Global Climate Change and California

Global Climate Change and California PDF Author: Joseph B. Knox
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520076605
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 195

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Book Description
California's extraordinary ecological and economic diversity has brought it prosperity, pollution, and overpopulation. These factors, together with the state's national and international ties, make California an essential test case for the impact of global climate change - temperature increases, water shortages, more ultraviolet radiation. Ecological and economic changes that affect California's widely envied individualistic culture will have far-flung repercussions. Global climate change became a worldwide concern during the late 1980s as scientists debated the implications of observed ozone depletion and "greenhouse gas" concentrations, or projected us into the twenty-first century by means of complex computer simulations. Even though many questions remain unanswered, the scientific community is largely convinced that changes - possibly momentous - in the earth's climate are now underway. In this forward-looking volume some highly qualified scientists give their best estimate of what the future holds. Beginning with an overview by Joseph Knox, the authors discuss the greenhouse effect, the latest climate modeling capabilities, and the implications of climate change for California water resources, agriculture, biological ecosystems, human behavior, and energy. The warning inherent in a scenario of unchecked population growth and energy use in California clearly applies to residents of the entire planet. The sobering conclusions reached by these scientists include specific recommendations for research that will help all of us plan and prepare for potential climate change.

Global Climate Change and California

Global Climate Change and California PDF Author: Joseph B. Knox
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520076605
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 195

Get Book

Book Description
California's extraordinary ecological and economic diversity has brought it prosperity, pollution, and overpopulation. These factors, together with the state's national and international ties, make California an essential test case for the impact of global climate change - temperature increases, water shortages, more ultraviolet radiation. Ecological and economic changes that affect California's widely envied individualistic culture will have far-flung repercussions. Global climate change became a worldwide concern during the late 1980s as scientists debated the implications of observed ozone depletion and "greenhouse gas" concentrations, or projected us into the twenty-first century by means of complex computer simulations. Even though many questions remain unanswered, the scientific community is largely convinced that changes - possibly momentous - in the earth's climate are now underway. In this forward-looking volume some highly qualified scientists give their best estimate of what the future holds. Beginning with an overview by Joseph Knox, the authors discuss the greenhouse effect, the latest climate modeling capabilities, and the implications of climate change for California water resources, agriculture, biological ecosystems, human behavior, and energy. The warning inherent in a scenario of unchecked population growth and energy use in California clearly applies to residents of the entire planet. The sobering conclusions reached by these scientists include specific recommendations for research that will help all of us plan and prepare for potential climate change.

Climate Stewardship

Climate Stewardship PDF Author: Adina Merenlender
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520378946
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
Preface : united by nature, guided by science -- Extreme events, life in the new normal -- Big bay to tech town -- A changing harvest -- Keeping forests green and snow white -- Climate canaries -- Los Angeles plants itself -- Riding the California current.

Climate Change in California

Climate Change in California PDF Author: Fredrich Kahrl
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520953800
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
California is synonymous with opportunity, prosperity, and natural beauty, but climate change will certainly influence the state’s future. Changes will affect the economy, natural resources, public health, agriculture, and the livelihoods of its residents. But how big is the risk? How will Californians adapt? What will it cost? This book is the first to ask and attempt to answer these and other questions so central to the long-term health of the state. While California is undeniably unique and diverse, the challenges it faces will be mirrored everywhere. This succinct and authoritative review of the latest evidence suggests feasible changes that can sustain prosperity, mitigate adverse impacts of climate change, and stimulate research and policy dialog across the globe. The authors argue that the sooner society recognizes the reality of climate change risk, the more effectively we can begin adaptation to limit costs to present and future generations. They show that climate risk presents a new opportunity for innovation, supporting aspirations for prosperity in a lower carbon, climate altered future where we can continue economic progress without endangering the environment and ourselves.

Indicators of Climate Change in California

Indicators of Climate Change in California PDF Author: Carmen Milanes (Environmentalist)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Climatic changes
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


The West without Water

The West without Water PDF Author: B. Lynn Ingram
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520954807
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
The West without Water documents the tumultuous climate of the American West over twenty millennia, with tales of past droughts and deluges and predictions about the impacts of future climate change on water resources. Looking at the region’s current water crisis from the perspective of its climate history, the authors ask the central question of what is "normal" climate for the West, and whether the relatively benign climate of the past century will continue into the future. The West without Water merges climate and paleoclimate research from a wide variety of sources as it introduces readers to key discoveries in cracking the secrets of the region’s climatic past. It demonstrates that extended droughts and catastrophic floods have plagued the West with regularity over the past two millennia and recounts the most disastrous flood in the history of California and the West, which occurred in 1861–62. The authors show that, while the West may have temporarily buffered itself from such harsh climatic swings by creating artificial environments and human landscapes, our modern civilization may be ill-prepared for the future climate changes that are predicted to beset the region. They warn that it is time to face the realities of the past and prepare for a future in which fresh water may be less reliable.

Review of the Draft Fourth National Climate Assessment

Review of the Draft Fourth National Climate Assessment PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309471699
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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Book Description
Climate change poses many challenges that affect society and the natural world. With these challenges, however, come opportunities to respond. By taking steps to adapt to and mitigate climate change, the risks to society and the impacts of continued climate change can be lessened. The National Climate Assessment, coordinated by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, is a mandated report intended to inform response decisions. Required to be developed every four years, these reports provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date evaluation of climate change impacts available for the United States, making them a unique and important climate change document. The draft Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) report reviewed here addresses a wide range of topics of high importance to the United States and society more broadly, extending from human health and community well-being, to the built environment, to businesses and economies, to ecosystems and natural resources. This report evaluates the draft NCA4 to determine if it meets the requirements of the federal mandate, whether it provides accurate information grounded in the scientific literature, and whether it effectively communicates climate science, impacts, and responses for general audiences including the public, decision makers, and other stakeholders.

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast PDF Author: Peter Raven
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781733104401
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
"Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change" is a 12 x 12'' beautifully illustrated and designed 264 page coffee table book created by conservation photographers Rob Badger and Nita Winter.Illustrations: 190 stunning images of California's diverse wildflowers and their habitats, from high mountain passes in the Sierra Nevada mountains to below sea level in Death Valley National Park.Essays: Sixteen talented and diverse authors and scientists, most of whom are women, wrote 18 storytelling style essays (1,200 to 1,800 words) about nature, conservation, climate change or taking action. The two younger authors write about hope and action, and what people can do to help create positive change. The book has three sections: The Gift of Beauty, The Human Connection and Ensuring the Future.Because people are constantly hearing about all the negative things going on in the world, Nita and Rob believed there was a need for a different, softer approach to grab people's attention and center it on the climate-change story, and conservation and population issues. They engage their audiences by first inviting them to experience the splendor of the natural world through a universal symbol of beauty, the wildflower, and then educate and inspire them to take some of the simple actions they provide to create positive change and a healthier planet. Their goal is to spread conservation and climate change ideas far beyond native plant and nature lovers, and to plant the seeds to foster action."Beauty and the Beast" is a 27 year photographic journey into the public lands of California. Lands we all own, lands under constant threat of development or resource extraction, impacts of global warming, sea level rise and wildfires. This book is as much a treasure as the flowers and creatures which are featured within its pages. Nita and Rob extend a hand to you to come in and take a long, slow look around and see what they have seen, experienced and have learned. Book includes two comprehensive indexes and a glossary.Co-published by WinterBadger Press and the California Native Plant Society

Ecosystems of California

Ecosystems of California PDF Author: Harold Mooney
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520278801
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 1008

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Book Description
This long-anticipated reference and sourcebook for CaliforniaÕs remarkable ecological abundance provides an integrated assessment of each major ecosystem typeÑits distribution, structure, function, and management. A comprehensive synthesis of our knowledge about this biologically diverse state, Ecosystems of California covers the state from oceans to mountaintops using multiple lenses: past and present, flora and fauna, aquatic and terrestrial, natural and managed. Each chapter evaluates natural processes for a specific ecosystem, describes drivers of change, and discusses how that ecosystem may be altered in the future. This book also explores the drivers of CaliforniaÕs ecological patterns and the history of the stateÕs various ecosystems, outlining how the challenges of climate change and invasive species and opportunities for regulation and stewardship could potentially affect the stateÕs ecosystems. The text explicitly incorporates both human impacts and conservation and restoration efforts and shows how ecosystems support human well-being. Edited by two esteemed ecosystem ecologists and with overviews by leading experts on each ecosystem, this definitive work will be indispensable for natural resource management and conservation professionals as well as for undergraduate or graduate students of CaliforniaÕs environment and curious naturalists.

Climate Change from the Streets

Climate Change from the Streets PDF Author: Michael Méndez
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300232152
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
An urgent and timely story of the contentious politics of incorporating environmental justice into global climate change policy Although the science of climate change is clear, policy decisions about how to respond to its effects remain contentious. Even when such decisions claim to be guided by objective knowledge, they are made and implemented through political institutions and relationships—and all the competing interests and power struggles that this implies. Michael Méndez tells a timely story of people, place, and power in the context of climate change and inequality. He explores the perspectives and influence low‑income people of color bring to their advocacy work on climate change. In California, activist groups have galvanized behind issues such as air pollution, poverty alleviation, and green jobs to advance equitable climate solutions at the local, state, and global levels. Arguing that environmental protection and improving public health are inextricably linked, Mendez contends that we must incorporate local knowledge, culture, and history into policymaking to fully address the global complexities of climate change and the real threats facing our local communities.

Climate Adaptation Finance and Investment in California

Climate Adaptation Finance and Investment in California PDF Author: Jesse M. Keenan
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429677065
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description
This book serves as a guide for local governments and private enterprises as they navigate the unchartered waters of investing in climate change adaptation and resilience. This book serves not only as a resource guide for identifying potential funding sources but also as a roadmap for asset management and public finance processes. It highlights practical synergies between funding mechanisms, as well as the conflicts that may arise between varying interests and strategies. While the main focus of this work is on the State of California, this book offers broader insights for how states, local governments and private enterprises can take those critical first steps in investing in society’s collective adaptation to climate change.