Laboratory Earth
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- € 3,99
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- € 3,99
Publisher Description
An extremely readable account on the scientific essentials of the global warming debate
The possibility of global climatic change as a result of increasing numbers of people requiring higher stands of living has spawned an international controversy over the appropriateness of controls on deforestation and energy use. In order to address the political debate it is essential to understand the scientific background that underlies this problem.
Laboratory Earth takes the reader on a journey from the dawn of earth's climate and biological evolution through the era of the dinosaurs, past the Ice Age and into the shadowy environmental future increasingly dominated by human activities. In the final analysis it will be human values more than scientific methods that must be applied to decide how to gamble with the fate of the earth.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Global climate change is a complex topic, and there's no one better equipped to make it accessible to the public than Stanford biologist Schneider (Global Warming: Are We Entering the Greenhouse Century). He was one of the first scientists to predict global warming due to anthropogenic causes 20 years ago and, since then, has consistently advised government agencies on the subject. Unfortunately, it is too intricate for the abbreviated book he has written. He offers chapters on basic geological processes, the coevolution of life and climate, the causes of climatic change, mechanisms for modeling that change, the importance of biodiversity and policy options. All are disappointing with respect to style and substance; the writing is flat and the content too condensed to enlighten the uninformed. The policy section is the best. Good suggestions abound here--that we understand the role of the media in (mis)informing the public, that we integrate economics and ecology, that we create a scientific consensus. Had this single chapter been expanded to book length, Schneider might well have produced a volume that deserved a wide readership. Illustrations.
