Climate Change: The Fork at the End of Now

There are many books on global warming written entirely from a layman's perspective, and there is a great deal of scientific literature on this subject. But few if any books attempt to bridge the science to those who lack a rigorous background in mathematics, physics and chemistry-but who may be working on careers in environmental science and policy. The new text is designed to introduce the field of global climate change from a scientific perspective-but written in a way that is accessible to students with some or little science background. It reviews the basic principles of climatic thermodynamics and atmospheric chemistry and then goes on to explain historic trends and changes due to the burning of fossil fuels and other human-based activity on earth. Highlights include: * A broad overview of the thermodynamics of climate, the biosphere, and geo chemistry * An overview of climate data in the context of geological time * A clear explanation of the physics of the greenhouse effect-from black body radiation to heat trapping effects of CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide * Methods of modeling climate predictions * The economics of fuel choices in the broadest context of climate change