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Zusatztext "A book that can be easily understood by policymakers and scientists, but yet does not sacrifice any detail in background and process is most welcome. Philander may be the first author to write such a comprehensive book . . . Indeed, the author deserves immense credit for such a skillful presentation." ---Geerat J. Vermeij, The Quarterly Review of Biology Informationen zum Autor S. George Philander is Professor of Geosciences at Princeton University. He is the author of El Niño, La Niña, and the Southern Oscillation . Klappentext Most of us have heard the dire predictions about global warming. Some experts insist that warming has already started, and they warn of such impending disasters as the sea level rising to flood coastal cities. Others, however, have issued loud counterclaims, assuring us that global warming is a myth based on misleading data. How can we tell who is right, and how we should respond? And why is there no scientific consensus on a matter of such vital importance? George Philander addresses these questions in this book, as he guides the nonscientific reader through new ideas about the remarkable and intricate factors that determine the world's climate. In simple, nontechnical language, Philander describes how the interplay between familiar yet endlessly fascinating phenomena--winds and clouds, light and air, land and sea--maintains climates that permit a glorious diversity of fauna and flora to flourish on Earth. That interplay also creates such potent weather disrupters as El Niño and La Niña, translates modest fluctuations in sunlight into global climate changes as dramatic as the Ice Age, and determines the Earth's response to the gases we are discharging into the atmosphere, such as those that led to the ozone hole over Antarctica and those that are likely to cause global warming. In his discussion of these matters, Philander emphasizes that our planet is so complex that the scientific results will always have uncertainties. To continue to defer action on environmental problems, on the grounds that more accurate scientific results will soon be available, could lead to a crisis. To make wise decisions, it will help if the public is familiar with the geosciences, which explore the processes that make ours a habitable planet. The book is an excellent introduction to the basics of the Earth's climate and weather, and will be an important contribution to the debate about climate change and the relationship between scientific knowledge and public affairs. Zusammenfassung How can we tell who is right, and how we should respond? And why is there no scientific consensus on a matter of such vital importance? This work addresses these questions. It describes how the interplay between familiar phenomena, winds and clouds, light and air, maintains climates that permit a diversity of fauna and flora to flourish on Earth. Inhaltsverzeichnis Preface Between the Idea and the Reality 2Is Our Planet Fragile or Robust? 3Light and Air 4Why the Peak of a Mountain Is Cold 5Capricious Clouds 6The Climate Tapestry 7Weather! the Music of Our Sphere 8The Ocean in Motion 9El Nino! La Nina! and the Southern Oscillation 10The Paradox of the Faint Sun but Warm Earth 11Why Summer Is Warmer than Winter: The Cycles of Seasons and of Ice Ages 12The Ozone Hole! a Cautionary Tale 13Global Warming! Risky Business App. A1.1Exponential Growth and Decay App. A1.2Establishing a Chronology App. A2.1Gaia App. A2.2Chaos App. A3.1Earthshine App. A3.2The Scattering of Light App. A3.3Blackbody Radiation App. A3.4Effective Temperatures of the Planets App. A3.5The Greenhouse Effect App. A4.1The Scale Height of the Atmosphere App. A4.2The Adiabatic Lapse Rate App. A5.1Measuring Moisture in the Atmosphere App. A5.2Earth's Energy Budget App. A5.3How Many of Your Molecules Have Been to the Moon? App. A6.1Conservation of Angular Momentum App. A6.2The Cori...
