The Climate Crisis and Its Solution: An Energy Transformation

Based on temperature records, ice cores, and atmospheric physics and chemistry, the evidence is overwhelming that we are in the midst of a climate crisis due to the increasing accumulation of greenhouse gases. Nearly every climate scientist is in agreement that the increase in these gases over the last 250 years (most of it over the last 50 years) is mainly the result of fossil fuel use and to a lesser extent the result of altered land management. Some of the impacts we are already seeing include historic heat waves, increasing drought and wildfires, severe storms, and rising sea levels. In The Climate Crisis and its Solution Robert Fraser gives a brief introduction to the science of climate change, including an explanation of how and why we know that the accumulation of greenhouse gases (like carbon dioxide) is leading to global warming and other impacts on our climate and oceans. He then describes some of the energy paths the world could take in the next century and how each will impact global warming. He shows that only the low-carbon energy paths will avoid the worst effects of climate change. Fraser also suggests actions that individuals, businesses, and governments can take to implement the low-carbon strategy. Fortunately, this is often considerably less expensive than following the higher carbon alternatives.