Welcome to the Greenhouse, an all original science fiction anthology, imagines the possibilities that climate change poses for our future – from the grim to the hopeful, the absurd to the all-too-real.
It is important for the reader to understand clearly the objectives of these papers. They are not an attempt to provide accurate predictions of what is going to happen in Australia over the next few decades. Rather they represent sensitivity studies, designed to illustrate to what extent we as a nation are dependent on the climate and likely to be affected by climatic change, and attempts to develop the techniques for such sensitivity analyses. For this, the climate scenario (reproduced in the Appendix to this volume), was a key.
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.
This publication emphasises that an interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary cooperation of scientists throughout the world is important in solving the complex problems facing the greenhouse industry. The book itself is an outstanding example of such cooperation.The aim of the book is to describe and analyse crop production in greenhouses in relation to climate control, to redefine the problem of (optimal) control from a theoretical point of view, and to provide a suitable framework for the design of new, scientifically based control systems. Though the principles are generally applicable, they are discussed against the background of the Dutch greenhouse industry. To provide the reader with some background information, the historical developments and the economic position of the Dutch horticultural industry are briefly reviewed in the introductory chapter. ...this book will certainly become a reference as such an extensive review on the greenhouse-crop system and its control is lacking for research and teaching... (Scientia Horticultura)
Will Washington, London, and Tokyo be threatened by rising seas? What changes in our economics, politics, and lifestyles will be brought about by the coming climate crisis? Here is the needed information to prepare for this very different future.
Public deliberation over climate change has traditionally been dominated by the natural and physical sciences. Is the planet warming? To what degree, and is mankind responsible? How big a problem is this, really? But concurrent with these debates is the question of what should be done. Indeed, what can be done? Issues of governance, including the political feasibility of certain policies and their capacity for implementation, have received short shrift in the conversation. But they absolutely must be addressed as we respond to this unprecedented challenge. Greenhouse Governance brings a much-needed public policy mindset to discussion of climate change in America. Greenhouse Governance features a number of America's preeminent public policy scholars, examining some aspect of governance and climate change. They analyze the state and influence of American public opinion on climate change as well as federalism and intergovernmental relations, which prove especially important since state and local governments have taken a more active role than originally expected. Specific policy issues examined include renewable electricity standards, mandating greater vehicle fuel economy, the "adaptation vs. mitigation" debate, emissions trading, and carbon taxes. The contributors do consider the scientific and economic questions of climate policy but place special emphasis on political and managerial issues. They analyze the role of key American government institutions including the courts, Congress, and regulatory agencies. The final two chapters put the discussion into an international context, looking at climate governance challenges in North America, relations with the European Union, and possible models for international governance. Contributors include Christopher Borick, Muhlenberg College; Martha Derthick, University of Virginia; Kirsten Engel, University of Arizona; Marc Landy, Boston College; Pietro Nivola, Brookings Institution; P
Climate Change: Evidence and Causes is a jointly produced publication of The US National Academy of Sciences and The Royal Society. Written by a UK-US team of leading climate scientists and reviewed by climate scientists and others, the publication is intended as a brief, readable reference document for decision makers, policy makers, educators, and other individuals seeking authoritative information on the some of the questions that continue to be asked. Climate Change makes clear what is well-established and where understanding is still developing. It echoes and builds upon the long history of climate-related work from both national academies, as well as on the newest climate-change assessment from the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It touches on current areas of active debate and ongoing research, such as the link between ocean heat content and the rate of warming.
Consideration of climate change deals increasingly with impacts and responses, and therefore involves a wide range of technical issues and a diverse community of experts. One of the challenges faced is that of ensuring effective communication between these different areas of expertise. For example, climate change studies require new types of collaboration between carbon cycle modellers and economists, and between meteorologists and coastal geomorphologists. Furthermore, there is a need to distil balanced assessments ranging across many disciplines for the benefit of all policymakers.Greenhouse: Coping with Climate Change brings together the contributions of many experts to the climate change debate. This book is a landmark publication summarising our understanding of climate change issues as they affect Oceania. It contains review papers that report on the status of knowledge, methodologies and developments; and a selection of focused papers that expand on specific issues and present significant new developments of wide general interest and relevance to the region.