Earth’s climate is warming at an accelerating rate. The impacts of global climate change are far-reaching and multifaceted. Rising global temperatures contribute to the melting of glaciers and polar ice sheets, leading to sea-level rise. Thermal expansion of seawater further exacerbates this trend. Coastal communities around the world face increased risks of flooding, erosion, and saltwater intrusion. Small island nations and low-lying deltas are particularly vulnerable, with some regions already experiencing displacement and loss of habitable land. In a world drowning in data but starving for wisdom, this book strips away the paralysis of political debate and the numbness of cold statistics. It transforms the complex, monumental science of our warming planet into an intimate, urgent call to arms, demanding that we shift our trajectory from passive witnesses of ecological collapse to active authors of a sustainable future. The realisation that increasing concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases like CO2 would result in rising temperatures is not new, but has a history stretching back for nearly two centuries. Nevertheless, despite this long history, the topic of global climate change has become a controversial one. Although nearly all climatologists think that continued anthropogenic releases of greenhouse gases at anything like current rates will lead to dangerous change, a small minority dissents. The observed change in climate is not regular; it proceeds in a jerky fashion, as evidenced by the year-to-year ups and downs in global average surface temperatures. This internal climate variability makes it very difficult to unambiguously ascribe observed anomalous climate patterns in the short term, allowing scepticism to flourish.
Dr. James Miller is a world-renowned climatologist, international policy advisor, and one of the defining voices of modern environmental science. For over three decades, he has stood at the vanguard of climate research, bridging the gap between rigorous academic inquiry and global geopolitical action. Dr. Miller earned his Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Cambridge, where his groundbreaking doctoral dissertation on polar ice-sheet dynamics won the prestigious International Meteorological Organization Prize. He holds a Master of Science in Environmental Policy from the London School of Economics, a dual qualification that uniquely equips him to address both the physical science of planetary warming and the socio-economic frameworks required to combat it. Before dedicating his life to writing and full-time advocacy, Dr. Miller served as the Chief Climate Strategist for the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and was a principal contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), sharing in the recognition of their collective Nobel Peace Prize. His field research has taken him from the melting permafrost of Siberia to the dying coral reefs of the South Pacific, providing him with a first-hand, unvarnished look at a biosphere in crisis. Currently holding the title of Professor Emeritus of Earth System Science at Stanford University, Dr. Miller has published over two hundred peer-reviewed papers and advised numerous heads of state on carbon-neutral transitions.
| Preface Chapter 1. Introduction to Global Climate Change Defining Climate and Weather Climate System and its Components Enhanced Greenhouse Effect: The Human Impact Observed Changes in the Climate System Consequences of a Warming Planet Chapter 2. Historical Perspectives on Climate Science Apprehending Climate Change Climate and Culture in Enlightenment Thought Great Climate Debate in Colonial and Early America Privileged Positions: The Expansion of Observing Systems Climate Discourse Transformed Joseph Fourier’s Theory of Terrestrial Temperatures John Tyndall, Svante Arrhenius, and Early Research on Carbon Dioxide and Climate T.C. Chamberlin and the Geological Agency of the Atmosphere Climatic Determinism of Ellsworth Huntington Global Warming? The Early Twentieth Century Global Cooling, Global Warming: Historical Dimensions Chapter 3. The Earth’s Climate System Components of the Earth’s Climate System Mechanisms of Climate Change Global Climate Change: Observations and Projections Impacts of Climate Change on Natural and Human Systems Mitigation Strategies Adaptation Strategies International Cooperation and Policy Frameworks Chapter 4. The Greenhouse Effect and Atmospheric Dynamics Physics of the Greenhouse Effect Major Greenhouse Gases and their Sources Atmospheric Window and Energy Balance Structure of the Atmosphere Atmospheric Circulation: The Global Conveyor Belt Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions Hydrological Cycle and Climate Feedbacks Albedo and the Ice-Albedo Feedback Atmospheric Dynamics and Extreme Weather Tipping Points and Irreversibility Chapter 5. Carbon Cycle and Biogeochemical Processes Planetary Machinery of Life Major Carbon Reservoirs and Fluxes: The Earth’s Carbon Accounts Biogeochemical Feedbacks: The Accelerators and Brakes of Climate Change State of the Land Carbon Sink: Signs of Strain Biogeochemical Processes at the Plant-Soil Interface: The Engine Room of the Cycle Human Intervention: Carbon Dioxide Removal and Its Limits Chapter 6. Radiative Forcing and Energy Balance Earth’s Energy Balance: The Foundation of Climate Mechanisms of Radiative Forcing Components of Radiative Forcing Measurement and Quantification of Radiative Forcing Radiative Forcing and Climate Sensitivity Policy Relevance and Future Scenarios Chapter 7. Climate Modeling and Simulation Techniques Purpose and Philosophy of Climate Models Hierarchy of Models: From Simple to Complex Fundamental Equations: A Mathematical Description of Reality Continuous Equations to Discrete Grids Parameterization: The Art of Representing the Unresolved Coupled Models: Integrating the Earth System Initialization, Spin-Up, and the Problem of Start-Up Regional Climate Models and Downscaling: Zooming in on Local Impacts Uncertainty in Climate Projections: Characterizing the Unknown Model Evaluation and Benchmarking: Building Trust New Frontier: Machine Learning and Probabilistic Projections Chapter 8. Paleoclimatology and Climate Records Paleoclimatology and Climate Records: Global Climate Change Necessity of a Deep-Time Perspective Nature of the Evidence: Archives and Proxies Proxy to Data: The Science of Reconstruction Journey Through Earth’s Climate History Anthropocene: An Unprecedented Signal in a Long Record Chapter 9. Anthropogenic Drivers of Climate Change Emergence of Anthropogenic Influence Fossil Fuel Combustion: The Primary Driver Industrial Processes and Product Use Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) Land-Use Change and Deforestation Waste Management Residential and Commercial Activities Transportation Indirect Anthropogenic Drivers Interactions and Trade-Offs Synthesis: The Anthropogenic Fingerprint Chapter 10. Industrialization and Fossil Fuel Emissions Deforestation and Land Use Change State of the World’s Forests: From Sinks to Sources Agriculture: The Engine of Land Use Change and a Major Emitter Solutions and Pathways: Sustainable Land Management Policy and Global Governance: Land Use in the Paris Agreement |
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