A cutting exploration of how cities drive climate change while being on the frontlines of the coming climate crisis How will climate change affect our lives? Where will its impacts be most deeply felt? Are we doing enough to protect ourselves from the coming chaos? In Extreme Cities, Ashley Dawson argues that cities are ground zero for climate change, contributing the lion’s share of carbon to the atmosphere, while also lying on the frontlines of rising sea levels. Today, the majority of the world’s megacities are located in coastal zones, yet few of them are adequately prepared for the floods that will increasingly menace their shores. Instead, most continue to develop luxury waterfront condos for the elite and industrial facilities for corporations. These not only intensify carbon emissions, but also place coastal residents at greater risk when water levels rise. In Extreme Cities, Dawson offers an alarming portrait of the future of our cities, describing the efforts of Staten Island, New York, and Shishmareff, Alaska residents to relocate; Holland’s models for defending against the seas; and the development of New York City before and after Hurricane Sandy. Our best hope lies not with fortified sea walls, he argues. Rather, it lies with urban movements already fighting to remake our cities in a more just and equitable way. As much a harrowing study as a call to arms Extreme Cities is a necessary read for anyone concerned with the threat of global warming, and of the cities of the world.

This book explores how the world community will respond to the unfolding humanitarian crisis caused by climate change. It recognises climate change as the greatest threat to human development in the 21st century, bringing with it: flooding, drought, extreme temperatures, health crises, threats to human security and severe harm to economic development. The Climate Change Crisis addresses climate change and its impact as a major threat for countries around the world. Through a collection of interviews with leading environmentalists and exploration into new innovations that can offer hope and protection for billions of people, this book presents an interdisciplinary approach towards understanding the paramount health and development challenges of climate change. This timely and informative book cuts across several disciplines, including human rights, public policy, international relations, national refugee policy, and migration studies.

Climate in Peril: A Popular Guide to the Latest IPCC Reports presents the substance of the Climate Change 2007 Synthesis Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in simplified language and structure. The guide, intended for lay readers, is a joint publication of GRID-Arendal and SMI Books, with the generous support of the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

In an easily accessible work of enormous scope and depth, John J. Berger vividly evokes the looming hazards of a warmer world. Based on the latest climate science, Climate Peril reveals that the impacts of climate change on our health, economy, and environment are far worse--and more imminent--than many realize. The book identifies the obstacles to climate protection and shows why steep and unprecedented--yet affordable--cuts in greenhouse gases are needed now to avert a global climate catastrophe. Climate Peril portrays the radically altered world we will create in 2100 A.D. if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced and documents the rapid and unnatural climate change already taking place. The book explores all major consequences of climate change, especially its astonishing impacts on the economy, human health, other species, and the oceans. Among other awesome risks, Climate Peril describes the billions of tons of carbon lurking in ocean seabeds and thawing permafrost and the global danger of crossing an invisible threshold beyond which catastrophic climate changes become inevitable. While its conclusions are alarming, Climate Peril is above all a realistic and authoritative book that you can use to better understand how climate change may affect you and your family. Climate Peril is the second of a three book series. Volume 1, Climate Myths, focused on the political campaign waged against climate science, and volume 3, Climate Solutions (forthcoming), shows how to create a climate-safe world by radically transforming global energy, transportation, and land use practices. Early comments: "A brilliant book, and one that might just change the world. By far the best overview of climate science and its implications for our planet that I've ever read." - Tim Flannery, Chief Councilor, Australian Climate Council, and Author, The Weather Makers * "I applaud Climate Peril for showing so clearly that climatic disruption is the consuming issue of our time and our response in the next few years will determine the fate of this civilization." - George M. Woodwell, Founder, Director Emeritus, and Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Research Center * "Climate Peril is an excellent primer on the causes and effects of climate change, which, as John Berger notes, imperils our very existence and that of all natural systems on which we depend." - Lester R. Brown, President, Earth Policy Institute and Author of Full Planet, Empty Plates * "Read Climate Peril and you will become well informed about what probably is the greatest threat ever faced by civilization." - Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich, from the Introduction to Climate Peril * "Climate Peril lays the foundation for understanding the actions we must take to begin building a sustainable world for the future. Highly recommended " - Peter H. Raven, President Emeritus, Missouri Botanical Garden. About the Author: John J. Berger, Ph.D., writes about climate change from the perspective of an internationally respected energy and natural resources expert. Trained in ecology, Dr. Berger has served as a consultant to government, scientific, academic, and nonprofit organizations, including the U.S. Congress and the National Academy of Sciences.

In The Environmentalist's Dilemma, award-winning journalist Arno Kopecky zeroes in on the core predicament of our times: the planet may be dying, but humanity's doing better than ever. Inquisitive and relatable, he guides us through the moral minefields of our polarized world.

As a result of human activities, including the large-scale burning of oil and other fossil fuels, the planet's atmosphere and oceans are steadily growing warmer. This is causing, and will continue to cause in the future, serious consequences for human civilization. These threats from climate change include larger and more powerful hurricanes and other extreme weather events, famine, and loss of biodiversity.

No environmental issue triggers such feelings of hopelessness as global climate change. Many areas of the world, including regions of the United States, have experienced a wide range of unusually dramatic weather events recently. Much climate change analysis forecasts horrors of biblical proportions, such as massive floods, habitat loss, species loss, and epidemics related to warmer weather. Such accounts of impending disaster have helped trigger extreme reactions, wherein some observers simply dismiss global climate change as, at the very worst, a minor inconvenience requiring modest adaptation. It is perhaps no surprise, therefore, that an American federal government known for institutional gridlock has accomplished virtually nothing in this area in the last decade. Policy inertia is not the story of this book, however. Statehouse and Greenhouse examines the surprising evolution of state-level government policies on global climate change. Environmental policy analyst Barry Rabe details a diverse set of innovative cases, offering detailed analysis of state-level policies designed to combat global warming. The book explains why state innovation in global climate change has been relatively vigorous and why it has drawn so little attention thus far. Rabe draws larger potential lessons from this recent flurry of American experience. Statehouse and Greenhouse helps to move debate over global climate change from bombast to the realm of what is politically and technically feasible.