30-Second Climate is an immediately accessible guide to the 50 key factors affecting Earth's climate, past, present and future, each explained in half a minute. From atmospheric circulation to zero carbon, this is the quickest way to know your planet.

If you only have 30 seconds, there is time - using this book - to make sense of the science behind the seeming vagaries of the weather, the controversies, predictions and forecasts for climate change that shape our day-to-day experiences of the great outdoors. Ever since Aristotle first tried to explain the forces that seem to fall from the heavens, meteorology has opened up the study of weather, and caused disputes over the reasons why seasons change, where precipitation falls, why winds blow and when the sun shines. From halcyon days to hurricanes, supercells to silver linings, global warming to giant hailstones, here is the ultimate guide to a near-universal preoccupation: what's the weather like?

This information-packed book is the complete guide to everything you need to know about the world's oceans, with each concept Oceans cover two thirds of the Earth’s surface and are the driving force behind our weather systems, taking warm and cold water around the globe. Understanding solar radiation, currents, and rising sea levels are vital starting points to understanding and dealing with global warming, and this book covers these and many more essential topics in easily accessible chunks. Join expert authors on a tour of the world’s oceans, taking in waves, continental shelves, icebergs, underwater forests, monsoons, and coral reefs along the way. Learn about the different characteristics of the world’s major oceans, the amazing array of marine life that exists at different depths, how tides work, and what pollution is doing to the seas. There’s never been a more important time to get to grips with how the oceans work. The 30 Second series presents concise, informative guides to the most important topics which shape the world around us, presenting terms which are key to understanding the subject in 30 seconds, 300 words, and one image.

The 50 most thought-provoking theories of life, each explained in half a minute. 30-Second Biology tackles the vital science of life, dissecting the 50 most thought-provoking theories of our ecosystem and ourselves. At a time when discoveries in DNA allow us to feel more connected than ever to the natural world, this is the fastest route to an understanding of the tree of life. Whether you're dipping into the gene pool, unlocking cells, or conversing on biodiversity, this is all the knowledge you need to bring life to the dinner-party debate. An internationally bestselling series presents essential concepts in a mere 30 seconds, 300 words, and one image; The 50 most important ideas and innovations in biology dissected and explained clearly without the clutter; The fastest way to learn about cells, reproduction, animals, plants, evolution and ecosystems.

Data science is an entirely new discipline that encompasses a new era of information, from finding criminals to predicting epidemics. But there's more to it than the vast quantities of information gathered by our computers, smartphones, and credit cards. Carefully compiled by experts in the field, 30-Second Data Science covers the basic statistical principles that drive the algorithms, how data affects us in every way-science, society, business, pleasure-along with the ethical quandaries and its future promise of a better world. Each 30-Second entry details a different facet of data science in just 300 words and one picture, showing how the concept of bringing together different types of data, and using powerful computer programs to find patterns no human eye could spot, is already transforming our world.

An updated and accessible account of what science knows about climate change, incorporating the latest scientific findings and policy initiatives. 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. This book 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. The book 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, this book shows us, if we understand it.

Endowed with abundant water, extraordinary ecoystems, varied climates and biomes, our planet is teeming with creatures, great and small. What produced this rich diversity? How have so many species formed, evolved and adapted? What effects are humans having on the rest of the animal kingdom and on the natural environment we share? 30-Second Zoology explains the diversification process of evolution, then introduces the main groups of invertebrates and vertebrates. Breathing, seeing, communicating and other key features of animal physiology and behaviour are explored, as are the ecological relationships between Earth’s myriad species – the predators, the prey, the parasites and the positively poisonous – before assessing the anthropogenic effects of pollution, over-harvesting and a changing climate. Covering everything from the origins of life and the most basic of organisms, all the way through to the more complex creatures that we recognise today, 30-Second Zoology aims to showcase the most fantastic examples of life on our earth, all in 300 words and one stunning illustration per topic.

Why we should prepare for climate change now by taking anticipatory action in vulnerable regions. Global momentum is building to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. So far, so good. The less happy news is that Earth's temperatures will continue to rise for decades. And evidence shows that climbing temperatures are already having serious consequences for vulnerable people and regions through droughts, extreme weather, and melting glaciers. In this book, climate experts Michael Mastrandrea and Stephen Schneider argue that we need to start adapting to climate change, now. They write that these efforts should focus primarily on identifying the places and people most at risk and taking anticipatory action—from developing drought-resistant crops to building sea walls. The authors roundly reject the idea that reactive, unplanned adaptation will solve our problems—that species will migrate northward as climates warm, and farmers will shift to new crops and more hospitable locations. And they are highly critical of “geoengineering” schemes that are designed to cool the planet by such methods as injecting iron into oceans or exploding volcanoes. Mastrandrea and Schneider insist that smart adaptation will require a series of local and regional projects, many of them in the countries least able to pay for them and least responsible for the problem itself. Ensuring that we address the needs of these countries, while we work globally to reduce emissions over the long term, is our best chance to avert global disaster and to reduce the terrible, unfair burdens that are likely to accompany global warming.

The portending process of climate change, induced by the anthropogenic accumulations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, is likely to generate effects that will cascade through the biosphere, impacting all life on earth and bearing upon human endeavors. Of special concern is the potential effect on agriculture and global food security.Anticipating these effects demands that scientists widen their field of vision and cooperate across disciplines to encompass increasingly complex interactions. Trans-disciplinary cooperation should aim to generate effective responses to the evolving risks, including actions to mitigate the emissions of greenhouse gases and to adapt to those climate changes that cannot be avoided.This handbook presents an exposition of current research on the impacts, adaptation, and mitigation of climate change in relation to agroecosystems. It is offered as the first volume in what is intended to be an ongoing series dedicated to elucidating the interactions of climate change with a broad range of sectors and systems, and to developing and spurring effective responses to this global challenge. As the collective scientific and practical knowledge of the processes and responses involved continues to grow, future volumes in the series will address important aspects of the topic periodically over the coming years.