"Climate describes the marvelous and complex workings of Earth's climate systems, from its primordial atmosphere to today's extreme changes in weather, ecology, and environment. Climate systems around the world are being transformed by rising temperatures. Every continent is undergoing alarming changes: melting glaciers, deadly droughts, severe storms, and loss of habitat for plants and animals - and humans. Greenhouse gases heat up the atmosphere, affecting crops and grazing lands, and unleashing deadly diseases. As polar ice caps melt, sea levels rise. Islands become submerged, coastal settlements flooded. Climate addresses the most pressing questions, such as how much carbon dioxide can the atmosphere safely hold? How high will sea levels rise? How will civilization cope with increasingly dangerous weather incidents? Climate will help us understand what must be done today for the sake of our planet tomorrow."--Jacket.
|