Climate Change For Dummies

1. Edition June 2022
384 Pages, Softcover
General Reading
Master the hottest--and most chilling--topic in the world today
More and more frequent extreme weather events occur each year, and wildlife everywhere is increasingly endangered. Science fiction or science fact, most climate experts see this as our world on climate change--and, according to polls, a majority of people around the globe agree. Climate Change For Dummies allows you to investigate this hottest of hotly debated issues for yourself--examining its causes, the way it affects our lives, and what we can all do to make a difference.
This straightforward guide--cowritten by the former leader of Canada's Green Party and the Canadian Chief of Staff to the Minister of Natural Resources--sifts the fact from the fiction: Is climate change caused by human activity or by natural elements beyond our control? What contribution can clean energy make? What are our best and worst-case scenarios?
* What are the likely long- and short-term effects?
* How can human activity can impact the environment?
* Can individuals and governments help reverse the possible effects?
* Which are the best sources of cleaner energy?
With the IPCC predicting a 2.5-10°F warming over the next century, this complex subject will be making temperatures soar for years to come--on both sides of the debate. Climate Change For Dummies is the ideal tool to navigate these increasingly choppy waters--and to make an informed difference where you can.
Part 1: Understanding Climate Change 5
Chapter 1: Covering the Basics of Climate Change 7
Chapter 2: Looking Closely at Greenhouse Earth 27
Chapter 3: Recognizing the Big Deal about Carbon 47
Part 2: Tracking Down the Causes 61
Chapter 4: Living in the Dark Ages of Fossil Fuels 63
Chapter 5: Getting Right to the Source: The Big Emitters 77
Chapter 6: Taking It Personally: Individual Sources of Emissions 91
Part 3: Examining the Effects of Climate Change 101
Chapter 7: Focusing on Not-So-Natural Disasters 103
Chapter 8: Risking Flora and Fauna: Impacts on Plants and Animals 121
Chapter 9: Hitting Home: Global Warming's Direct Effect on People 137
Part 4: Political Progress: Fighting Global Warming Nationally and Internationally 155
Chapter 10: Voting for Your Future: What Governments Can Do 157
Chapter 11: Beyond Borders: Progress on a Global Level 187
Chapter 12: Developing in the Face of Climate Change 201
Part 5: Solving the Problem 221
Chapter 13: Powering the World -- Renewable Green Energy 223
Chapter 14: Show Me the Money: Business and Industrial Solutions 249
Chapter 15: Activists without Borders: Nongovernmental Organizations 271
Chapter 16: Lights, Camera, Action: The Media and Climate Change 285
Chapter 17: Figuring Out How to Change before Global Warming Is Unstoppable 297
Part 6: The Part of Tens 315
Chapter 18: Ten (Plus One) Things You Can Do to Fight Climate Change 317
Chapter 19: Ten (Plus Three) Inspiring Leaders in the Fight 329
Chapter 20: Top Ten Myths about Climate Change Debunked 337
Chapter 21: Ten (Plus One) Online Climate Change Resources 345
Index 351
John Kidder was a founding member of the Green Party in British Columbia. He has been a cowboy, miner, fisher, range management specialist, technology entrepreneur, small farmer, and governance practitioner since then.
The authors married on Earth Day 2019.