Less Heat, More Light: A Guided Tour of Weather, Climate, and Climate Change

Description

A straightforward and fact-based exploration of how weather happens, how it relates to climate, and how science answers major questions about Earth as a system   Climate change is one of the most hotly contested environmental topics of our day. To answer criticisms and synthesize available information, scientists have been driven to devise increasingly complex models of the climate system. This book conveys that the basics of climate and climate change have been known for decades, and that relatively simple descriptions can capture the major features of the climate system and help the general public understand what controls climate and weather, and how both might be changing.   Renowned environmental scientist and educator John D. Aber distills what he has learned from a long fascination with weather and climate, the process of science, and the telling of the story of science. This is not a book about policies and politics. Instead, it explores how weather happens, how it relates to climate, and how science has been used to answer major questions about the Earth as a system and inform policies that have reversed environmental degradation. By providing a guided tour of the science of weather, this thoughtful survey will contribute clarity and rationality to the public understanding of climate change. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Page Contents Preface Acknowledgments A Note on Units ROOM ONE: WEATHER AND CLIMATE: SIMPLE OR COMPLEX? 1 Was Svante Right? 2 Occam’s Razor and the Case for Simpler Explanations ROOM TWO: FROM WEATHER TO CLIMATE: DYNAMICS IN TIME AND SPACE 3 The Basics of Weather and Climate—It’s Simple! 4 If Weather and Climate Are Simple, Why Is Prediction So Hard? 5 El Niño Is Only the Beginning: Major Climate Oscillations 6 What Can Ice Tell Us about Rapid Climate Change? 7 Extremes We Will Never See ROOM THREE: EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE AS A PROCESS: HOW IT WORKS, AND WORKS FOR US 8 How Long Does It Take to Shift a Paradigm? 9 The Stages of Environmental Grief ROOM FOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE: THE DATA, THE MODELS, AND OUR FUTURE 10 The Discovery (and Rediscovery) of Climate Change 11 Simplifying the Explanation: How Right Was Svante? 12 Predictions and Possible Surprises Epilogue: Making It Local Bibliographic Essay Figure Credits Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W