Product Description

Climate variability has become the primary environmental concern of the 21st Century. Yet, despite the scientific community's warnings of the imminent dangers of global warming, politicians world-wide have failed to agree on what to do about this potentially devastating environmental problem. This introductory primer informs scientists, policy makers and the general public by clarifying the conflicting claims of the debate.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #202051 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

Review
"Each of the key aspects of global climate change is covered, with up-to-date and well-referenced information throughout. Its impressive breadth and the provision of succinct overviews of source material in the further reading sections of each chapter mean that teachers, lecturers and researchers will all find this book a useful starting oint for in-depth study."
David Reay, Edinburgh University

"This is a book which all scientists and the educated general public should read and reflect upon before it is too late to halt the apparently inevitable progress to Armageddon."
Chromatographia

"Ensure[s] fluent reading for non-expert, yet educated, citizens. The book is logically structured and it should become a key reading and teaching source in geography and environmental sciences. It can also be valuable to doctoral students and senior researchers interested in learning about climate change science and politics. Overall it is a book worth having on one's shelf."
Environmental Sciences

"provides perhaps the most comprehensive and comprehensible analysis of the debates around climate change and is likely to become a foundational text for students, scholars, policymakers, and citizens seeking clarity on this topic. The scholarly value of The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change is indisputable. Dessler and Parson independently possess significant authority on both the science and the politics of climate change. Their treatment of the subject illustrates the complexity of the problem with remarkable ease and clarity. By juxtaposing the scientific and the political processes, they enrich the academic literature which has traditionally separated the two and open up new avenues for exploring policy solutions. Scientists will find value in the discussion of how their work is used by policymakers. Those knowledgeable about the politics of climate change will find value in the discussion of the science."
Global Environmental Politics

"Excellent overview of an increasingly critical issue."
Future Survey

"I found the book quite well written, with a good explanation of a suitable range of relevant scientific, "political" and economic concepts...I believe it is a good candidate for a primer for mulitdisciplinary classes devoted to climate policy..."
Canadian Public Policy, Randall M. Wigle, Wilfrid Laurier University

"It explains scientific and policy debates, discusses areas of knowledge and uncertainty regarding climate change, and offers possible policy options."
American Meteorological Society

"[Dressler and Parson] open with a powerful organizing principle for the climate and their book: to clearly distinguish between objective understanding (i.e., what we know) and subjective value judgment (i.e. what we believe should be). As a framework for thinking, this holds great promise: it curbs the potential to use ignorance to manipulate the debate, but also acknowledges the limits of scientific understanding."
Paul A. T. Higgins, Senior Fellow, AMS Policy Program

"...Dessler and Parson succeed in making both science and policy accessible to a wide readership. As someone working at the interface of science and policy, I could comfortably recommend this book to friends and colleagues. The book--which is well illustrated with easy-to-grasp figures, and which has summary tables provided at several key junctures--would also make an excellent resource for a high school or college-level survey course in either environmental studies or public policy. - Wendy S. Gordon, EOS

About the Author
Andrew Dessler is a professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M University. He received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard in 1994. He did postdoctoral work at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (1994-1996) and then spent nine years on the research faculty of the University of Maryland (1996-2005). In 2000, he worked as a Senior Policy Analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he collaborated with Ted Parson. Dessler's academic publications include one other book: The Chemistry and Physics of Stratospheric Ozone (Academic Press, 2000). He has also published extensively in the scientific literature on stratospheric ozone depletion and the physics of climate.

Edward Parson is Joseph L. Sax Collegiate Professor of Law and Professor of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan. His research examines international environmental policy, the role of science and technology in public policy, and the political economy of regulation. Parson's book, Protecting the Ozone Layer: Science and Strategy (Oxford University Press, 2003), won the 2004 Harold and Margaret Sprout Award of the International Studies Association. His academic articles have been published in Science, Climatic Change, Issues in Science and Technology, the Journal of Economic Literature, and the Annual Review of Energy and the Environment. Parson has led and served on several senior advisory committees for the U.S. National Research Council and U.S. Global Change Research Program, and has worked and consulted for the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, the United Nations Environment Program, the Office of Technology Assessment of the U.S. Congress, the Privy Council Office of the Government of Canada, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he collaborated with Andrew Dessler. In 2005, he was appointed to the National Advisory Board of the Union of Concerned Scientists. Parson spent twelve years on the faculty of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He holds degrees in Physics from the University of Toronto and in Management Science from the University of British Columbia, and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from Harvard.

Customer Reviews

A must-have for your collection
This is an excellent way into the subject for the beginner. There's some very sound science, most of which is agreed upon and a good understanding of how policy making works, or doesn't. The two ideas are brought together along with a discussion as to how we might proceed. One of the strengths of the book is the frequent use of boxes to put alternative viewpoints and summaries to show where we are in the debate. The overall effect is one of the most lucid and readable introductory accounts of the topic that has been published in some while. As such it should be seen as a 'must-buy' and an essential addition to the library.

Excellent work
How does science work? And how do politics work? How does it all fit together with the data that has come from various sources all over the planet - and is climate change real? All these questions are addressed in an easy read, very neutral. The authors take a firm stand on the issue finally, from a scientific perspective, and the result is clear: Yes, it is real, and it is coming at us, while politicans are incapable and totally overwhelmed by the problem. It is a new kind of threat nobody can deal with, thus we ignore it. Too much for us. Surprising to read from two high profile, Ex-NASA scientists from the US themselves. Alerting at the same time. A must read to be up to date with the debate or quickly get an overview. Stefan Klose - University of Ulm - Germany

Helpful guide to Global Climate Change
This is a good very good review of science and policy of Global Climate Change without bias esotheric science or paragraphs going nowhere.

Recomended to the reader who wants to make up their own mind. The book will find a use in introductory survey coures in High School and College.

More graphs and diagrams would have been helpful, although they are available to those scanning the internet.