Climate Change ─ What It Means for Us, Our Children, and Our Grandchildren

Most of us are familiar with the term climate change but few of usunderstand the science behind it. We don't fully comprehend how climate change will affect us, andfor that reason we might not consider it as pressing a concern as, say, housing prices orunemployment. This book explains the scientific knowledge about global climate change clearly andconcisely in engaging, nontechnical language, describes how it will affect all of us, and suggestshow government, business, and citizens can take action against it. This completely revised andupdated edition incorporates the latest scientific research and policy initiatives on climatechange. It describes recent major legislative actions, analyzes alternative regulatory toolsincluding new uses of taxes and markets, offers increased coverage of China and other developingnations, discusses the role of social media in communicating about climate change, and providesupdated assessments of the effects of climate change. The book first explains the basic scientificfacts about climate change and its global impact. It discusses the nature of scientific consensusand the strong consensus of mainstream science on climate change. It then explores policy responsesand corporate actions in the United States and the rest of the world, discusses how thecommunication of climate change information by journalists and others can be improved, and addressesissues of environmental justice -- how climate change affects the most vulnerable populations andregions. We can better tackle climate change, this book shows us, if we understand it.

Joseph F. C. DiMento is Professor of Law and former Director of the Newkirk Center for Science and Society at the University of California, Irvine. He is the coauthor of Environmental Governance of the Great Seas: Law and Effect and Changing Lanes: Visions and Histories of Urban Freeways (MIT Press). Pamela Doughman is an Energy Specialist with the California Energy Commission.