How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster
Author :
Publisher : Knopf Canada
Total Pages : 240
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780735280458
ISBN-13 : 0735280452
Rating : 4/5 (58 Downloads)

Synopsis How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by : Bill Gates

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NATIONAL BESTSELLER In this urgent, singularly authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical--and accessible--plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid an irreversible climate catastrophe. Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help and guidance of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science and finance, he has focused on exactly what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide toward certain environmental disaster. In this book, he not only gathers together all the information we need to fully grasp how important it is that we work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases but also details exactly what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal. He gives us a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face. He describes the areas in which technology is already helping to reduce emissions; where and how the current technology can be made to function more effectively; where breakthrough technologies are needed, and who is working on these essential innovations. Finally, he lays out a concrete plan for achieving the goal of zero emissions--suggesting not only policies that governments should adopt, but what we as individuals can do to keep our government, our employers and ourselves accountable in this crucial enterprise. As Bill Gates makes clear, achieving zero emissions will not be simple or easy to do, but by following the guidelines he sets out here, it is a goal firmly within our reach.

America's Climate Choices

America's Climate Choices
Author :
Publisher : National Academies Press
Total Pages : 134
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780309145855
ISBN-13 : 0309145856
Rating : 4/5 (55 Downloads)

Synopsis America's Climate Choices by : National Research Council

Climate change is occurring. It is very likely caused by the emission of greenhouse gases from human activities, and poses significant risks for a range of human and natural systems. And these emissions continue to increase, which will result in further change and greater risks. America's Climate Choices makes the case that the environmental, economic, and humanitarian risks posed by climate change indicate a pressing need for substantial action now to limit the magnitude of climate change and to prepare for adapting to its impacts. Although there is some uncertainty about future risk, acting now will reduce the risks posed by climate change and the pressure to make larger, more rapid, and potentially more expensive reductions later. Most actions taken to reduce vulnerability to climate change impacts are common sense investments that will offer protection against natural climate variations and extreme events. In addition, crucial investment decisions made now about equipment and infrastructure can "lock in" commitments to greenhouse gas emissions for decades to come. Finally, while it may be possible to scale back or reverse many responses to climate change, it is difficult or impossible to "undo" climate change, once manifested. Current efforts of local, state, and private-sector actors are important, but not likely to yield progress comparable to what could be achieved with the addition of strong federal policies that establish coherent national goals and incentives, and that promote strong U.S. engagement in international-level response efforts. The inherent complexities and uncertainties of climate change are best met by applying an iterative risk management framework and making efforts to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions; prepare for adapting to impacts; invest in scientific research, technology development, and information systems; and facilitate engagement between scientific and technical experts and the many types of stakeholders making America's climate choices.

What If We Stopped Pretending?

What If We Stopped Pretending?
Author :
Publisher : HarperCollins UK
Total Pages : 80
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780008434052
ISBN-13 : 0008434050
Rating : 4/5 (52 Downloads)

Synopsis What If We Stopped Pretending? by : Jonathan Franzen

The climate change is coming. To prepare for it, we need to admit that we can’t prevent it.

Managing the Climate Crisis

Managing the Climate Crisis
Author :
Publisher : Island Press
Total Pages : 298
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781642832006
ISBN-13 : 1642832006
Rating : 4/5 (06 Downloads)

Synopsis Managing the Climate Crisis by : Jonathan Barnett

Natural disasters from heat waves to coastal and river flooding will inevitably become worse because of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere. Managing them is possible, but planners, designers, and policymakers need to advance adaptation and preventative measures now. Managing the Climate Crisis: Designing and Building for Floods, Heat, Drought and Wildfire by design and planning experts Jonathan Barnett and Matthijs Bouw is a practical guide to addressing this urgent national security problem. Barnett and Bouw draw from the latest scientific findings and include many recent, real-world examples to illustrate how to manage seven climate-related threats: flooding along coastlines, river flooding, flash floods from extreme rain events, drought, wildfire, long periods of high heat, and food shortages.

Designing Climate Solutions

Designing Climate Solutions
Author :
Publisher : Island Press
Total Pages : 374
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781610919562
ISBN-13 : 1610919564
Rating : 4/5 (62 Downloads)

Synopsis Designing Climate Solutions by : Hal Harvey

With the effects of climate change already upon us, the need to cut global greenhouse gas emissions is nothing less than urgent. It’s a daunting challenge, but the technologies and strategies to meet it exist today. A small set of energy policies, designed and implemented well, can put us on the path to a low carbon future. Energy systems are large and complex, so energy policy must be focused and cost-effective. One-size-fits-all approaches simply won’t get the job done. Policymakers need a clear, comprehensive resource that outlines the energy policies that will have the biggest impact on our climate future, and describes how to design these policies well. Designing Climate Solutions: A Policy Guide for Low-Carbon Energy is the first such guide, bringing together the latest research and analysis around low carbon energy solutions. Written by Hal Harvey, CEO of the policy firm Energy Innovation, with Robbie Orvis and Jeffrey Rissman of Energy Innovation, Designing Climate Solutions is an accessible resource on lowering carbon emissions for policymakers, activists, philanthropists, and others in the climate and energy community. In Part I, the authors deliver a roadmap for understanding which countries, sectors, and sources produce the greatest amount of greenhouse gas emissions, and give readers the tools to select and design efficient policies for each of these sectors. In Part II, they break down each type of policy, from renewable portfolio standards to carbon pricing, offering key design principles and case studies where each policy has been implemented successfully. We don’t need to wait for new technologies or strategies to create a low carbon future—and we can’t afford to. Designing Climate Solutions gives professionals the tools they need to select, design, and implement the policies that can put us on the path to a livable climate future.

What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming

What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming
Author :
Publisher : Chelsea Green Publishing
Total Pages : 322
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781603585835
ISBN-13 : 1603585834
Rating : 4/5 (35 Downloads)

Synopsis What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming by : Per Espen Stoknes

"Today, about 98 percent of scientists affirm that climate change is human made, and about 2 percent still question it. Despite that overwhelming majority, though, about half the population of rich countries, like ours, choose to believe the 2 percent. And, paradoxically, this large camp of deniers grows even larger as more and more alarming proof of climate change has cropped up over the last decades. This disconnect has both climate scientists and activists scratching their heads, growing anxious, and responding, usually, by repeating more facts to 'win' the argument. But, the more climate facts pile up, the greater the resistance to them grows, and the harder it becomes to enact measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare communities for the inevitable change ahead. Is humanity up to the task? It is a catch-22 that starts, says psychologist and climate expert Per Espen Stoknes, from an inadequate understanding of the way most humans think, act, and live in the world around them. With dozens of examples, he shows how to retell the story of climate change and apply communication strategies more fit for the task."--Publisher's description.

All the Feelings Under the Sun

All the Feelings Under the Sun
Author :
Publisher : American Psychological Association
Total Pages : 82
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781433837500
ISBN-13 : 1433837501
Rating : 4/5 (00 Downloads)

Synopsis All the Feelings Under the Sun by : Leslie Davenport

KIDS' BOOK CHOICE AWARDS finalist! Kids will get an expert understanding of the science behind climate crisis, plus engage with lots of do-able self-guided activities, journaling prompts, and useful resources. Readers will also hear about other kids around the world who have made a difference that just may inspire them to practice eco-justice and combat global climate injustice themselves, by putting their own eco-values into action. All the Feelings Under the Sun is bound to help kids find just want they need to manage stress, anxiety, and all those big emotions about climate, the environment, and ecosystems, and become better equipped to take an eco-wise approach to life and make their own part of the world a little healthier and happier, too. All the Feelings Under the Sun: How to Deal with Climate Change is a timely, thoughtful book that will help kids work through your feelings of anxiety and stress relating to climate change. They'll discover all the ways that nature is beautiful, powerful, delicate, fierce, mysterious, and awesome, but also learn how rising temperatures are affecting everything—plants, animals, people, and the environment—and what they can do about it.

The Implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change

The Implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change
Author :
Publisher : Routledge
Total Pages : 291
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781351815789
ISBN-13 : 1351815784
Rating : 4/5 (89 Downloads)

Synopsis The Implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change by : Vesselin Popovski

In December 2015, 196 parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted the Paris Agreement, seen as a decisive landmark for global action to stop human- induced climate change. The Paris Agreement will replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2020, and it creates legally binding obligations on the parties, based on their own bottom-up voluntary commitments to implement Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The codification of the climate change regime has advanced well, but the implementation of it remains uncertain. This book focuses on the implementation prospects of the Agreement, which is a challenge for all and will require a fully comprehensive burden- sharing framework. Parties need to meet their own NDCs, but also to finance and transfer technology to others who do not have enough. How equity- based and facilitative the process will be, is of crucial importance. The volume examines a broad range of issues including the lessons that can be learnt from the implementation of previous environmental legal regimes, climate policies at national and sub-national levels and whether the implementation mechanisms in the Paris Agreement are likely to be sufficient. Written by leading experts and practitioners, the book diagnoses the gaps and lays the ground for future exploration of implementation options. This collection will be of interest to policy-makers, academics, practitioners, students and researchers focusing on climate change governance.

Climate Change

Climate Change
Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Total Pages : 353
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780190866112
ISBN-13 : 019086611X
Rating : 4/5 (12 Downloads)

Synopsis Climate Change by : Joseph J. Romm

"Everyone needs to understand how climate change will directly affect their lives and the lives of their family in the years to come. This is the first general audience book aimed at giving you and your family the knowledge you need to know to navigate your future"--

Drawdown

Drawdown
Author :
Publisher : Penguin
Total Pages : 258
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781524704650
ISBN-13 : 1524704652
Rating : 4/5 (50 Downloads)

Synopsis Drawdown by : Paul Hawken

• New York Times bestseller • The 100 most substantive solutions to reverse global warming, based on meticulous research by leading scientists and policymakers around the world “At this point in time, the Drawdown book is exactly what is needed; a credible, conservative solution-by-solution narrative that we can do it. Reading it is an effective inoculation against the widespread perception of doom that humanity cannot and will not solve the climate crisis. Reported by-effects include increased determination and a sense of grounded hope.” —Per Espen Stoknes, Author, What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming “There’s been no real way for ordinary people to get an understanding of what they can do and what impact it can have. There remains no single, comprehensive, reliable compendium of carbon-reduction solutions across sectors. At least until now. . . . The public is hungry for this kind of practical wisdom.” —David Roberts, Vox “This is the ideal environmental sciences textbook—only it is too interesting and inspiring to be called a textbook.” —Peter Kareiva, Director of the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA In the face of widespread fear and apathy, an international coalition of researchers, professionals, and scientists have come together to offer a set of realistic and bold solutions to climate change. One hundred techniques and practices are described here—some are well known; some you may have never heard of. They range from clean energy to educating girls in lower-income countries to land use practices that pull carbon out of the air. The solutions exist, are economically viable, and communities throughout the world are currently enacting them with skill and determination. If deployed collectively on a global scale over the next thirty years, they represent a credible path forward, not just to slow the earth’s warming but to reach drawdown, that point in time when greenhouse gases in the atmosphere peak and begin to decline. These measures promise cascading benefits to human health, security, prosperity, and well-being—giving us every reason to see this planetary crisis as an opportunity to create a just and livable world.