Climate Affairs: A Primer / Edition 1

by Mickey Glantz

Overview

Climate Affairs sets forth in a concise primer the base of knowledge needed to begin to address questions surrounding the unknown impacts of climate change. In so doing, it outlines a new approach to understanding the interactions among climate, society, and the environment. Chapters consider:

• the key concepts and terms in climate affairs
• the effects of climate around the world
• important but overlooked aspects of climate-society-environment interactions
• examples of societal uses, misuses, and potential uses of climate-related information such as forecasts
• a research agenda, challenges, and methodologies for future climate research.

Climate Affairs draws on a range of study areas—including climate science, impacts on ecosystems and society, politics, policy and law, economics, and ethics—to address the complexity and gravity of impacts that our increasing vulnerability to climate portends. It is the first book to consider the full range of climate-related topics and the interactions among them, and will be a key resource for decision makers, as well as for students and scholars working in climate and related fields.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781559639194
Publisher:	Island Press
Publication date:	05/16/2003
Edition description:	1
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Michael H. Glantz is Senior Scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado and is the former Head of its Environmental and Societal Impacts Group.

Table of Contents

	Preface	XIII
	Acknowledgments	XIX
	Introduction: Are We Entering "The Climate Century"?	1
	Reviewing the 1900s	4
	Climate Roulette at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century	6
	Climate Affairs in the Twenty-First Century	8
	Sustainable Development	10
Chapter 1	What is Climate?	13
	Defining "Climate"	15
	The Climate System	18
	Climate Behavior	22
	Bridging Climate and Weather	38
Chapter 2	Climate and Society	42
	Three Perspectives about Climate	43
	Droughts	48
	Floods	50
	Tropical Storms	50
	Ice Storms and Frosts	53
	Fires	54
	Infectious Diseases	56
	Urban Impacts	58
	Population Migration and Climate	59
	Recreation and Ecotourism	59
	Financial Aspects	60
	Impacts at the Global Scale	62
	Summary	65
Chapter 3	Climate and Geography	67
	North America	68
	Europe	75
	Latin America	78
	Australia	80
	Asia	83
	Antarctica and the Arctic	87
	Africa	89
Chapter 4	What Is Climate Affairs?	99
	Climate Science	101
	Climate Impacts	110
	Climate Politics	123
	Climate Policy and Law	141
	Climate Economics	156
	Climate Ethics and Equity	165
	Could Weather Affairs Be Far Behind?	175
Chapter 5	Use of Climate Information in Decision Making	183
	Weather- and Climate-Proofing	185
	Climate Information	188
	Successful Uses of Climate Information: Some Examples	193
	Misuses of Climate Information (Including Forecasts)	196
	Putting Forecasts in Political Context	202
	Using Climate Information for Early Warning: Climate-Related Hotspots and Flashpoints	205
	Forecasts Are the Answer, But What Was the Question?	212
Chapter 6	How We Know What We Know	214
	Quantitative and Qualitative Methods to Assess Impacts	215
	Integrated Assessment	216
	Foreseeability	218
	Attribution: What Impact to Blame on Which Anomaly	220
	Psychological Aspects of Climate and Weather	223
	Climate Ignorance Versus Climate "Ignore-ance"	228
	Does Climate History Have a Future?	229
Chapter 7	Conclusion	239
	Climate Dimensions of Social Science	239
	Problem Climates	242
	Problem Societies	243
	Political Versus Climate Boundaries: Problem Borders	245
Appendix	The Twentieth Century's Climate Extremes	249
	NOAA's Ranking of Twentieth Century Climate-Related Disasters	249
	The WMO and Other Reviews of the Twentieth Century's Climate	255
	References	257
	About the Author	277
	Index	279

Editorial Reviews

"[A]n excellent introduction to understanding the complexity in dealing with 21st century climate issues."

Weatherwise