Climate Change Primer

Chapter 1 Foreward: “As you read these, please take into account that numbers, names and circumstances have changed a great deal over the past six years, and so have I. Especially at the start, my time championing poor persons’ biochar involved … Read More

What is Global Warming?

Chapter 2 Global warming is the slow increase in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere because an increased amount of the energy (heat) striking the earth from the sun is being trapped in the atmosphere and not radiated out into space. … Read More

How does Global Warming drive Climate Change?

Chapter 3 Heat is energy and when you add energy to any system changes occur. Because all systems in the global climate system are connected, adding heat energy causes the global climate as a whole to change. Much of the … Read More

What Causes Global Warming?

Chapter 4 There are three positions on global warming: (1) that global warming is not occurring and so neither is climate change; (2) that global warming and climate change are occurring, but these are natural, cyclic events unrelated to human … Read More

What evidence do we have of climate change?

Chapter 6 The most compelling climate change evidence scientists have of climate change is long term data relating atmospheric CO2 levels and global temperature, sea level, the expanse of ice, the fossil record and the distribution of species. This data, which goes … Read More

What impacts does climate change have?

Chapter 8 Because the global climate is a connected system climate change impacts are felt everywhere. Among the most important climate change impacts are: Rising Sea LevelsClimate change impacts rising sea levels. Average sea level around the world rose about 8 … Read More

Pest and Diseases

Chapter 9 Rising temperatures favor agricultural pests, diseases and disease vectors. Pest populations are on the rise and illnesses once found only in limited, tropical areas are now becoming endemic in much wider zones. In Southeast Asia, for example, where malaria … Read More

What have we done to manage climate change?

Chapter 10 To date, the effort to manage climate change has been a matter of high level diplomatic negotiations involving states and international organizations with a loud, but largely excluded fringe of NGOs, business groups, and minor political actors. The … Read More

Why Has It Been So Difficult to Manage Climate Change

Chapter 11 Managing climate change difficulties arise from two, related reasons: climate change management is viewed as expensive and it poses what we call a collective action problem. Why managing climate change difficulties seems so expensive When business and politicians … Read More

What more can we do to manage climate change?

Chapter 12 Can we do more? It is clear that even if the international community manages to make further progress, it has a long way to go before it has exhausted its current agenda of negotiated restrictions on carbon emissions. … Read More

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