Sources: Encyclopedia of Global Warming and Climate Change

Abstract

PLANET EARTH HAS become the concern of every- one. The activities of conservation biologists are now of interest to economists and political scientists who wish to find out whether certain environmental prob- lems are best solved by regulations or market forces. Businesspeople, government officials, and politicians have become involved in science. To be useful to such a diversity of people, the nearly 750 entries in this 3-volume encyclopedia cover a vast range of topics affecting global warming and climate change. The entries amount to more than a catalog of terms; they are all part of one story about global warming and how it is likely to affect our world. Scientific objectivity have been the watchwords for the editors of this encyclopedia, yet different perspec- tives that various authors have on some of these issues are part of a conversation that citizens or students concerned about the environment ignore at their own risk. Even the title of the work, Encyclopedia of Global Warming and Climate Change, was carefully consid- ered to include paleoclimatology in the discussion of weather, climate, and the current debate about global warming. The authors of the entries include geographers, political scientists, chemists, anthropologists, medi- cal practitioners, development experts, and soci- ologists. They are experts in their fields of specialty; many are researchers with extensive fieldwork expe- rience; most of the entries on emerging techniques and technologies were written by innovators. As the volumes intend, it has become increasingly essen- tial to bring the multiplying global warming issues, concepts, theories, examples, problems, and policies together in one place, with the goal of clearly explain- ing an emerging way of thinking about people and their planet. Among the selection of articles, specific country entries are included, rather than climatic or environ- mental regions, to give the reader the opportunity to get information on the status of global warmingits causes and effectsby country, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Also included are articles within specific categories, including: atmospheric sciences; climate; climate change effects; climate and society; climate feedbacks; climate models; institutions studying climate change; oceanography; paleoclimates; pro- grams and conventions; and people studying climate change. Pedagogical elements of this encyclopedia include the 4-color Introduction by General Editor Dr. S. George Philander, in which the reader can get a birds-eye view of the sciences behind global warm- ing. Also included in the work are a chronology of climate change, resource guide, glossary, and appen- dix of charts and table graphically presenting relevant data. Altogether, we hope the encyclopedia provides some groundwork for further discussion and spur possible action to curb global warming