Get clear about why climate change is so complicated and discover how you can help reverse it

More and more frequent extreme weather events occur each year, and planet Earth is in danger of developing more climates where life -- whether animal, vegetable, or human -- is unsustainable. Climate Change For Dummies explains how rising temperatures, shrinking lakes, rising oceans, and shifting weather patterns affect your life on a daily basis. And of course the book goes a step further and offers suggestions about how you can take steps to limit your impact on the environment and help to reverse climate change.

This straightforward guide demystifies the impact of climate's No. 1 enemy -- carbon dioxide -- and breaks down the many sources of this damaging but inescapable gas. From there, the book reveals how rising CO2 levels affect the weather, water levels, plant and animal species around the world, the food you eat, and your health. But the situation isn't hopeless! Climate Change For Dummies outlines actions governments, industries, and you can take to fight global warming and turn the tide to live in a cooler world. Discover details about

• Short- and long-term effects of climate change
• How some actions contribute to climate change and others reduce it
• The many options for renewable energy and the pros and cons of nuclear energy
• Actions nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are taking to draw attention to the climate crisis

• The debate around whether climate change even needs to be addressed

  Climate change won't be easy to overcome, but when you're armed with the facts, you can do your best to make a difference. Let Climate Change For Dummies point you in the right direction.

  Autorentext

  Elizabeth May is the former leader of the Green Party of Canada. She founded and served as the Executive Director of the Sierra Club Canada from 1989 to 2006. May has been the Member of Parliament in Canada since May 2011.

  **John Kidder was a founding member of the Green Party in British Columbia. He has been a cowboy, miner, fisher, range management specialist, technology entrepreneur, small farmer, and governance practitioner since then. The authors married on Earth Day 2019.

  Inhalt

  Introduction 1

  About This Book 1

  Foolish Assumptions 2

  Icons Used in This Book 3

  Beyond This Book 3

  Where to Go from Here 4

  Part 1: Understanding Climate Change 5

  Chapter 1: Covering the Basics of Climate Change 7

  Getting a Basic Overview - Global Warming 101 8

  Heating things up with GHGs 8

  Investigating other causes of global warming 9

  Tapping into The Roots of Global Warming 12

  Fueling global warming 12

  Heating up over deforestation 13

  Examining the Effects of Global Warming around the World 13

  The United States and Canada 14

  Latin America 16

  Europe 17

  Africa 18

  Asia 18

  Australia and New Zealand 19

  Small islands 20

  Polar regions 20

  Positive Politics: Governments and Global Warming 22

  Making a difference from city hall to the nation's capital 22

  Working with a global government 23

  Helping developing countries 23

  Solving the Problem 24

  Changing to alternative energies 24

  Getting down to business 25

  Making it personal 26

  Chapter 2: Looking Closely at Greenhouse Earth 27

  Examining Greenhouse Effect 101 28

  Focusing On Carbon Dioxide: Leader of the Pack 30

  Looking at the carbon cycle 31

  Investigating humanity's impact on the carbon cycle 36

  Checking Out the Other GHGs 39

  Methane (CH4) 40

  Nitrous oxide (N2O) 42

  Hexafluoro-what? 42

  Other players on the GHG bench 43

  Chapter 3: Recognizing the Big Deal about Carbon 47

  Considering Other Causes of Global Warming 48

  Solar cycles - Irradiance and Milankovitch 49

  Cloud cover 49

  Long-term climate trends 50

  Making the Case for Carbon 51

  Geologic and prehistoric evidence 52

  Modeling and forecasting 53

  A few degrees is a lot 55

  Going, going, gone The tipping point 56

  Eyeballing the Consequences of Continued Carbon Dioxide Increases 57

  What happens when the mercury rises 58

  Cutting back on carbon 58

  Part 2: Tracking Down the Causes 61

  Chapter 4: Living in the Dark Ages of Fossil Fuels 63

  From Fossils to Fuel - How Fossil Fuels Came to Be 64

  Examining the Different Types of Fossil Fuels 66

  Coal 67

  Oil 68

  Natural gas 71

  Fueling Civilization's Growth: Adding to the Greenhouse Effect 73

  A growing world population's impact 73

  Growing economies also play a role 74

  Chapter 5: Getting Right to the Source: The Big Emitters 77

  Power to the People: Energy Use 77

  Producing electricity 78

  Using up energy in buildings 79

  Powering industry 81

  The Road to Ruin: Transportation and GHGs 84

  Cheap goods at a high price to the climate 85

  Keep on truckin' 85

  Draining the Carbon Sinks: Land Use 87

  Timber! Deforestation 87

  Down on the farm: Agriculture and livestock 88

  Chapter 6: Taking It Personally: Individual Sources of Emissions 91

  Driving Up Emissions: Transportation and GHGs 92

  Driving 93

  Flying 94

  Using Energy around the House 95

  Controlling the climate in your home 96

  Operating electric appliances 98

  You Are What You Eat: Food and Carbon 99

  Wasting Away 99

  Part 3: Examining the Effects of Climate Change 101

  Chapter 7: Focusing on Not-So-Natural Disasters 103

  H2 Oh No: Watery Disasters 104

  Rising sea levels 104

  Melting mountain glaciers 106

  Putting a brake on the Gulf Stream 109

  Rainfall (or lack thereof) 111

  Flooding 111

  Freshwater contamination 113

  Stormy Weather: More Intense Storms and Hurricanes 113

  Forest Fires and Wildfires: Trees and Grasses as Fuel 114

  Considering the costs 115

  Recognizing how they start and how to prevent them 115

  Turning Up the Heat 116

  Examining the Negative Side Effects of Positive Feedback Loops 117

  Chapter 8: Risking Flora and Fauna: Impacts on Plants and Animals 121

  Understanding the Stresses on Ecosystems 122

  Ecosystems can adapt to some climate change 122

  Some species have limitations for adapting 123

  Warming the World's Waters: Threats to the Underwater World 124

  Under the sea 125

  Lakes, rivers, wetlands, and bogs 129

  Risking Earth's Forests 130

  Tropical 131

  Boreal 131

  Preparing for Mass Extinctions 133

  Life's no beach: Endangered tropical species 134

  Thin ice: Polar bears and other polar animals 135

  Chapter 9: Hitting Home: Global Warming's Direct Effect on People 137

  Focusing on the Health Scare - Outbreaks and Diseases 138

  Dengue fever 139

  Lyme disease 140

  Other diseases and problems worsened by global warming 140

  Putting Pressure on the Fields 143

  Affecting farmers 143

  Hurting the global food supply 144

  Paying the Price for Global Warming 145

  Highways, waterworks, and the other stuff humans build 146

  An unfair split: Costs to the industrialized and developing nations 147

  Feeling the Heat First: Unequal Effects 149

  Northern Hemisphere communities 150

  People in poverty 152

  Women (and children) 152

  Part 4: Political Progress: Fighting Global Warming Nationally and Internationally 155

  Chapter 10: Voting for Your Future: What Governments Can Do 157

  If They Had a Million Dollars (Wait - They Do! -Funding Measures 159

  Creating incentives 160

  Planning for emissions trading 161

  Putting Programs into Place 164

  Research 164

  Education and awareness 165

  Adaptation 166

  Cleaning Up Transportation 171

  Bringing back the bike 171

  Investing in public transportation 172

  Greening cars 172

  Dealing with personal vehicles 173

  Redefining Long-Term Investments 174

  Considering the lack of progress 175

  Focusing on the good news 175

  Recognizing the countries leading the way 176

  Laying Down the Law 178

  Improving building regulations 178

  Regulating energy use 179

  Taxing the polluters 180

  Identifying Some…