ABSTRACT

'An impressive accomplishment. Al Gore, Former Vice President of the US, co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, and author of An Inconvenient Truth Offers positive solutions that no rational person, organization or government can ignore - except at their peril. Stephen H. Schneider, Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies, Stanford University, and author of The Genesis Strategy: Climate and Global Survival The science is clear and the message of this book is that there is no more time for delay. Rosina M. Bierbaum, Dean, University of Michigan While changes in emissions and atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases are projected to be slow and smooth, the intensity and impacts of climate change on the environment and society could be abrupt and erratic. Surprising and nonlinear responses are likely to occur as warming exceeds certain thresholds, inducing relatively rapid and disruptive changes in the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, precipitation intensity and patterns, coastal inundation, the occurrence of wildfire, the ranges of plant and animal species and more. Written by a transdisciplinary group of internationally respected researchers, this book explores the possibilities of such changes, their significance for society and efforts to move more rapidly to limit climate change than current government measures.

chapter |6 pages

Introduction

part II|36 pages

The Potential for Rapid Melting of Ice and Amplification of Sea Level Rise

chapter |2 pages

Introduction to Part 2

chapter 6|6 pages

Why Predicting West Antarctic Ice Sheet Behavior is so Hard

What We Know, What We Don't Know and How We Will Find Out

part III|78 pages

The Potential for Dramatic Changes in Coastal Regions

chapter |3 pages

Introduction to Part 3

The Honorable Tom Roper

chapter 8|18 pages

The Northern Gulf of Mexico Coast

Human Development Patterns, Declining Ecosystems and Escalating Vulnerability to Storms and Sea Level Rise

chapter 10|10 pages

Increasing the Resilience of Our Coasts

Coastal Collision Course of Rising Sea Level, Storms, Coastal Erosion and Development

part IV|45 pages

The End of Evolution? The Potential for Rapid Changes in Ecosystems

part V|85 pages

The Potential for Accelerating Action to Limit Climate Change

chapter |4 pages

Introduction to Part 5

chapter 17|6 pages

Moving Toward Climate Stabilization

Iceland's Example

chapter 18|4 pages

Climate Impacts in the Developing World

A Case Study of the Small Island States

chapter 21|9 pages

Addressing Climate Change

Religious Perspectives and Initiatives

chapter 22|14 pages

Climate Solutions on Today's Campuses

How Today's Students Must Drive a Modern Industrial Revolution

chapter 23|7 pages

Strategies for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions

The Role of Greenhouse Gas Offsets