Climate Science and Policy - MAS Program: Encyclopedias & Handbooks

This authoritative resource covers all aspects of atmospheric sciences —with topics ranging from climate variability, air-sea interactions, global climate change, greenhouse gases, to weather prediction and the impact of climate on the oceans. There are almost 350 articles and over 1,900 figures and photographs presented, many in full-color. This is a good resource for anyone interested in the fields of atmospheric, ocean, and environmental sciences.

The authors of this encyclopedia describe it as going "beyond pure science to consider other important factors, weighing the cultural, historical, and policy-driven contributors to this issue. In addition, the book explores the ideas that have converged and evolved in order to clarify our current predicament. By considering climate change in this holistic fashion, this reference collection will prepare readers to consider the issue from every angle." This encyclopedia was published in 2014, and its dictionary style arrangement of topics, A-Z, makes it an easy resource to consult.

This comprehensive resource is a good place to start your research on all aspects of oceanography or marine sciences. For example, it includes authoritative information on marine biology, ecology, ecosystems, fisheries, marine policy, the impact of pollution and climate change, and the use of the oceans for food and energy.

NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information describes their great website as: "Climate Data Online (CDO) provides free access to NCDC's archive of global historical weather and climate data in addition to station history information. These data include quality controlled daily, monthly, seasonal, and yearly measurements of temperature, precipitation, wind, and degree days as well as radar data and 30-year Climate Normals."

This is the official website of the World Meteorological Organizaton. They describe their website as providing "OFFICIAL weather observations, weather forecasts and climatological information for selected cities supplied by National Meteorological & Hydrological Services (NMHSs) worldwide.The NMHSs make official weather observations in their respective countries. Links to their official weather service websites and tourism board/organization are also provided whenever available."

This handbook offers many sections on how climate change affects human systems, and its impacts on societies. Key topics covered include the history of climate change issues, social and political reception of climate science, social disruptions caused by climate change, the economics of those disruptions and possible responses to them, policy instruments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and governance at local, regional, national, international, and global levels.

This handbook presents a comprehensive overview of global policy on climate and the environment. The publishers describe this work as "...an essential resource guide for students and researchers from across a wide range of related disciplines - from politics and international relations, to environmental sciences and sociology - and for global policy practitioners."

This handbook is a very good introduction to climate change mitigation. It contains sections on assessment of greenhouse gas emissions, economics of international climate policy, carbon markets, implications of climate change for the petrochemical industry, impact of climate change on biodiversity, and sea-level rise and hazardous storms.

This second edition explains the key scientific, economic, and policy concepts of climate change and provides a non-technical overview of consensus on the basic science of climate change. The book looks at the links between economic growth, well-being and the environment, and it also "evaluates existing and proposed mechanisms as a means to reduce global emissions." The authors show how direct and indirect costs of fossil fuels – particularly the huge health costs of local pollution – actually exceed the investment needed for transition to an almost zero carbon economy in two or three decades using available technology.

This book is divided into two sections, the first section offers a framework for understanding environmental policymaking, exploring the history of environmental policy, and discussing the importance of values in environmental policy. The second section applies the framework to the issue of climate change, focusing on agenda-setting and the role of formal institutions in the policymaking process, covering topics that include Congress, the Executive and Judicial branches, and how climate change cuts across policy subsystem boundaries.

Publisher's website states that this book "...entertains as it educates, delivering a unique and enjoyable presentation of mind-blowing facts and critical concepts. "Stand-up economist" Yoram Bauman and award-winning illustrator Grady Klein have created the funniest overview of climate science, predictions, and policy that you'll ever read. You'll giggle, but you'll also learn--about everything from Milankovitch cycles to carbon taxes. This cartoon introduction is based on the latest report from the authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and integrates Bauman's expertise on economics and policy. If economics can be funny, then climate science can be a riot. Sociologists have argued that we don't address global warming because it's too big and frightening to get our heads around. The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change takes the intimidation and gloom out of one of the most complex and hotly debated challenges of our time".