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The Discovery of Global Warming
Book

The Discovery of Global Warming

Harvard UP, 2008
First Edition: 2004 подробнее...


Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Scientific
  • Overview

Recommendation

Drawing from scientific discoveries in oceanography, meteorology, geochemistry, biology and astrophysics, author Spencer R. Weart draws you into the puzzle of climate change as it is unfolding through time. No one person had an “aha” moment and discovered global warming. Instead, today’s understanding required an accumulation of theories from disparate areas of research, shaped by the rigors of the scientific method. These discoveries convinced most scientists that global warming is a serious phenomenon. Weart outlines the scientific process that led to today’s climate diagnosis. He also relates lively stories about the people behind the discoveries. That may not be as immediately applicable, but getAbstract finds that it is illuminating and could help readers feel like insiders in this fight.

Take-Aways

  • Early scientists identified prevalent heat-trapping gases, such as carbon dioxide and water vapor.
  • In the 1930s, amateur climatologist Guy Callendar postulated that industrial carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions were responsible for a global warming trend.
  • Climate on Earth has changed drastically in the past, and can change dramatically again within 200 years.

About the Author

Spencer R. Weart directs the History of Physics program at the American Institute of Physics. His previous books include Nuclear Fear and Scientists in Power.


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