Distills the vast science of climate change and reflects the latest developments in research and the impact of climate change. This edition contains more than 200 full-color maps, illustrations, and graphics. (See GFB Book of the Month February 2012)

(CLIMATE CHANGE)

Over the last 20,000 years, the Earth experienced a huge temperature hike and its crust responded to the melting of great ice sheets and the filling of the ocean basins by earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. Now, as human activities are driving climate change as rapidly as anything seen in post-glacial times, the sleeping giant beneath our feet is stirring once again. “When and if it finally wakes, we should all be afraid.”

(CLIMATE CHANGE * NATURAL DISASTERS * EARTHQUAKES * TSUNAMIS, * VOLCANOES)

Scholars assess the transformations in energy security policy that flow from recognition of global climate change, explore through case studies the key policy responses formulated in the Asia-Pacific (Australia, Japan, India, China, Russia), and identify potential synergies between energy policy and climate mitigation efforts. Topics include energy security and climate security under conditions of the anthropocene, energy efficiency, national energy security, constrained use of fossil fuels, energy governance, and emission trends.

(ENERGY SECURITY * CLIMATE CHANGE * ASIA/PACIFIC)

World population has increased by >3 billion since 1970 to 7 billion, and the size of the world economy has more than tripled. This growth has pulled millions out of poverty, but it has been unevenly distributed and incurred major cost to the environment. “Natural assets have been and continue to be depleted.” Providing for 2 billion more people by 2050 and improving living standards for all will challenge our ability to manage and restore those natural assets on which all life depends. “Failure to do so will have serious consequences, especially for the poor, and ultimately undermine the growth and human development of future generations.” Looks forward to 2050 to suggest what demographic and economic trends might mean for the environment if the world does not adopt more ambitious green policies, using a “Baseline scenario” and a “450 Delayed Action Scenario.” Focuses on four “red light” areas: 1) Climate Change: alternative growth pathways to stabilize GHGs at 450ppm, the level that has a 50% chance of keeping temperature rise to 2oC; 2) Biodiversity: loss of biodiversity is a major environmental challenge; “despite some local successes, biodiversity is on the decline globally and this loss is projected to continue; continuing with business as usual may have far-reaching adverse implications for human well-being, security and economic growth”; 3) Water: worldwide, cities, farmers, industries, energy suppliers, and ecosystems are increasingly competing for water; the situation is likely to deteriorate by 2050 without major policy changes; 4) Health and Environment: explores current and projected impacts of four key environmental factors: air pollution, unsafe water supply and poor sanitation, chemicals, and climate change (with emphasis on the incidence of malaria).

(ENVIRONMENT * CLIMATE CHANGE * BIODIVERSITY * WATER * HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT)

Former chairman of the German Economic Association warns that the Earth is getting warmer, yet the dominant policy approach of curbing consumption of fossil energy has been ineffective. The relentlessly rising curve of CO2 output does not show the slightest downward turn. The owners of carbon resources are pre-empting future regulation by accelerating production of fossil fuel while they can. Thus, the “Green Paradox” where expected future reduction in carbon consumption has the effect of accelerating climate change. Sinn calls for a supply-side solution to curbing consumption of fossil energy: inducing the owners of carbon resources to leave more of their wealth underground. The swift introduction of a “Super-Kyoto” system – gathering all consumer countries into a cartel by means of a worldwide, coordinated cap-and-trade system supported by source taxes on capital income – can spoil the resource owners’ appetite for financial assets. We can only have a chance of staving off climate disaster by shifting our focus from local demand to worldwide supply.

(CLIMATE CHANGE * ENERGY * GLOBAL WARMING: SOLUTION)

The challenge of adapting to climate change is fundamentally ethical. Our conception of humanity needs to change, in an age in which humanity shapes the basic conditions of our environment. We need to revisit the practice of ecological restoration, the place of ecology in our conception of justice, the form and substance of traditional virtues and vices, and the organization, scale and underlying metaphors of important institutions. Topics include historical fidelity in ecological restoration, the application of capability theory to ecology, the questionable ethics of geoengineering, and the cognitive transformation required if we are to “think like a planet”.

(CLIMATE CHANGE * ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE * ETHICS AND CLIMATE CHANGE)

Considers the moral dimensions of climate change to describe what universal standards of goodness and justice require of us, both as citizens and as governments. Individuals have a duty to offset their carbon emissions, while policy makers need to consider what is owed to future generations. Topics include the science of greenhouse gases, and the intricate logic of cap and trade.

(CLIMATE CHANGE AND ETHICS * ETHICS AND CLIMATE CHANGE)

On the race between political and natural tipping points. Draws on decades of research and analysis to respond key questions: Can we close coal-fired plants fast enough to save the Greenland ice sheet and avoid catastrophic sea level rise? Can we raise water productivity fast enough to avoid water-driven food shortages? Can we cope with peak water and peak oil at the same time? See full review at GFB Book of the Month January 2011.

(TIPPING POINTS * ECONOMIC COLLAPSE AHEAD * CLIMATE CHANGE)

The editors of Energy and the American Society: Thirteen Myths assess the most advanced commercially available technologies for strengthening global energy security, mitigating the effects of climate change, and enhancing resilience through adaptation and geo-engineering; evaluate the barriers to the deployment of these technologies and critically review policy options crucial to their adoption; discuss an array of options available today (high efficiency transportation, renewable energy, carbon sequestration, and demand-side management); and offer eight case studies from around the world that document successful approaches to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and improving energy security.

(CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY * GLOBAL ENERGY SECURITY * ENERGY)

Draws on her study of “Bygdaby,” the fictional name of an actual rural community in western Norway, to explain the meager response to climate change. Socially organized denial, by which information about climate change is known in the abstract but disconnected from political, social, and private life, determines the way citizens of industrialized countries respond to climate change. This denial is traced through multiple levels, from emotions, to cultural norms and political economy.

(CLIMATE CHANGE * DENIAL OF CLIMATE CHANGE)