Climate change [electronic resource] : the fork at the end of now / Micha Tomkiewicz.
Material type:
TextPublication details: [New York, N.Y.] (222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017) : Momentum Press, 2011.Edition: 1st edDescription: 1 electronic text (xxii, 296 p.) : ill., digital fileISBN: - 9781606502747 (electronic bk.);
- 1606502743 (electronic bk.)
- 363.73874 22
- QC903 .T653 2011
- Also available in print.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 285) and index.
List of illustrations -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Preface -- About the author -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The issues -- 3. History -- 4. The carbon cycle -- 5. Energy, temperature, entropy, and light -- 6. The greenhouse effect -- 7. Sun, water, and weather -- 8. Modeling -- 9. Human involvement, the separation of variables, and the IPAT identity -- 10. Fossil fuels -- 11. Alternative energy sources -- 12. The economic balance -- 13. Politics: global issues, local decisions -- 14. What can I do, and what can I learn from doing it -- 15. Early signs -- 16. The future, the past, and the Just World Hypothesis -- Notes -- Appendix 1. Units conversions and equivalencies -- Appendix 2. The periodic table of elements -- Appendix 3. International treaties -- Further reading -- Index.
Restricted to libraries which purchase an unrestricted PDF download via an IP.
People are currently paying much attention to the ability of present and future human populations to influence Earth's climate through the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide. According to some, such a self-induced change in our physical environment qualifies humans for the distinction of a "superspecies" that has passed a threshold of biological evolution. Some 2 to 3 billion years ago, another organism changed the environment in a very pronounced way: a primitive unicellular organism called cyanobacteria (blue- green algae). These cyanobacteria "discovered" a new energy source that enabled them to develop a photosynthetic apparatus that assimilates carbon dioxide through conversion of solar energy to chemical energy. In the process, a "useless" waste product, oxygen, began to accumulate and gradually changed the composition of the atmosphere. As a result, new, more complex oxygen-consuming forms of life evolved, eventually leading to humans. The algae that started it all, while still flourishing, then became the first link in a very elaborate food chain.
Green_Library
Also available in print.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
System requirements: Adobe Acrobat reader.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on May 28, 2011).
There are no comments on this title.
