文档介绍：Introduction to Modern Climate Change
This textbook gives students an entire overview of recent climate change – science,
economics, and policy – enabling them to engage in informed debate of public
policy. The focus is on the problems of anthropogenic climate change. bina-
tion of science with economic and policy options makes this a unique introduction
among climate change textbooks. Not just descriptive, it contains the quantitative
depth that is necessary for a clear understanding of the science of climate change,
with simple equations and problems for students to solve.
The first half of the book focuses on the science of modern climate change,
including evidence that the Earth is warming and a basic description of climate
physics. This section also covers the concepts of radiative forcing, feedbacks, and
the carbon cycle. The second half of the book goes beyond the science to address
economics and policy. Students will leave the class motivated to engage in this vital,
controversial, and ongoing debate.
This is an invaluable textbook for any introductory survey course on the science
and policy of climate change, for both nonscience majors and introductory science
students.
Andrew E. Dessler is a climate scientist who studies both the science and politics of
climate change. His scientific research revolves around climate feedbacks, in partic-
ular how water vapor and clouds act to amplify warming from the carbon dioxide
that humans emit. During the last year of the Clinton Administration, he served as
a Senior Policy Analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Pol-
icy. Based on that experience, he co-authored a book, The Science and Politics of
Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate (Cambridge University Press, 2006;
2nd ed., 2010). He also authored a graduate textbook, The Chemistry and Physics of
Stratospheric Ozone (2000). He is currently a Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at
Texas A&M University. His educatio