With glaciers melting, oceans growing more acidic, species dying out, and catastrophic events like Hurricane Katrina ever more probable, strong steps must be taken now to slow global warming. Further warming threatens entire regional economies and the well being of whole populations, and in this century alone, it could create a global cataclysm. Synthesizing information from leading scientists and the most up-to-date research, science journalist William Sweet examines what the United States can do to help prevent climate devastation. Rather than focusing on cutting oil consumption, which Sweet argues is expensive and unrealistic, the United States should concentrate on drastically reducing its use of coal. Coal-fired plants, which currently produce more than half of the electricity in the United States, account for two fifths of the country's greenhouse gas emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Sweet believes a mixture of more environmentally sound technologies-wind turbines, natural gas, and nuclear reactors-can effectively replace coal plants, especially since dramatic improvements in technology have made nuclear power cleaner, safer, and more efficient. Sweet cuts through all the confusion and controversies. He explores dramatic advances made by climate scientists over the past twenty years and addresses the various political and economic issues associated with global warming, including the practicality of reducing emissions from automobiles, the efficacy of taxing energy consumption, and the responsibility of the United States to its citizens and the international community to reduce greenhouse gases. Timely and provocative, Kicking the Carbon Habit is essential reading for anyone interested in environmental science, economics, and the future of the planet.

With glaciers melting, oceans growing more acidic, species dying out, and catastrophic events like Hurricane Katrina ever more probable, strong steps must be taken now to slow global warming. Further warming threatens entire regional economies and the well being of whole populations, and in this century alone, it could create a global cataclysm. Synthesizing information from leading scientists and the most up-to-date research, science journalist William Sweet examines what the United States can do to help prevent climate devastation. Rather than focusing on cutting oil consumption, which Sweet argues is expensive and unrealistic, the United States should concentrate on drastically reducing its use of coal. Coal-fired plants, which currently produce more than half of the electricity in the United States, account for two fifths of the country's greenhouse gas emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Sweet believes a mixture of more environmentally sound technologies-wind turbines, natural gas, and nuclear reactors-can effectively replace coal plants, especially since dramatic improvements in technology have made nuclear power cleaner, safer, and more efficient. Sweet cuts through all the confusion and controversies. He explores dramatic advances made by climate scientists over the past twenty years and addresses the various political and economic issues associated with global warming, including the practicality of reducing emissions from automobiles, the efficacy of taxing energy consumption, and the responsibility of the United States to its citizens and the international community to reduce greenhouse gases. Timely and provocative, Kicking the Carbon Habit is essential reading for anyone interested in environmental science, economics, and the future of the planet.

This publication is written by experts from many disciplines and various countries, with leading research organizations involved in preparing and reviewing the publication. It presents solutions for individuals, businesses, cities and countries plus other groups that have similar characteristics such as NGO and intergovernmental organizations. The book contains case studies, illustrations, maps and graphics and serves also as reference publication.--Publisher's description.

"If the climate crisis had struck fifty years ago, we should have had no alternatives to fossil fuels. Today, there are many alternatives, and Tom Rand's book, Kick, is a superb introduction." -Gwynne Dyer, Journalist - International Affairs Kick is richly illustrated and accessible, it addresses achievable solutions that will have a real and meaningful impact on the future for our children. It's been conceived to appeal to a broad range of readers on multiple levels. For those who skim read and pull quotes and captions, Kick provides an engaging glimpse of this fascinating subject. For those who seek deeper understanding, the lively, factual text provides an easy-to-understand summary of the technologies and supports all claims with scientifically verified endnotes-from a politically neutral technology expert. Kick will engage, entertain and educate the public about one of the most important subjects of our time. The book deals with Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Biofuels, Hydropower, Ocean, Smart Buildings, Transportation, Efficiency and Conservation and the Energy Internet.

With "50 Simple Steps to Kick America's Oil Habit", the goal of the Green Patriot Working Group is to initiate the next oil boycott--when America tells the world that it doesn't need oil anymore from unfriendly, hostile or unstable governments because its citizens have been empowered to do their share to kick our extreme addiction to petroleum. Following in the footsteps of the very successful "50 Simple Steps to Save the Earth from Global Warming", the Green Patriot Working Group's newest consumer handbook provides easy and practical steps anybody can take to reduce their personal dependency on petrochemicals. From the cosmetics and household cleaning products we purchase to the foods we eat, our choice of transportation, how we heat our homes and even the clothing we wear, Americans can make choices that will make a tremendous difference for our future national security. "50 Simple Steps" also looks at the many side benefits of abandoning petroleum products including improved public health (from reduced carcinogens, toxins and pollution), a healthier environment (due to reduced greenhouse gases and global warming) and a healthier economy (due to keeping billions of U.S. dollars in our own country). "50 Simple Steps" challenges and inspires its readers to be leaders-each person, each Green Patriot-and to do their fair share for America. "50 Simple Steps" makes it easy.

By the last decade of the twentieth century, the great questions of modernity seemed to be answered. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and global communism, the liberal democratic capitalist project seemed to be the only one left standing, and in the 1990s the "liberal ideal" spread worldwide. Today, of course, this universalistic narrative rings hollow. The global distribution of power has shifted and the preeminence of the West is receding as new directions for world order emerge. China is rapidly ascending as a peer competitor of the United States, bringing with it a powerful new global narrative of grievance and revision. Political Islam also burst onto the global scene as a multifaceted transnational movement reshaping regional political order and geopolitical alignments. With the rapid advance of climate change, there have arisen new narratives of global endangerment and dystopia. Far from converging, fragmentation and contestation increasingly dominate debates over world order. In Debating Worlds, Daniel Deudney, G. John Ikenberry, and Karoline Postel-Vinay have gathered a group of eminent scholars in the field to analyze the various ways in which the West's dominant narrative has waned and a new plurality of narratives has emerged. Each of these narratives combines stories of the past with understandings of the present and attractive visions of the future. Collectively, the contributors map out these narratives, focusing primarily on their key features, origins, and implications for world order. The narratives prominent on the world stage are a volatile mix of components, but they also differ in scope--some are regional and civilizational without global aspirations, while others cast themselves as globally expansive and universally ambitious. Covering the most influential narratives currently shaping world politics, Debating Worlds is an essential volume for all scholars of international relations.

This essential volume helps readers explore in detail the range of current and impending challenges that energy production and resources face as a result of global warming. Readers will examine these issues from a variety of expert perspectives, highlighting key future challenges, and addressing the pros and cons of potential solutions. After a thorough introduction on energy and global warming, our reliance on fossils fuels is explained. Fascinating topics such as reinventing transportation energy and achieving a clean-energy economy are richly explored.

Crossing the far corners of the globe, Tales of an Ecotourist showcases travel, from the hot and humid Amazon jungle to the frozen but dry Antarctic, as a simple yet spellbinding lens to better understand the complex issue of climate change. At its core, climate change is an issue few truly understand, in large part due to its dizzying array of scientific, economic, cultural, social, and political variables. Using both keen humor and memorable anecdotes, while weaving respected scientific studies along the way, Mike Gunter Jr. transports the reader to five famous ecodestinations, from the Galapagos Islands to the Great Barrier Reef, revealing firsthand the increasing threats of climate change. Part travelogue, part current events exposé, with a healthy dose of history, ecology, and politics, these tales of ecoadventure tackle such obstacles head on while fleshing out much-needed personal context to perhaps society's greatest threat of all.

Volume 9: Historical Perspectives, Part B: Notable People in Mass Spectrometry of The Encyclopedia of Mass Spectrometry briefly reviews the lives and works of many of the major people who carried out this development, providing insights into the history of mass spectrometry applications through the personal stories of pioneers and innovators in the field. The book presents biographies of notable contributors, including Nobel Prize winners J. J. Thomson, Francis W. Aston, Wolfgang Paul, John B. Fenn, and Koichi Tanaka, along with other luminaries in the field, including Franz Hillenkamp, Catherine Clarke Fenselau, Alfred O. C. Nier, and many more, discussing not only the instruments and their uses, but also providing interesting information on the careers, characters, and life stories of the people who did the work. - Highlights over 120 innovators in mass spectrometry, including several Nobel Prize winners - Discusses instrumentation and their uses, also providing interesting information on the careers, characters, and life stories of the people who did the work - Offers unique insight into the careers and personalities of luminaries in the field - Coordinates with Volume 9: Historical Perspectives, Part A: The Development of Mass Spectrometry, an overview of mass spectrometry development and progress - Ideal reference for those interested in a wide variety of topics, including analytical chemistry and chemical analysis, amongst others

An urgent account of the explorers and scientists racing to understand the rapidly melting ice sheet in Greenland, a dramatic harbinger of climate change. As Greenland's ice melts and runs off into the sea, it not only threatens to affect hundreds of millions of people who live in coastal areas. It will also have drastic effects on ocean currents, weather systems, economies, and migration patterns