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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 9, NUMBER 6, JUNE 1996

BOOKS AND PROCEEDINGS...
GENERAL INTEREST & POLICY

Item #d96jun63

The complete IPCC Second Assessment Report has been published in 1996 in three volumes by Cambridge University Press. Publication details and tables of contents can be found on the publisher's World Wide Web page: http://www.cup.cam.ac.uk/pubgroups/STM/IPCC/IPCC.html.

Climate Change 1995: the Science of Climate Change, J.T. Houghton, L.G. Meiro-Filho et al., Eds., 584 pp., $90/£65 (hbk.), $34.95/£22.95 (pbk.).

. . .Impacts, Adaptations and Mitigation of Climate Change: Scientific-Technical Analyses, R.T. Watson, M.C. Zinyowera, R.H. Moss, Eds., 890 pp., $95/£65 (hbk.), $35.95/£24.95 (pbk.).

. . .Economics and Social Dimensions of Climate Change, J. Bruce, H.E. Lee, E.F. Haites, Eds., 464 pp., $80/£55 (hbk.), $29.95/£19.95 (pbk.)

Item #d96jun64

The Global Warming Debate: The Report of the European Science and Environment Forum, 1996, $30/£17 (ESEF).

(See "IPCC Under Fire," Global Climate Change Digest, News, Apr. 1996.) Contains over 20 papers which question the underlying science accepted by the IPCC, and which show that the work of some respected IPCC authors is not reflected in the summaries policy makers and journalists receive. The five sections cover: the role of carbon dioxide in the global greenhouse; measurement problems; models, forecasts and uncertainty; the sun as an alternative explanation for climate change; and the politicization of science.

Item #d96jun65

Politics of Climate Change: A European Perspective, T. O'Riordan, J. Jager, Eds., 256 pp., Apr. 1996, $65 hbk./$22.95 pbk. (Routledge).

Critically analyzes the political, moral and legal responses to climate change in the midst of significant socioeconomic policy shifts. Covers national policies in areas such as greenhouse gas emission reductions and legal aspects of compliance.

Item #d96jun66

World Resources 1996-97, 384 pp., $24.95, May 1996 (WRI). Published in conjunction with the book is The World Resources 1996-97 Database Diskette, 3.5" high density, IBM compatible, $99.95.

Part I of this edition focuses on the urban environment. Part II looks at global conditions and trends, and includes these chapters: "Energy and Materials" and "Atmosphere and Climate." The diskette includes access to all statistics in the print edition, plus 20-year time series for many variables.

Item #d96jun67

Global Environmental Change: Past, Present and Future, K.K. Turekian, 200 pp., 1996, $46 (Prentice Hall).

Points out that global environmental change has larger dimensions than those induced by humans. Looks at natural and accelerated global environmental change, covering such topics as the changing planet, temperature variations, evolution of the atmosphere, oceanic and atmospheric circulations, sea level, human migration and population growth.

Item #d96jun68

Forests and Global Change, Volume 2: Forest Management Opportunities for Mitigating Carbon Emissions, N. Sampson, D. Hair, Eds., ca. 300 pp., 1996, $29.95 (American Forests). Also available in a two-volume set ($39.95), along with . . .Volume 1: Opportunities for Increasing Forest Cover, approx. 300 pp., 1992 ($19.95).

Volume 1 contains 13 papers that investigate scientific issues involved in evaluating options associated with expanding forest area. Volume 2 contains 14 papers that examine the opportunity for mitigating carbon emissions through management of existing forests, and serves as a reference for looking at the climate mitigation potential of forestry programs.

Item #d96jun69

Forest Ecosystems, Forest Management and the Global Carbon Cycle (NATO ASI Ser. I, Vol. 40), M.J. Apps, D.T. Price, 452 pp., 1996, $219 (Springer).

Examines an expanding global population and increasing consumption of resources as they affect forest renewal and sustainability. For example, Canadian forests were a net sink of carbon from 1970 to 1979. Since then, they have been a net source of carbon because of a dramatic increase in fire and insect infestations. (The book is discussed extensively in Global Environ. Change Rep., pp. 1-3, Nov. 1995.)

Item #d96jun70

Vital Signs 1996: The Trends That Are Shaping Our Future, L.R. Brown, C. Flavin, H. Kane, 169 pp., May 1996, $12 (Norton in the U.S./Earthscan in the U.K.).

Reports on trends in key indicators such as: food, agricultural resources, energy, atmosphere, economy, transport. Relates the higher global temperatures of 1996 to lowered grain harvests, more intense and violent storms, and increased payouts by insurance companies for weather-related damage.

Item #d96jun71

Regional Impacts of Global Climate Change: Assessing Change and Response at the Scales That Matter, S.J. Ghan, W.T. Pennell et al., Eds., 394 pp., 1996, $57.50 + $3.50 shipping (Battelle).

Contains the first comprehensive collection of papers on the subject of regional, as contrasted to global, impacts of climate change, from the 32nd Hanford Symposium on Health and the Environment (1993). Looks at progress in predicting regional climate change and in evaluating the impacts of these changes, and addresses implications for public and governmental policy.

Item #d96jun72

The Baked Apple? Metropolitan New York in the Greenhouse, D. Hill, Ed., 221 pp., 1996, $45 (New York Acad. Sci.).

Edited proceedings of a conference (Nov. 1994, New York, N.Y.) that demonstrated an approach to integrated assessment of global climate change at the local level, by addressing the serious problems a midlatitude coastal city like New York would face in the event of global warming. Sixteen contributions look at the scientific base, impacts, mitigation, and adaptation. Draws conclusions of four types: robust measures, measures that are sensitive to the extent of climate change, potential conflicts, and critical uncertainties. Recommends methods of establishing a consensus as a basis for developing a regional response to climate change.

Item #d96jun73

Global Environmental Security—From Protection to Prevention, ca. 272 pp., Apr. 1996, $74.95 (Springer).

Examined three issues based on past experience and identification of obstacles: (1) the possibility of technological breakthroughs; (2) the economy of environmental protection; and (3) the search for international cooperation at the grass roots level. Addresses new initiatives and proposes a scenario for the future.

Item #d96jun74

Human Impact on the Earth, W.B. Meyer, 246 pp., 1996, $69.95/£19.95 hbk., $24.95/£14.95 pbk. (Cambridge Univ.).

The publisher calls this a "balanced and non-polemical" book written for the educated lay reader. Inventories the changes human activities have produced in the global environment (oceans, atmosphere, climate) from 300 years ago to the present.

Item #d96jun75

Science, Nonscience and Nonsense: Approaching Environmental Literacy, M. Zimmerman, 220 pp., 1995, $25.95 (Johns Hopkins).

Reviewed by John Adams in Nature, pp. 125-126, May 9, 1996. The author's two main enthusiasms—defending the environment and denouncing creationists—are brought together in this book. The largest issue addressed is global warming. The reviewer comments on the author's view of the precautionary principle as it applies to climate change and the IPCC assessment.

Item #d96jun76

Global Warming: The Truth Behind the Myth, M.L. Parsons, 271 pp., 1995, $27.95 (Plenum).

Reviewed in Nature (pp. 384-385, May 30, 1996) by S.H. Schneider, who considers this another book in the anti-environmental backlash genre. The author implies that it is dishonesty that has motivated those on the IPCC, in a self-serving attempt to fuel the perception of environmental crisis, on which their funding depends. Schneider's review counters this, and other points (concerning the performance of climate models), finding with the author's technical expertise lacking. The reviewer does not advocate suppression of heterodox points of view, but calls for publishers to subject technical books to a high standard of technical review, and to solicit independent opinions before embracing self-proclaimed "truth" books.

Item #d96jun77

The Global Biodiversity Assessment, V.H. Heywood et al., Eds., 1140 pp., Jan. 1996, $44.95(pbk.)/$120 (hbk.) (Cambridge Univ.). A 56-page Summary for Policymakers is available ($14.95). Also available from UNEP distributors, or contact SMI (Distribution Services) POB 119, Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 4TP, UK.

Considered the most comprehensive analysis yet of the science underpinning biological diversity; contains the work of over 1500 scientists worldwide. The Earth's biological resources are under serious threat, with rates of species extinction 50-100 times the natural background rate. If diversity continues to be lost, and if climate change radically alters patterns of agriculture, the genetic material needed to produce new crop varieties may be unavailable. This assessment is intended to provide the scientific foundations needed to develop effective policies for conserving biodiversity. Sections cover such topics as the magnitude and distribution of biological diversity; its maintenance and loss; inventory and monitoring; human impacts; and conservation measures.

Item #d96jun78

Air Quality Compliance (A Practical Guide to), Second Edition, R.E. Erbes, 434 pp., May 1996, $79.95 (Wiley).

Written from the perspective of an environmental manager in response to the increasing complexity of complying with the U.S. Clean Air Act. Contains a chapter on stratospheric ozone protection and the regulation of ozone depleting chemicals.

Item #d96jun79

World Directory of Country Environmental Studies, 250 pp., 1996, $24.95 pbk. (WRI). Also . . .Diskette, 3.5" high density IBM-compatible diskette and user's guide, 1996, $49.95.

This revised and expanded edition is an annotated bibliography on the content and availability of hundreds of studies and assessments of environmental and natural conditions around the world. Includes environmental reports, action plans and national reports that were prepared for the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development. The diskette contains all the information of this and the two previous printed editions (over 900 citations).

Item #d96jun80

Valuing Climate Change: The Economics of the Greenhouse, S. Fankhauser, 176 pp., 1995, £14.95 (Earthscan).

Provides a framework for quantifying the economic effects of global warming.

Item #d96jun81

Global Environmental Change in Science: Education and Training (NATO ASI Ser. 1, Vol. 29), D.J. Waddington, ca. 282 pp., 1995, $140 (Springer).

Outlines present trends and deals with successful innovations and the problems associated with interdisciplinary global change science courses.

Item #d96jun82

Understanding Earth: Retrospectives and Visions, 1995, $135 (ERIM).

Proceedings of an April 1995 conference that commemorated the 25th anniversary of Earth Day and outlined current environmental challenges.

Item #d96jun83

How Many People Can the Earth Support?, J.E. Cohen, 532 pp., 1995, $30/£22.5 (Norton).

Examines the logic, assumptions, methods and inconsistencies of every major study of limits. The concept of carrying capacity is ill defined, but the human population is now entering the zone in which many scholars have set its upper limit. Population policy involves choices by people. Recommends population control, mutual aid and other measures. Reviewed by S. Tuljapurkar in Science (pp. 696-697, May 3, 1996), and by V. Smil in Nature (pp. 593-595, Feb. 15, 1996).

Item #d96jun84

OECD Environmental Data Compendium 1995, 308 pp., 1995, $69 (OECD).

Presents data on air and water pollution, natural resources, threatened species, energy consumption, and so on.

Item #d96jun85

Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth, J. Lovelock, 148 pp., 1995, £6.99; and The Ages of Gaia, J. Lovelock, 255 pp., 1995, £7.99. Both published in paperback by Oxford Univ. Press.

Reviewed by R.S. Scorer in Quart. J. Royal Meteor. Soc. (pp. 563-564, Part B, Jan. 1996). The first book is a reprinting with a new preface; the second brings the author's ideas up to date with much new material. Readers should not assume that Gaia demonstrates a purpose in the world and an ability to pursue it, which might save us from the coming changes of climate. Lovelock suggests that the global warming we think we have set in motion may not be the preference of all life. For example, extensive algal blooms occur where the seas become cooler, and algae increase their albedo. Since the most prevalent climate in the past billion years has been ice ages, Gaia may be showing a preference for a return of ice.

Item #d96jun86

Ozone Discourses: Science and Politics in Global Environmental Cooperation, K.T. Litfin, 257 pp., 1994, $18/£12.50 pbk. (Columbia Univ. Press, N.Y.).

Reviewed by R.B. Mitchell in The Ecologist (pp. 78-79, Mar.-Apr. 1996). The author uses a compelling theoretical argument to contradict the common perception that scientific consensus is the source of political consensus and international environmental agreement. She maintains that comprehending the dynamics of interaction between states requires examining how power, interests, institutions, and knowledge are "mutually interactive." The analysis is based on primary documents and interviews with the main negotiators.