Most of us are familiar with the term climate change but few of us understand the science behind it. We don't fully comprehend how climate change will affect us, and for that reason we might not consider it as pressing a concern as, say, housing prices or unemployment. Climate Change: What It Means for Us, Our Children, and Our Grandchildren explains the scientific knowledge about global climate change clearly and concisely in engaging, nontechnical language, describes how it will affect all of us, and suggests how government, business, and citizens can take action against it.
This completely revised and updated edition incorporates the latest scientific research and policy initiatives on climate change. It describes recent major legislative actions, analyzes alternative regulatory tools including new uses of taxes and markets, offers increased coverage of China and other developing nations, discusses the role of social media in communicating about climate change, and provides updated assessments of the effects of climate change. Climate Change: What It Means for Us, Our Children, and Our Grandchildren first explains the basic scientific facts about climate change and its global impact. It discusses the nature of scientific consensus and the strong consensus of mainstream science on climate change. It then explores policy responses and corporate actions in the United States and the rest of the world, discusses how the communication of climate change information by journalists and others can be improved, and addresses issues of environmental justice – how climate change affects the most vulnerable populations and regions. We can better tackle climate change, Climate Change: What It Means for Us, Our Children, and Our Grandchildren 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.
Pamela Doughman is an Energy Specialist with the California Energy Commission.