and departmental / subject area evaluations both in the UK and abroad.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Global Environmental Change; Volume 17 of Issues in Environmental Scienc; Volume 17 of Issues in environmental science and technology, ISSN 1350-7583
• Editors: Ronald E. Hester, Roy M. Harrison
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2002
• ISBN: 0854042806, 9780854042807
• Length: 197 pages
• Subjects: Nature / Weather; Science / Earth Sciences / Meteorology & Climatology; Science / Environmental Science