In this Very Short Introduction, Mark Maslin looks at all aspects of climate, from the physical and chemical factors that drive it and how climate differs from weather, to how climate has affected human settlements and the cyclic features of it. He ends with a look at climate change and our current approaches to solving it.

Climate change is still, arguably, the most critical and controversial issue facing the world in the twenty-first century. Previously published as Global Warming: A Very Short Introduction, the new edition is now Climate Change: A Very Short introduction, reflecting an important change in the terminology of the last decade. In the third edition, Mark Maslin includes crucial updates from the last few years, including the results of the 2013 IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, the effects of ocean acidification, and the impact of changes to global population and health. Exploring all of the key topics in the debate, Maslin makes sense of the complexities climate change involves, from political and social issues to environmental and scientific. Looking at its predicated impacts, he explores all of the controversies, and also explains the various proposed solutions. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Describes the evidence of global warming, its causes, its predicted impacts, and how its detrimental effects can be reduced.

"In this Very Short Introduction Storm Dunlop explains what weather is, what causes it, and how we measure it. Analysing the basic features of the atmosphere, its major wind systems and ocean currents, he shows how these drive the weather we experience."--Book cover.

A Short Introduction to Climate Change provides a clear, balanced and well documented account of one of the most important issues of our time. It covers developments in climate science over the past 250 years and shows that recent climate change is more than the result of natural variability. It explains the difference between weather and climate by examining changes in temperature, rainfall, Arctic ice and ocean currents. It also considers the consequences of our use of fossil fuels and discusses some of the ways to reduce further global warming. Tony Eggleton avoids the use of scientific jargon to provide a reader-friendly explanation of the science of climate change. Concise but comprehensive and richly illustrated with a wealth of full-colour figures and photographs, A Short Introduction to Climate Change is essential reading for anyone who has an interest in climate science and in the future of our planet. For more information please see http://www.tonyeggleton.id.au/

The proposal that the impact of humanity on the planet has left a distinct footprint, even on the scale of geological time, has recently gained much ground. Global climate change, shifting global cycles of the weather, widespread pollution, radioactive fallout, plastic accumulation, species invasions, the mass extinction of species - these are just some of the many indicators that we will leave a lasting record in rock, the scientific basis for recognizing new time intervals in Earth's history. The Anthropocene, as the proposed new epoch has been named, is regularly in the news. Even with such robust evidence, the proposal to formally recognize our current time as the Anthropocene remains controversial both inside and outside the scholarly world, kindling intense debates. The reason is clear. The Anthropocene represents far more than just another interval of geologic time. Instead, the Anthropocene has emerged as a powerful new narrative, a concept through which age-old questions about the meaning of nature and even the nature of humanity are being revisited and radically revised. This Very Short Introduction explains the science behind the Anthropocene and the many proposals about when to mark its beginning: the nuclear tests of the 1950s? The beginnings of agriculture? The origins of humans as a species? Erle Ellis considers the many ways that the Anthropocene's "evolving paradigm" is reshaping the sciences, stimulating the humanities, and foregrounding the politics of life on a planet transformed by humans. The Anthropocene remains a work in progress. Is this the story of an unprecedented planetary disaster? Or of newfound wisdom and redemption? Ellis offers an insightful discussion of our role in shaping the planet, and how this will influence our future on many fronts. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Environmental economics can be controversial, but it is also central to some key policy issues facing governments and society today, including industrial pollution, global warming, and waste/recycling. Stephen Smith looks at how economic activity affects the environment in which we live, and how environmental policies can most effectively be used.