Climate Change: A Very Short Introduction

Front Cover
Oxford University Press, 2014 - Nature - 187 pages
Climate change is still, arguably, the most critical and controversial issue facing the world in the twenty-first century. Previously published as Global Warming: A Very Short Introduction, the new edition has been renamed Climate Change: A Very Short introduction, to reflect the important change in the terminology of the last decade.

In the third edition, Mark Maslin includes crucial updates from the last few years, including the results of the 2013 IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, the effects of ocean acidification, and the impact of changes to global population and health. Exploring key topics in the debate, Maslin makes sense of the complexities of climate change, from political and social issues to environmental and scientific ones. Looking at its predicated impacts, he explores the controversies, and explains various proposed solutions.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

 

Contents

What is climate change?
1
The climate change debate
12
Evidence for climate change
29
Modelling future climate
46
Climate change impacts
68
Climate surprises
98
Politics of climate change
114
Solutions
136
Envisioning the future
165
Further reading
179
Index
183
A Very Short Introduction
188
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About the author (2014)

Mark Maslin is Professor of Climatology at University College London. He is currently a Royal Society Industrial Fellow. He was the former Director of the UCL Environment Institute and Head of the Department of Geography. He is science advisor to the Global Precious Commodities PLC, Global Cool Foundation, Climatecom Strategies, Steria, Permian Ltd and Carbon Sense Ltd. Maslin is a leading scientist with particular expertise in past global and regional climatic change and has publish over 120 papers in journals such as Science, Nature, and Geology. He has also have written eight popular books, over 30 popular articles, and appeared on both radio and television.

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