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Page Count:208
Images:Black & White Images
Dimensions: 6 × 9 × 0.47 in
Publication Date:October 12, 2021
ISBN:9780865719590
Author:
Sustainability:Printed on 100% recycled paper
Printed in:Canada
Audiobook Narrator:Mike Puttonen
Audiobook Length:5:02:18

A Brief History of the Earth’s Climate

Everyone's Guide to the Science of Climate Change

A Brief History of the Earth’s Climate is an accessible, illustrated, myth-busting guide to the natural evolution of the Earth’s climate over 4.6 billion years, how and why human-caused global warming and climate change is different and more dangerous, and how to counter skeptics and deniers with sound science.

Book Awards

SILVER | 2022 IPPY Awards – Science

Earn up to 30 Points.

I love it. Earle understands the big climate picture and paints it with exceptional clarity.
— JAMES HANSEN, director, Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions, Columbia University Earth Institute

What’s natural, what’s caused by humans, and why climate change is a disaster for all

A Brief History of the Earth’s Climate is an accessible myth-busting guide to the natural evolution of the Earth’s climate over 4.6 billion years, and how and why human-caused global warming and climate change is different and much more dangerous.

Richly illustrated chapters cover the major historical climate change processes including evolution of the sun, plate motions and continental collisions, volcanic eruptions, changes to major ocean currents, Earth’s orbital variations, sunspot variations, and short-term ocean current cycles. As well as recent human-induced climate change and an overview of the implications of the COVID pandemic for climate change. Content includes:

  • Understanding natural geological processes that shaped the climate
  • How human impacts are now rapidly changing the climate
  • Tipping points and the unfolding climate crisis
  • What we can do to limit the damage to the planet and ecosystems
  • Countering climate myths peddled by climate change science deniers.

A Brief History of the Earth’s Climate is essential reading for everyone who is looking to understand what drives climate change, counter skeptics and deniers, and take action on the climate emergency.

Praise for the book

I love it. Earle understands the big climate picture and paints it with exceptional clarity.

JAMES HANSEN, director, Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions, Columbia University Earth Institute

A model for clear science writing that forcefully awakens readers to what’s at stake and what needs to be done.

RICHARD HEINBERG, Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute, author, Power

A must-read for anyone seeking to understand the Earth’s climate system.

ANDREW WEAVER, professor, University of Victoria, former chief editor, Journal of Climate

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction

1. What Controls the Earth’s Climate?
2. A Slowly Warming Sun
3. Sliding Plates and Colliding Continents
4. Cooling and Warming from Volcanic Eruptions
5. Earth’s Orbital Variations
6. Moving Heat with Ocean Currents
7. Short-term Solar Variations
8. Catastrophic Collisions
9. A Plague of Humans
10. Tipping Points
11. What Now?

Notes
Index
About the Author
About New Society Publishers

Accessibility Information

Product Page Accessibility Display

Conformance Status: EPUB Accessibility Compliant | WCAG level AA Compliant
Screen Reader Compatibility: Designed for an optimal screen reader experience and fully accessible to persons with disabilities.

Content Enhancements

Alternative Text for Images: Descriptive text is provided for all images, ensuring visual content is fully accessible.
Table of Contents: Easy, direct navigation through a clean, structured table of contents.
Reading Order: Enforces a logical and consistent reading order for sequential, uninterrupted content consumption.
Page List: Includes an accurate page list for physical book page referencing and exact academic citation synchronization.
Structural Navigation: Built with a clear hierarchical layout for easy content traversal and section hopping.
Semantic Structure: Employs appropriate semantic markup to ensure absolute text clarity, meaning, and text-to-speech accuracy.

Reading Optimization

Unrestricted Formatting Preferences: User-configured assistive tools, custom typography scaling, line-spacing modifications, and native reading application options are never locked or disabled.
Color Independence: Textual layouts, data states, and links use distinct styles or symbols so that color changes are never the sole method of conveying critical information.
High-Contrast Design: Typography contrast levels comfortably exceed standard baseline parameters to reduce eye strain under any lighting environment.
Non-Visual Accessibility Support: All non-decorative editorial text and data visualizations are optimized to support reading entirely without sight.
Language Tagging: Embedded text attributes direct text-to-speech engines to use correct pronunciation defaults automatically.
Blank Page Removal: Unnecessary blank pages are completely eliminated to ensure a streamlined, smooth reading flow.

Contact Information

For further information or questions contact [email protected]

More from Steven Earle

Meet the Author

author Steven Earle, examining some rocks in his hand

Steven Earle, PhD, has worked as a geologist and developed and taught university-level courses in earth sciences and climate change for over four decades. He is the author of the IPPY award-winning A Brief History of The Earth’s Climate and the widely used post-secondary textbook Physical Geology, now in its second edition. A dedicated community activist, he spearheads local engagement with climate change solutions including low-carbon transportation initiatives, heating systems, and land stewardship. Steven and his family live in a nearly net-zero house on a small sustainable farm on Gabriola Island, BC, Canada.

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About the Publisher

New Society Publishers has been a leader in sustainable living books since 1980. Our books are printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper to support the health of the planet.

B Corporation, SDG, and FSC Mixed Paper.
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