Atmosphere, Climate, and Change (Scientific American Library)

What's the reliability behind the claims and counterclaims of environmental doom resulting from the greenhouse effect, the global impact of pollution, and holes in the ozone layer? While many media reports focus on recent trends, such as variations in average temperature over a decade or two, these accounts tell us little or nothing about how changes in climate actually occur, or what long-term significance they may have. In Atmosphere, Climate and Change, world renowned experts on the chemistry of the atmosphere Thomas E. Graedel and Paul J. Crutsen take us behind the scenes of local climate change to reveal the workings of the atmosphere in its larger context, as a component of Earth as a system. By exploring the causes of long-term climate change and the sources and pitfalls of scientific prediction, they give us a new understanding of what changes are likely to occur in the future and what can be done about them.