Product Description
In Balancing Change and Tradition in Global Education Reform, Rotberg brings together examples of current education reforms in sixteen countries, written by _insiders_. This book goes beyond myths and stereotypes and describes the difficult trade-offs countries make as they attempt to implement reforms in the context of societal and global change. In some countries, reforms are a response to major political or economic shifts; in others, they are motivated by large upsurges in immigration and increased student diversity. Irrespective of the reasons for education reform, all countries face decisions about resource allocation, equality of educational opportunity across diverse populations, access to higher education, student testing and tracking, teacher accountability, school choice, and innovation. The essays in this volume reveal: _ ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

In the nick of time
"Balancing Change and Tradition in Global Education Reform" couldn't have come at a more propitious moment.Demands for American schools to reinvent themselves are invariably accompanied by references to international test scores that show our students performing poorly compared with their peers from other countries.The collection of essays in this book edited by Iris C. Rotberg shows the dangers of generalizing about educational quality based on the headlines in the evening news.

What Rotberg's careful selection of authors underscores is that each country has its own set of values, choices and societal pressures.While it's tempting to try to transfer a particular model of education to the U.S., or -- by extension -- to any other country, it will not likely be successful.That's because an education system reflects the totality of a country's unique culture and history.

It's too bad that Bill Gates didn't read Rotberg's book before addressing the recent National Governors Association.If he had, he'd want to revise his remarks.

... Read more

Product Description
Global Mind Change startles us into reconsidering therole of consciousness in major areas of human concern: science andeducation, spirituality and consciousness research, health andhealing, psychology and psychotherapy, economics and management.Revolutions are generally thought of as large-scale, bloody upheavalsinvolving whoe countries and societies. B there are quieterrevolutions that begin in the individual mind and create the kind ofchange that may be even more significant. By deliberately changingtheir internal image of reality, people are transforming theworld. Right now we are living through one of the most fundamentalshifts in histroy-a change in the actual belief structure of Westernindustrial society.Global Mind Change, first published in 1988, connects every majorfield of human endeavor in its exploration of the possibilities forsocial transformation through internal change. Harman, whose careerspanned both the technical (electrical engineering) and psychologicalsciences, examines the role of consciousness in five areas:

- Mature science, which validates subjective, religious, andspiritual insights along with objective data as a way of describingreality

- Spirituality and consciousness research, which shows thecompatibility between the world's religions and the insights ofthousands of years of exploration of consciousness

- Health and healing, where the mind's role is increasinglyrecognized as a crucial influence on human wellnqess

- Psychology and psychotherapy, where research intounexplained phenomena and exceptional mental and physical abilitiesproves the only human limits are those we believe in

- Economics and management, where managers are utilizingbrain-mind research to release employees' creativity, and corporationsare addressing global issues of poverty, security, and the environment ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Serious Analysis of the Purpose of Science
This is my second 'global mind change' book, and reading 'the promise of the 21st century' resembled Global Mind Change: The New Age Revolution in the Way We Think.I'm not sure if '21st Century' is an expanded edition of 'New Age Revolution,' as they share core concepts.Familiar with the concepts from the first book, I understood them better after reading.The clarity and readability of this work is higher than 'New Age Revolution.'

Global Mind Change is the concept the post-industrial revolution era has opened a huge increase in productivity to the point where the essentials of life are easily provided by society.Instead caring for the Earth, the primary elite are exploitative corporations who sacrifice long term planetary health for a short term profit.The reason for this is linked to a reductionist world view, where numbers and classifications are more important than consciousness and human beings.The Why's of the reductionist worldview (M1) are examined in the context of fundamental assumptions behind science and the purpose of science.Global Mind change seeks to redefine fundamental assumptions, or provide a fresh look at them, for a better future.

It's not a hippy book.The biggest thing I 'got' this time was the levels of science -- Physical Science, Life Sciences, Human Sciences, and Spiritual Sciences.The modern westernized science does not value consciousness or emotions (human or spiritual sciences), meaning reductionist 'put a monetary value on everything' trumps future generations, long-term survival, and intangible values. The books says 'stop and look at nonsensical behavior before you ruin the Earth.'Those fundamental assumptions include profiteering ethics fighting/overwhelming good science, and that a consumption based throw-away society is inherently superior to a 'make things which last' creative society.What struck me as odd is the author is unaware of the 'Tragedy of the Commons' concept, which greatly helps/compliments their thesis.

Perennial Wisdom (i.e. overwhelming empirical evidence regarding human and spiritual sciences which modern science ignores) is examined and not dismissed.Global Mind Change uses a bottom-up approach in examining the flawed methodology of the current M1 (matter giving rise to mind) metaphysics underlying Western science and proposes a shift to M3 (Transcendental Monism, mind giving rise to matter).I did not agree with this conclusion, and I do not understand why the author is not promoting an M2 model (Dualism, matter plus mind).

The book does a wonderful job of analyzing the history of M1, including covering the light wave vs. light particle debate and how Europeans science leaders trashed their meteor specimens in the 1700's because they decided 'space rocks' were like angels and elves.My point is, the author takes a deliberate stand that a dual approach is best for understanding the world.The light-as-particle model is valid, but so is the light-as-wave model, and the end result is a complimentary modeling with greater understanding.While the author covers the flaws in M1, they ignore the flaws in M3 (to find those flaws examine historical India or even a contemporary Islamic theocracy).

While I appreciated the well constructed analysis, I found it fights for the wrong conclusion (M3 vs M2).It does not distinguish 'a move towards M3' and M3 itself.Overall, an enjoyable, thinking book I did not entirely agree with.

Key to Humanity's Transformation
This book is essential reading for anyone thinking about any major transformation in our society...Harman nails the key to any major shifts, changing the way we humans think. It reminds me of Einstein's warning that we'll never solve our problems using the same consciousness with which we created them.

This book, in advance of all others, has served to inspire my own work including ten books and many articles.

A Solid Effort!
From Galileo to the Wright Brothers, mankind's most significant scientific discoveries have come from thinkers who challenged the assumptions of the day, often earning the scorn - or worse - of their contemporaries. Esteemed futurist Willis Harman reminds us of this fact early and often in the second edition of Global Mind Change, which is enhanced by a foreword by acclaimed author, Hazel Henderson, but otherwise maintains the original's insights and flaws. In terms of insight, Harman speaks eloquently about the changes in human perspective that accompanied - and he says ultimately caused - such radical shifts as the fall of the Roman Empire and the demise of slavery in the United States. He extends this analysis to modern scientific thought, which he identifies as a societal foundation currently in the first stages of a paradigm shift in which many concepts now viewed as "New Age" will gain acceptance. We [...] recommend this book to any armchair futurist, but urge all readers to bear in mind one caveat: For every free thinker who upended science with brilliant insight, there have been untold thousands of quacks, madmen and charlatans.

Tragedy of Scientific Myopia, Portal to the Future Paradigm

This is a wonderful indictment of the Western scientific tradition, less comprehensive than Voltaire's Bastards but more readable and more focused as a result.The author shows a clear connection between existing global problems (ethnic violence, water scarcity, pollution, poverty, criminalization of society) and the earlier Western decisions to adopt scientific objectivity (with all of its inherent bias and ignorance) as well as the primacy of economic institutions such as have given rise to the consumerist society, regardless of the external diseconomies, the concentrations of ill-gotten wealth, and the cost to the earth resource commons.The author is especially strong on the need to restore sprituality, consciousness, and values to the decision-making and information-sharing architecture of the world--only in this way could community be achieved across national and ethnic and class lines, and only in this way could environmental sustainability and justice (economic, social, and cultural) be made possible.This is not a "tree hugger" book as much as it is a "master's class" for those who would be master's of the universe.It is a very fine portal into the growing body of people who wish to be cultural creatives, and easily one of the guideposts toward the next major paradigm shift, away from scientific materialism and toward a new communitas in which people really matter.

lfootemd
As a physician trying to bridge the gulf between western and eastern medicine, this has been a wonderful book.The western paradigm, while successful in it's own right, has vast "blanks" to explain certain phenomenon, particularly in the realm of human consciousness.Theauthor has adeptly created a vision from which we can grasp and incorporatea new paradigm.It is so welcoming to read such a scholarly tome thathonors the human spirit while embracing the human journey thus fartraveled.This is one of the best books from the IONS (Institute of NoeticSciences) collection. ... Read more

Product Description
This comprehensive, current examination of U.S. law as it relates to global climate change begins with a summary of the factual and scientific background of climate change based on governmental statistics and other official sources. Subsequent chapters address the international and national frameworks of climate change law, including the Kyoto Protocol, state programs affected in the absence of a mandatory federal program, issues of disclosure and corporate governance, and the insurance industry. Also covered are the legal aspects of other efforts, including voluntary programs, emissions trading programs, and carbon sequestration. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good synopsis
Very good overview-level synopsis of the legal landscape as it shapes regulation of greenhouse gases in the U.S.Unfortunately, it was published just before the 2007 Massachusetts decision, so it does not address these implications directly.

Global warming hype meets environmental ambulance chasers
The premises of this volume rest upon the intellectual and scientific quicksand which underlies the entire phenomenon of "global warming" hysteria. Like the vast majority of those who have jumped onto the "global warming" bandwagon, the editor and contributors to this volume bring no scientific expertise to the project, being content to blindly accept the extreme hypotheses of some scientists on the federal grant gravy train and run with them. But this will make little difference to those lawyers who are looking for new avenues in which to peddle their "services," just as they sign up for the latest specialized conferences on Vioxx litigation and the like. Cap and trade, however, will provide a virtual goldmine to litigation-happy lawyers for years to come as it drives a stake into the heart of the American economy. It will, in its dire effects, constitute the most far-reaching, and totally unecessary, case of economic masochism in American history.

Nevertheless, it's astounding what a negligible increase of 0.8 degrees Celsius in the world's temperature over the past 150 years, coming at the end of the Little Ice Age, will do to fuel the collective, and collectivist, mindset among the nations and citizens of the world.These temperatures have variously risen and fallen for eons. Indeed, some of the most highly qualified climate scientists have painstakingly documented the existence of a 1,500-year climate cycle over the entire globe. In a monumental 1983 study of mile deep Greenland ice core samples by Denmark's Willi Dansgaard and Switzerland's Hans Oeschger (results confirmed a few years later on Antarctica, and by scores of proxy studies) revealed a 250,000-year world climate history which reflected the moderate climate cycles of the sun.What characterizes the present era, however, is a lot of bad science anxious to tap unlimited sources of government funding for climate research, a gullible media, quasi-religious environmental organizations, and the nefarious influence of politics upon the scientific enterprise. The fruits of that "research" include Michael Mann's now thoroughly debunked "hockey stick" representation of the most recent 1,000 years of climate history, which, nevertheless, became a prominent feature of Al Gore's global warming sideshow, and which finds naïve acceptance by the editor of this volume (see Figure 1-1). The "presentist" mindset, which interprets the current climate experience as a unique and threatening phenomenon, reveals a sorry lack of historical perspective. Most significantly, the carefully documented climate record reveals that temperatures were 2-4 degrees higher in the medieval warm period (900-1300 A.D.) than they are today, when CO2 levels are higher, and that CO2 levels are actually an 800-year lagging indicator of global warming, not a causal factor.Many of the scientists who contributed to the 1996 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) documented these findings, concluding that no such "human fingerprint" had been found in the recent global warming, but their statements were shockingly removed from Chapter 8 of the IPCC's 1996 report by U.N. bureaucrats and U.S. politicians in the Clinton administration anxious to manufacture "consensus" regarding anthropogenic global warming.This is the context in which books like the Global Climate Change and U.S. Law are produced.Regardless of the flawed presentation of the science presented in this volume, however, lawyers stand to make a good living off the complex legal and regulatory schemes detailed in this book, including the implementation of an elaborate system of emission cap and trade programs, as well as the more benign efforts to conserve energy, and develop renewable energy sources.

Building upon this flawed scientific analysis, Part I of this volume describes the national and international framework of climate change regulation, the impact of the Kyoto Protocol on U.S. business, clean air regulation, civil remedies, climate change in facility permitting, and international trade and development. Part II describes the emerging regional, state and local actions, together with a 50-state survey of state responses to climate change. Part III examines a variety of corporate actions, including disclosure issues, fiduciary duties, insurance and climate change, and subsidies, tax policy and technological innovations. Part IV examines the legal aspects of efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, such as voluntary efforts, emissions trading, and carbon sequestration. It also includes a list of important resources, a glossary of climate-related terms, a list of acronyms; endnotes, and index. Twenty-four authors contributed to this volume under the editorship of Michael Garrard, a partner in the New York office of Arnold & Porter LLP, where he heads its environmental practice group. The views of the individual authors stand alone, irrespective of the views of the other contributors.

For more authoritative and balanced views of the science of global climate, see Fred Singer and Dennis Avery's Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years (Rowman & Littlefield, 2007); Lawrence Solomon's "The Deniers" (Richard Vigilante Books, 2008);" Iain Murray's "The Really Inconvenient Truths" (Regnery, 2008); Roy Spencer's "Climate Confusion" (Encounter Books, 2008); and Henrik Svensmark and Nigel Calder's The Chilling Stars: A New Theory of Climate Change (Icon Books, 2007), which argues that the interplay of clouds, the sun, and cosmic rays has a far more profound effect of climate than carbon dioxide.Readers are also directed to Willie Soon and Sallie Baliunas' metanalysis of studies related to the existence of the climate cycle, the Medieval Warming Period, and Little Ice Age (see "Reconstructing Climatic and EnvironmentalChanges of the Past 1000 Years: A Reappraisal," Energy and Environment 14, no. 2/3 (March 2003), 233-296.They discovered 112 studies about the Medieval Warming Period, 92% of which showed evidence of warming, 124 studies from around the world addressing the existence of the Little Ice Age, 98% of these confirming the era's cooling.Finally, they examined 102 studies containing information on the question of whether the 20th century was the warmest on record, 78% of which found earlier periods lasting at least 50 years that were warmer than any period in the 20th century.

Ironically, despite all the hoopla about "global warming" or, as it isincreasingly called as temperatures have fallen, "climate change," global mean temperatures are now at roughly their 3,000-year average.

The EPA, led by Lisa Jackson and its socialist "global warming" czarina Carol Browner,has now declared carbon dioxide to be a "pollutant."This is surely the most scientifically unfounded decision and the most damaging to our economy and freedom in the history of that agency. And, if implemented, it will rank with the banning of DDT as the most deadly action every perpertated by the U.S. government on the world's poor.But that won't stand in the way of thousands of lawyers trying to make a buck off their, and our, misery.

**Since this review was written, the so-called "Climategate" scandal has implicated the Hadley Centre's Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in the UK, a leading source for the U.N.'s climate data, in an orchestrated effort to fudge climate data and impugn the integrity and publication efforts of those who fail to toe the alarmist line.Among those exposed by more than a thousand e-mails were the Center's director Phil Jones, and Michael Mann, author of the infamoushockey stick graph.As a result of the fallout, many scientists have admitted a much higher degree of uncertainty in the climate record than previously acknowledged.Thus, this review, which was written before the scandal erupted, has been largelyvindicated by subsequent events; and public concern for the alleged threat of "global warming" or "climate change", has declined significantly. ... Read more

Product Description
Global environmental change represents an immediate and unprecedented threat to the food security of hundreds of millions of people, especially those who depend on small-scale agriculture for their livelihoods. As this book shows, at the same time, agriculture and related activities also contribute to climate change, by intensifying greenhouse gas emissions and altering the land surface. Responses aimed at adapting to climate change may have negative consequences for food security, just as measures taken to increase food security may exacerbate climate or other environmental change. The authors show that his complex and dynamic relationship between climate change, agriculture and food security is also influenced by additional factors. Agricultural and food systems are heavily influenced by socioeconomic conditions, which in turn are affected by multiple processes such as macro-level economic policies, political conflicts and the spread of infectious diseases.

This book provides a major, accessible synthesis of the current state of knowledge and thinking on the relationships between global environmental change and food security. While some other books look at the links between climate change and agricultural production, they do not extend this to food security. In contrast, this book addresses the broader issues, based on a novel food system concept and stressing the need for actions at a regional, rather than just an international or local, level. It reviews new thinking which has emerged over the last decade, and looks forward towards adaptation and mitigation strategies for the next decade. ... Read more

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In recent years, scholars in international relations and other fields have begun to conceive of security more broadly, moving away from a state-centered concept of national security toward the idea of human security, which emphasizes the individual and human well-being. Viewing global environmental change through the lens of human security connects such problems as melting ice caps and carbon emissions to poverty, vulnerability, equity, and conflict. This book examines the complex social, health, and economic consequences of environmental change across the globe.

In chapters that are both academically rigorous and policy relevant, the book discusses the connections of global environmental change to urban poverty, natural disasters (with a case study of Hurricane Katrina), violent conflict (with a study of the decade-long Nepalese civil war), population, gender, and development. The book makes clear the inadequacy of traditional understandings of security and shows how global environmental change is raising new, unavoidable questions of human insecurity, conflict, cooperation, and sustainable development.

Contributors: W. Neil Adger, Jennifer Bailey, Jon Barnett, Victoria Basolo, Hans Georg Bohle, Mike Brklacich, May Chazan, Chris Cocklin, Geoffrey D. Dabelko, Indra de Soysa, Heather Goldsworthy, Betsy Hartmann, Robin M. Leichenko, Laura Little, Alexander López, Richard A. Matthew, Bryan McDonald, Eric Neumayer, Kwasi Nsiah-Gyabaah, Karen L. O'Brien, Marvin S. Soroos, Bishnu Raj Upreti ... Read more

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The second edition of Dessler and Parson's acclaimed book provides an integrated treatment of the science, technology, economics, policy, and politics of climate change. Aimed at the educated non-specialist, and at courses in environmental policy or climate change, the book clearly lays out the scientific foundations of climate change, the issues in current policy debates, and the interactions between science and politics that make the climate change debate so contentious and confusing. This new edition is brought completely up to date to reflect the rapid movement of events related to climate change. In addition, all sections have been improved, in particular a more thorough primer on the basic science of climate change is included. The book also now integrates the discussion of contrarian claims with the discussion of current scientific knowledge; extends the discussion of cost and benefit estimates; and provides an improved glossary. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

climate Con: How It Pays Off
What if CO2 emissions from 6,000 older inefficient PCs in Duluth could be reduced by half by replacing them with one big 5-acre computer in Des Moines run by just 88 people? Think of what we'd save in CO2 emissions!
We'll establish another UN bureaucracy with green jobbers to monitor this mitigation plan! And we'll finance it all - and a make a ton of money - with an annual fee per ton of CO2 emissions saved - paid by New Yorkers required by law to pony up - every year for the life of the computer in Des Moines, estimated at 20 years. We'll charge fees for any files printed in Des Moines and delivered to Duluth (but ignore the CO2 emissions generated in transit).
Along with the Teamsters, NGOs and bureaucrats, New Yorkers will be thrilled by this plan since these are green jobs and, after all, we're saving the planet!
And what could possibly be better than that?

[...]

Ludicrous right wing baloney.
Ludicrous right wing baloney. There have now been thousands of peer-reviewed professional papers published by seasoned relevant researchers demonstrating, not only historically out of bounds global climate CHANGE (not all of it will be warming), but statistically driven proof of human causality. How many peer reviewed studies have been published demonstrating a LACK of human causality? Anyone? Oh, that's right. It is zero, zip, nada. Right wingers lie about climate change but scientists go by the results, even if they contradict their possible pre-existing beliefs. I have seen quite a few professionals who have abandoned their prior skepticism about climate CHANGE (not all of it will be warming). Why is the British government leading the global effort to deal with the issue. Because they are scared spitless by the increasingly rapid loss of the Greenland icecap. NASA satellite measurements have recently shown that the loss rate has been twice that predicted only about 5 years ago. This leads to a great increase in 'bergs' being calved off of the edge of the icecap. These bergs float out into the northern Atlantic and slowly melt when they get in the warm current coming across from the Gulf. This influx of cold fresh water decreases the salinity of the so-called 'Atlantic conveyor' which carries heat from the warmer southern waters up to the area of the British Isles. The heat is released there, often in the form of warm precipitation, and the cooler resulting water sinks to the bottom due to its high salinity and flows back towards the south. Seabed deposits show that the Atlantic conveyor has totally stopped several times (at least) in the last 100,000 years. That is very much not a good thing. The loss of the added heat from the Atlantic conveyer basically makes the British Isles and much of western Europe almost uninhabitable and destroys any form of agriculture. Only the most incompetent leader would stand back and watch that sad fate developing without taking immediate strong action. I firmly believe that Tony Blair tried to maintain close ties with the current administration to get more influence over U.S. climate change policy. It remains to be seen whether that worked. And, yes, there have been numerous warming and cooling periods on Earth historically. Primarily driven by the increasing well understood Milankovitch cycles. The cycles run the earth's climate system with a little help (!) from the sun. The statistical variance in a cycle comes from other influences including human intervention.

Global Warming:Reality
Dessler and Parson have provided a welcome contribution on the subject of climate change. It is, of course, a nightmare for the climate change denial folks. Clearly written and making the critical distinction between science and political decision making, the authors lay out the case for a rapid response to a looming disaster. The book provides a counter balance for the nonsense being spewed forth by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Joanne Nova and Senator Orrin Hatch. It will not change the minds of politicians whose campaigns are funded by the energy industry, but it should sway the opinion of a literate public with its compelling arguments: 'We have met the enemy and he is us.'

excellent, brief introduction to the science and politics
In my effort to learn about climate change, I found it admittedly very difficult to read the lengthy IPCC reports (e.g. Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis), so it's wonderful to have Dessler's and Parson's short, inexpensive book to give a guide to the findings of the IPCC, as well as to explain some of the politics in a calm, rational way. I think that any citizen genuinely interested in this topic should try to become familiar with the actual IPCC findings.

What is the IPCC ?What have they concluded ?How uncertain are the conclusions ?How have the policy makers reacted ?What are the scientific criticisms ?These issues are explained in this nice compact book.A very good aspect of this book is that it conforms to the standard practice of scientific argument: it shows data, describes theories (models), discusses how the theory fits data, explains the uncertainties, and (importantly) cites references.When looking into this subject, I suggest the reader beware of books or articles that are primarily "expert opinion" with no, or very little, reference to actual data.

The only reasons I didn't give 5 stars are: a) I would have liked it if the book could have covered the 2007 edition of IPCC report (maybe they will update it ?), and b) The book has a somewhat dry, academic style which probably will not make it very popular with a mass audience, hence limiting it's impact.At least it's short, though. Perhaps when they update it they can bring in a science writer to improve the style.

Eschew Obfuscation
I was disappointed in the writing.The book reads like a scientific treatise.The authors write, "This tangling of positive with normative claims, and of explicit arguments with unstated assumptions, obstructs reasoned deliberations on public policy."(p. 22.)OK.No doubt this is true.It borders on common sense and needs to be said.The problem is that, for the non-scientific person to whom this book is addressed, such language obstructs understanding.We don't talk that way.I gather that the authors are keen to be as objective and sound in their discussion as possible.Certainly this is commendable.Do they need to speak in these kinds of terms in order to be objective?Do they need to speak in such language in order to convey these basic concepts?Not to the degree they have done so.I give the book only four stars because I was anxious to learn more about this topic, and I was annoyed when an "accessible primer" is made unnecessarily difficult.I'm not planning in taking a degree in the subject. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

A fine educational tool for young student environmental activists
"A Kids' Guide to Climate Change and Global Warming" is a recent workbook for kids in grade 6 and up in the How To Take Action! series. It contains a global warming map, carbon footprints explanation, water audits, youth summits, alternative energies, cool foods, green comics and much more to empower kids to take action to reduce or end global warming. Providing step by step suggestions for effective activities, "A Kids' Guide to Climate Change and global Warming" is a fine educational tool for young student environmental activists.
... Read more

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Terrestrial carbon balance is uncertain at the regional and global scale. A significant source of variability in mid-latitude ecosystems is related to the timing and duration of phenological phases. Spring phenology, in particular, has disproportionate effects on the annual carbon balance. However, the traditional phenological indices that are based on leaf-out and flowering times of select indicator species are not universally amenable for predicting the temporal dynamics of ecosystem carbon and water exchange.

Phenology of Ecosystem Processes evaluates current applications of traditional phenology in carbon and H2O cycle research, as well as the potential to identify phenological signals in ecosystem processes themselves. The book summarizes recent progress in the understanding of the seasonal dynamics of ecosystem carbon and H2O fluxes, the novel use of various methods (stable isotopes, time-series, forward and inverse modeling), and the implications for remote sensing and global carbon cycle modeling.

Each chapter includes a literature review, in order to present the state-of-the-science in the field and enhance the book’s usability as an educational aid, as well as a case study to exemplify the use and applicability of various methods. Chapters that apply a specific methodology summarize the successes and challenges of particular methods for quantifying the seasonal changes in ecosystem carbon, water and energy fluxes. The book will benefit global change researchers, modelers, and advanced students.

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A non-heated discussion on global warming and climate change

Interested in getting to the core of the reasons for the Earth's changing climate? Want an accurate reading on the science behind global warming? Here's your gauge! This easy-to-follow guide offers a temperate view of this hot topic.

Global Warming & Climate Change Demystified starts by looking at scientific data gathered from weather instruments, satellite telemetry, ice cores, and coral sections that reveal how the Earth's temperature is changing. The book goes on to examine the causes of climate change, including both natural processes and human-generated greenhouse gases. Finally, the consequences of global warming are discussed and a wide variety of viable solutions that can be implemented by individuals as well as society as a whole are presented. Complete with end-of-chapter quizzes and a final review to test your knowledge, this book will teach you the fundamentals of global warming and climate change in an unbiased and thorough manner.

This fast and easy guide offers:

• A thorough review of scientific data
• Details on the evidence of global warming worldwide
• Information on the origin and impact of greenhouse gases
• Explanations of alternatives to carbon-based energy sources
• Suggestions for local and global solutions

Simple enough for a beginner, but challenging enough for an advanced student, Global Warming & Climate Change Demystified is your shortcut to understanding this important and timely issue.

Customer Reviews (2)

The most factual and understandable book on global warming.
Many books written on the topic of global warming and climate change. However, this one stands out as being especially helpful in understanding this complex issue that I think has confused a lot of people. For one thing it lays out the science in a clear and understandable way. It can be read by someone who does not have a strong scientific backgroud or interest. But it can also gives a reader enough detail to go beyond the simple assertions of fact found in other books and articles. The book is honest and direct with the facts. It does not over-dramatize the problem as some other books have done. It retails a lot of crediblity by stating but not overstating the scientific data that has been gathered in recent years. The reader is given the opportunity to respond to the issue without being beaten over the head with a political agenda. The case for global warming caused by humans burning fossil fuels however is made clear to the reader. Its effects in terms of impact on the planet are also spelled out in convincing detail. What I like best is the section on solutions. This is not a lets-be-green for a day feel good book. The solutions go well beyond just screwing in more efficient light bulbs or everyone doing their part. Specific changes to how we generate energy and transport people are spelled out. Coal will be a dominant and unavoidable source of electric power for the next several decades. This book provides a very practical and realistic insight into what needs to be done to reduce the impact of coal on climate while searching for longer term renewable sources of power. I also like the fact that this book is up to date in that it includes the most recent results from the IPCC and the Bali confernece held this year. There are several good books coming out on the subject of climate change (and some not so good ones), but I think this one should be on everyone's list.

Awesome book!
This book was very informative, especially for people who don't fully understand science. Full of great examples and pictures! Highly highly recommended! ... Read more

Product Description
Technology and Global Change describes how technology has shaped society and the environment over the last 200 years. Technology has led us from the farm to the factory to the internet, and its impacts are now global. Technology has eliminated many problems, but has added many others (ranging from urban smog to the ozone hole to global warming). This book is the first to give a comprehensive description of the causes and impacts of technological change and how they relate to global environmental change. Written for specialists and nonspecialists alike, it will be useful for researchers and professors, as a textbook for graduate students, for people engaged in long-term policy planning in industry (strategic planning departments) and government (R & D and technology ministries, environment ministries),for environmental activists (NGOs), and for the wider public interested in history, technology, or environmental issues. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A MUST buy
The book is about humans, nature and how they interact. What Grübler provides is context, context that ranges, it seems, over the entire human history.Yet it is easily understood.At last, the world around us makes sense. (it helps if you love graphs, because he uses them in masterly fashion) ... Read more

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This is the first textbook to consider all aspects of the cryosphere system in the context of global environmental change driven by human activity and climate.

• Considers all six aspects of the cryosphere – ice sheets, glacier ice, permafrost, river and lake ice, sea ice and snow – in the context of global environmental change driven by human activity and climate.
  
• Describes a new concept of cryosphere transience and landscape transition which links climate, hydrology, ecology and geomorphology.
  
• Looks at the evidence, process, and patterns of cryosphere change, on local and global scales.
  
• Provides a wealth of data to inform the current global environmental change debate.

Customer Reviews (1)

Perfect for undergraduate intro class on cold region issues
The quality of the research and writing in this critical assessment of the cryosphere is unmatched.This book is highly relevant for our critical understanding of one of the world's most rapidly changing environment.I highly recommend this book--well suited to undergraduate geography courses. ... Read more

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Global warming: it's one of the hottest scientific and political issues of today. And yet we've all found ourselves asking . . .

- It's freezing outside--where's global warming now?
- Climate is always changing--how do we know this isn't just a cycle?
- Why should Christians care about global warming when we know the world won't end that way?

For all the talk about climate change, there's still a great deal of debate about what it all means, especially among Christians. A CLIMATE FOR CHANGE offers straightforward answers to these questions, without the spin. This book untangles the complex science and tackles many long-held misconceptions about global warming. Authored by a climate scientist and a pastor, A CLIMATE FOR CHANGE boldly explores the role our Christian faith can play in guiding our opinions on this important global issue. (2009) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

An Informative Book about Climate Change
Climate change is happening at the earth's core. It's warming lakes and there are changes in the weather. The thing that stuck out to me is that weather is different than what is happening. Yes there are record colds but it's how much the seasons are changing that is being effected. They use charts, graphs, and other facts. They even debunk the myths that people like Al Gore are trying to prove. They take real life examples and show how things have changed around the world.

It's not about politics. It's about the science of things. Looking back at temperature changes for hundreds of years. I was blown away by the detailed record keeping over the centuries. They wanted the straight facts not all the hot air that is blowing around about this topic. They laid it all out, what causes were happening both by nature and by man. We're causing the most problems.

The main problem with most of it is that it is expensive to change how we live. Yes, recycling does help but that is only one thing that can be done. Yet we are creatures of comfort. I loved the honesty of the authors that laid it all out for you. They even admitted that they didn't agree on everything. Statements throughout the book just made my eyes open even more. I may not understand it all. I am still learning but definitely want to read more on the subject.

The final thing that it left me with is something that I have always felt. I want to take care of the Earth that we do have. Yes there will be a new heaven and a new earth as it is stated in the Bible. I am concerned about what we have now.I also liked the fact that they gave you other sources to understand more of what is happening to our Earth. This is one book that will stick with me for a long time.

If you like Elmer Gantry, you'll luv this "book."
I applaud the energy of the authors and I really hate to rain on the parade but I have to do my best Paul Revere impression on this toxic book.If the system allowed, I would give it a zero rating.

I found this little "gem" in our church library this morning bearing the label "new" and have spent the last two hours reading it.That was about 90 minutes more than this work deserves.I would like to think that the authors mean well, but I also wonder whether or not they have simply sought out and found their niche for making money off a trusting Christian community just as the Elmer Gantry types learned to do 70 years ago.It may not be all their fault because the Christian community in the past 25 years has embraced the commercialization of the faith, and maybe that's standard operating procedure in their environment.But if so, this is a perfect example of why it is a very bad idea and cheapens the faith.

I will be blunt.This volume, in my opinion, is an intellectual, scientific and theological travesty--even if they are correct on the science, and in that I remain a sceptic due to the total lack of credibility of the science community. I am distressed that it found its way into our church library and that anyone would hold him or herself out as a Christian and publish such a lacking epistle intentionally to the Christian community.The authors would do well to read and study Alexander Pope's Essay on Criticism, you know, that one with the line "a little learning is a dangerous thing."

Science has entered a period where it has become two ugly things at once: the grand Inquisitor where Truth is no longer its objective (money and conformity to the thinking of the money source have taken over as the goal) and where it has prostituted itself towards that objective.The search for Truth, Academic integrity and Academic freedom are relics of the past.It is all about money, and you do what it takes.And so, we start with what seems to be a bit of puffery in credentials.A little Google looking leads to the discovery that "Dr." Hayhoe is not a doctor of philosophy at all.Once you know that little fact, you then realize the unusual description of Hayhoe as a "climate scientist" with no mention of earned degrees. The book never states that she has a doctorate but the clear inference is there, and even some prior reviewers (and many news stories) have assumed such. According to Hayhoe's bio, she has a BA in physics and astronomy from University of Toronto and a masters degree in climate science studies from University of Illinois, no doctorate, and her position at Texas Tech is a "research associate professor", not the expert.The book itself has a bibliography of 38 pages, with a high percentage being web articles, and cites to only two of her own works, one a web-site URL on page 185 which appears to be a short report about climate in Chicago but the report is no longer available, the other on page 189, seemingly a similar report about California that looks to be five pages long. Hayhoe does get a lot of publicity but it does not seem she is in the category of a renowned leading expert.

There in fact are many real PhD climatologists around the world who would disagree with most of the "science" she claims to describe, but you would never know from the volume that any such real scientists even exist, except perhaps in her repetitively opaque (but less than scientific) argument that "some would deny....but...."I do not find that to be an acceptable way to dismiss the opposition--at least have the guts to put a name to your Goliath and then take your best shot, but don't put the burden on the reader to say "Well, what about Prof So-And-So who thinks you're nuts."

In that regard, Hayhoe claims over and over that the data is known and settled, yet the fact is that many of her scientific comrades were caught last year with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar of destroying and hiding data upon which their hypotheses rest, over a period of many years, claiming at the time that no back up data was preserved.Is Hayhoe claiming that she has a spare copy of the missing data?I doubt it, but she makes her claims nonetheless.

Overall, as a description of the science and the issues, this book is exceedingly misleading as a supposedly fair presentation of the facts and issues.I found it incredible and sorely deficient that not one footnote is found in the entire book. The reader is at a loss to evaluate the claims other than by faith--they look so nice in their pictures, so it must be true--or at best the reader can go to the bibliography and guess what was relied upon.As for the issue of cause even in a period of warming, exceedingly simplistic discussion is provided considering that well respected real climatologists disagree strongly with the premise.

The sophistication of writing and argument is not of high standard. Example:she starts with the anecdotal tear-jerker of the story of the Eskimo village of Kivalina. Fast forward to pages 19-20 and figure 7 re the Medieval Warming Period and what does she do but dismiss this rather dramatic climate period that first allowed colonization and when ended drove the Vikings out of Greenland and Labrador as a mere anecdotal event "only relevant to one particular region of the globe." I kid you not.

A few more obvious examples of the deficiency of the science arguments:

Hayhoe hides what would be the most easily understood evidence of the actual temperatures at relevant periods--her graphs and charts never use actual temperatures. And, at page 145-146 she actually glosses over the very substantial risk of poisoning little children from the mercury contamination of the pretzel fluorescent bulbs that are to be used to replace the incandescent ones, arguing that the risk is no more than found in a mercury thermometer.Most homes have no mercury thermometer at all any more since technology has made them obsolete, but they have dozens of light bulbs. Perhaps she just doesn't realize that in essence she is saying that the sacrifice of a few kids a year is a price she is willing to pay to get rid of the tradional light bulb.She also cites, at page 84, to hurricane Katrina in her discussion of enhanced storm strengths--this is totally irresponsible, and I don't get it.Katrina was a Cat 3 storm that took aim at a state with an unqualified governor and a more unqualified mayor.QED.

The authors also should have disclosed in the book the degree, if any, to which Hayhoe profits from the "scientific" views she espouses in this volume, both in her Texas Tech position and her private company (perhaps being paid to write papers that support the views of the grant issuers) considering from the description of her position at the university that her main endeavors relate to spreading the world according to Al Gore.The adage to Follow The Money applies.The question is rightfully asked.If the funding for her job comes from those who are content with and expect her to actively advocate her views, then the readers are entitled to know that.

I was particularly offended by Hayhoe's Canadian whack at "stupid" Americans.She is a Canadian transplant, as am I, and I spotted her Canadianism on page 56 where she lectures the reader on the difference between weather and climate. To understand the slight, you need to know that there is a goodly sized segment of Canadians who will belittle Americans at any and every opportunity. She tells the same apocryphal story I heard 30 years ago of the dumb Americans who arrive in Canada in July with snow skis strapped to their cars, but in all my many years in Canada I never saw or spoke to any Canadian who actually saw such happen, and I don't believe it for a nanosecond. Canadians have told this story for so long that they mayactually begin to believe it, and so it is possible that she believes it--but I don't and so, to me, on this alone her credibility grade goes to zero.

As for theological orthodoxy in caring for the down trodden, the book (I assume unintentionally, and out of ignorance) comes up woefully short as well.The authors seem content to relegate much of the world to perpetual poverty and misery for such is the inevitable result of the "solutions" of the environmental movement that they espouse.Likewise, they have no problem with the inherently racist policies of the movement pertaining to oil drilling--it's fine where the brown peoples live, but not good for the USA, page 153.Not very Christian.

I consider myself an avid environmentalist. I start with picking up the trash along our road. I would do many things differently if I held the power but they would be done with eyes open and with demand of integrity in the scientific community, and I would not play upon the goodwill of my Christian brethren.

All in all, I cringe at the thought that many church libraries will perpetuate this work that I think should be relegated to the ash heap.

Intellegent Data for Anyone
I've been interested in the climate change argument I've been digesting both sides of the debate for quite some time, and the authors provide a fresh perspective in this work. While a faith-based perspective is at the forefront of the book, it is really based on solid logic and scientific arguments that transcend much of the mainstream news. I believe it is a must-read for anyone wanting to see evidence of climate change from a balanced perspective.

Very clear, easily read, excellent documentation
A Climate for Change is a clearly written, engaging read, with a straightforward presentation of the facts behind today's concerns about global warming and the "positive feedback loops" that are exacerbating the effects of human actions.Written from the perspective of thoughtful Christians, the book challenges all to reflect on what would be loving Christian responses to the impacts of global warming, which will fall most heavily on those least able to move or adapt to its changes.The science data presented is very clear.There are colorful inserts that clearly depict the changing trends the world is experiencing.While respectful of the different responses that people of conviction may make, the authors suggest that, individually, we each will make choices, and those choices will have consequences.They encourage truly keeping God at our center, and choosing to do that which will honor God and best respect God's handiwork.

Very good book!
Book was very informative. Was surprised at the amount of scientific evidence mixed with spiritual uplifting in clearing the air on global warming! ... Read more

Product Description

Tropical rainforests are disappearing due to agricultural intensification and climate change, causing irreversible losses in biodiversity and associated ecosystem functioning. Ecosystem properties and human well-being are profoundly influenced by environmental change, which is often not considered during land use intensification. Understanding these processes needs an integrated scientific approach linking ecological, economic and social perspectives at different scales, from the household and village level to landscapes and regions. The chapters in this book cover a broad range of topical research areas, from sustainable agroforestry management, climate change effects on rainforests and agroforests to integrated concepts of land use in tropical landscapes.

Product Description

Mountain regions occupy about a quarter of the global terrestrial land surface and provide goods and services to more than half of humanity. Global Environmental Change threatens the integrity of these systems and their ability to continue providing the goods and services upon which humanity has come to depend. This book provides an overview of the state of research in the various fields pertaining to the detection, understanding and prediction of global change impacts in mountain regions. More than 60 contributions from paleoclimatology, cryospheric research, hydrology, ecology, and research on sustainable development are compiled in this volume, and each contribution also provides an outlook on future research directions.

Product Description

The essays in Global Social Change explore globalization from a world-systems perspective, untangling its many contested meanings. This perspective offers insights into globalization's gradual and uneven growth throughout the course of human social evolution.

In this informative and exciting volume, Christopher Chase-Dunn and Salvatore J. Babones bring together accomplished senior sociologists and outstanding younger scholars with a mix of interests, expertise, and methodologies to offer an introduction to ways of studying and understanding global social change.

In both newly written essays and previously published articles from the Journal of World Systems Research, the contributors employ historical and comparative social science to examine the development of institutions of global governance, the rise and fall of hegemonic core states, transnational social movements, and global environmental challenges. They compare post--World War II globalization with the great wave of economic integration that occurred in the late nineteenth century, analyze the rise of the political ideology of the "globalization project" -- Reaganism-Thatcherism -- and discuss issues of gender and global inequalities.

Customer Reviews (1)

A satisfying blend of historical and social science analysis
GLOBAL SOCIAL CHANGE: HISTORICAL AND COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES is a top pick for college-level holdings strong in international social studies: it brings together senior sociologists and younger scholars to blend expertise and focus, offering up new methods of thinking about and studying global social change. The combination of newly written works just for this volume and previously published articles from the Journal of World-Systems Research offers a satisfying blend of historical and social science analysis, comparing globalization movements, economic and social integration, and political ideology alike - perfect also for classroom discussion.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch ... Read more

Product Description
"Development and Social Change is a richly described and well written survey of change in the post-1950 period...The first edition was a practical and accessible contribution to the literature on social change. The fourth edition continues in this vein."
-TEACHING SOCIOLOGY

Explores development through historical narrative and examines the globalization/development paradox through in-depth case studies

Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective, Fourth Edition, describes the dramatic acceleration of the global and political economy across three historical periods: colonialism, the development era, and the current era of globalization. Author Philip McMichael helps students make sense of a complex world in transition and explains how globalization became part of public discourse. Filled with case studies, this text makes the intricacies of globalization concrete, meaningful, and clear for students and moves them away from simple social evolutionary views, encouraging them to ponder social change, development, and global inequalities. The book challenges students to see themselves as global citizens whose consumption decisions have real implications.

New to the Fourth Edition

• Links contemporary world issues such as slum proliferation, rebellion in Latin America, AIDS, the rise of China, and climate change to the long-term course of development as a global project
• Weaves a stronger ecological theme into the story and emphasizes gendered features of modernization, as well as the complexity of its progressive claims, urging students to think critically about the costs and benefits of development
• Reviews current trends and asks new questions about the future of international development

Customer Reviews (6)

Good job
Thanks for my book, I know I will do more business with you all. Good job

A fantastic introduction to a holistic view of global development.
This book covers global development from colonialism, to 'de-colonization' to globalization in a truly holistic sense. With a background in economics and a special interest in food systems, McMichael is truly informed in his analysis of the global power structure and how it has developed through time. Not ignored are studies of inequalities of race/ethnicity, gender, and class on a global scale.
The book is slow reading, due to density of the subject matter and large amounts of facts and terms. However, this only serves to intensify and broaden the learning experience as you move through the book. It moves chronologically through time, offering case studies, further reading at the end of each chapter, and questions to promote critical thinking. This is one of the most fantastic books I have ever read, and he is one of the most informed, passionate, honest, and blunt professors I have had.
The book itself is a textbook, and should be read as such. Some accuse him of political leanings, and though surely he may have them in his personal life, his abilities to display just the facts is noteworthy. Every future CEO, Banker, Politician, Lawyer, and member of the Global South would benefit from reading this book.

Fair trade and social change for just under 50$ a copy!
McMichaels book on globalization is a collection of gross overstatements, dubious statistics and figures (nearly always mentioned without citations) and embarrassing generalizations, poor writing and an absence of wit or even insight.Possibly one of the worst things I've ever been assigned to read- so bad in fact, I was inspired to write my first ever online review.That said, global economics and the structural orchestration of inequality associated with today's neoliberal economic development is a fascinating topic, certainly deserving of our attention.With some organization, a writing class or two, a solid editor, and maybe a class in academic research methods, McMichael may yet have a future in Academia.In the mean time, skip this one and find something else (Harvey) more worthwhile.



That said, the message is

Fabulous!
Usually professors who assign their own book for a class tend to be egotists.McMichael bucked that trend, however, by assigning his book which explained everything I ever needed or wanted to know about how the world works.The structure of the book makes it easy for anyone to understand and explains the state of the world today using historical context, which I found fascinating.However cheesy this may be, I honestly think the world would be a better place if more people read this book.

An excellent place to start
I completely agree with Mr. Jones' review.I can name countless books that offer strong arguments and good research.I can also recommend many books that are written with such clear and graceful style that they are a pleasure to read.McMichael is one of the few authors who can manage to combine these two aspects.I thank him for making it both easy and interesting for me to learn about this field of study. ... Read more

Product Description

Global Change and the Earth System describes what is known about the Earth system and the impact of changes caused by humans. It considers the consequences of these changes with respect to the stability of the Earth system and the well-being of humankind; as well as exploring future paths towards Earth-system science in support of global sustainability. The results presented here are based on 10 years of research on global change by many of the world's most eminent scholars. This valuable volume achieves a new level of integration and interdisciplinarity in treating global change.

Product Description

Land has long been overlooked in economics. That is now changing. A substantial part of the solution to the climate crisis may lie in growing crops for fuel and using trees for storing carbon. This book investigates the potential of these options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, estimates the costs to the economy, and analyses the trade-offs with growing food. The first part presents new databases that are necessary to underpin policy-relevant research in the field of climate change while describing and critically assessing the underlying data, the methodologies used, and the first applications.

Together, the new data and the extended models allow for a thorough and comprehensive analysis of a land use and climate policy. This book outlines key empirical and analytical issues associated with modelling land use and land use change in the context of global climate change policy. It places special emphasis on the economy-wide competition for land and other resources, especially;

• The implications of changes in land use for the cost of climate change mitigation,
• Land use change as a result of mitigation, and
• Feedback from changes in the global climate to land use.

By offering synthesis and evaluation of a variety of different approaches to this challenging field of research, this book will serve as a key reference for future work in the economic analysis of land use and climate change policy.

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Customer Reviews (11)

Monumental, brave and right
This is the best book on climate change that I have ever read. It is concise, well-informed and provides a substantial amount of information in a short space. For example, I have read entire books on why people have a difficult time accepting the fact that we must address climate change. Stern explains this in a few lines: People (especially people running companies with large amounts of money at stake) don't want to have to change their behaviors. Instead, they use certain tactics to try to deny what has been proven scientifically beyond a doubt. He cites the examples of tobacco causing lung cancer and HIV causing AIDS as similar episodes of mass denial, and springing from the same causes: complacency and fear. An expert in risk management, he describes the current threat of climate change as the greatest market failure the world has seen. And he knows how to fix it.

Stern suggests that the economic growth of developing nations and the best response to climate change are inextricably linked, and makes a very good case for his opinion. He discusses the coming demographics changes, and the impact these changes will have on world trade, even without climate change. He outlines very concrete changes that we can make on a global scale - the only way that any method of addressing climate change will be successful, he claims, and I agree. Stern approaches climate change from an economist's perspective, and this is refreshing because economists see the world differently from most other scientists. To them, trade is *always* better than a zero-sum gain. If both parties do not come away from a trade better off than they were when they went into it, the trade does not happen. It is this fundamentally pragmatic and yet optimistic approach that makes this book such a joy to read. It is not all doom and gloom like some books about climate change, it does not tell us that the sky is falling while offering no respite. "The Global Deal" provides practical, implementable solutions for reducing climate change, and does so from an economist's perspective, with an underlying faith in the ability of human beings to develop good, broad policy that guides, but does not micromanage market interactions. It embraces the economist's belief that, with the assurance of a fair market, free trade tends to make life better for society as a whole, and that includes the well-being of our children and their children, and all other future generations.

Some reviewers have mentioned that the book is dryly written, and to some extent I agree, but the material is so profoundly important that it really requires the kind of solemn passion that Stern displays.

I believe that in retrospect, people will agree that Stern's message of hope and duty is worth listening to. In any case, I am sure that "The Global Deal" will be considered one of the two or three most important books written in the 21st century.

Narrated by James Adams, who reads with the gentlemanly and precise accent of a British lord, which in fact, Stern is. His full title is Sir Nicholas Herbert Stern, Baron of Brentford, Kt. Kinda cool!

economist's view
It is in a way hard to listen to the many CD's if you're not an economist by training. But there is a lot to learn! The reading sounds a bit "dry" but I suppose that's the nature of such an approach. I enjoy learning this economist's view step by step and I feel that market functioning is very well explained to the uninitiated person. Nevertheless, it takes some patience to work oneself through all the chapters/CD's. On the other hand, we cannot handle climate change issues without assessing the opportunities of the market to implement effective strategies.

Worthy, informative but boring
Stern provides a good overview of the basic issues of global climate change policy.His exposition is geared to a reader with little knowledge of the subject, and for those who have a strong need to know these things the book is very useful.The most interesting and thought provoking section is on discount rates for benefits and costs for future generations:is there any moral justification for valuing the welfare of future generations less than our own?This and other economic questions are dealt with clearly.If there is a fault with the book it is Stern's dry and boring style.There is a lack of humor, of engaging anecdote, or any commentary on man's foibles. The tone is unrelentingly serious and prescriptive.This is a good basic textbook and guide, but it is not a great book.

now or never
From the author of the Stern Report chronicling the threat of global warming and the cost of waiting decades to address it comes this well-done analysis of climate change, its causes, the threat it poses, and what we need to be doing--urgently--to address it.

Stern calls global warming history's greatest "market failure" as we have failed to build into the price of carbon-based fuels their true cost for the future of our planet. He goes on to show the expected impacts of sea level rise (1 meter rise=displacement of 150 million Asians); the true culprits (China is out-CO2'ing us now, but in the past century the US emitted 50 times more CO2 than China: 290 billion tons v. 5.4 bt); and what we need to do about it (cut back on meat-based diets; stop subsidies for fossil fuels; halt deforestation; pay for the impact of climate change on the world's poor; quintuple spending on R&D for alternative energy options).

Call to action: a 4-5 degree increase in global average temperature will lead to a "radical transformation of the world we know," rewriting the physical geography of the planet.

No substance, no direction
Mr. Stern frequently uses the word "should". This is less a book of what will happen or how to make it happen so much as a book of what "should" happen. Most of what "should" happen are vague expectations and fantastic goals, the kind of rhetoric one could apply to any problem. Mr. Stern says effective climate change will depend on "clear and strong political leadership", developing "international markets", "credible action plans" on the part of developing countries, "substantial sums", "international collaboration" (which he admits is "unprecedented"), an "analysis of ethics", and finally a "global deal". While one could argue that global warming is the first truly global crisis (discounting nuclear weapons), one is quick to recognize that humanity has a poor track record of reaching consensus on any other vital issue - not on forms of government, economics, race, poverty, religion, ethics, nationalism, or labor. Yet, in order to solve global warming, it will be necessary to approach solutions to all of the above simultaneously.
Without realizing it, Mr. Stern has painted a pretty bleak picture of the future.
As a read on climate change, this book falls short. There is very little substance here. Having not yet waded through the Stern Report, I had expected a distilled version for mass consumption. Instead, it has been distilled to pure vapor. For all the "should"s in this book, I'll have to add one more: you should not read this book.
... Read more