Global Warming (Smithsonian-science)

I purchased several of these for my classroom library. My students enjoy them and I would definitely purchase again!

While many European Countries have been developing strategies and ways of combating global warming for the past 30 years, the U.S. has been debating and arguing whether global warming exists. This book does an excellent job of explaining in simple everyday language exactly what global warming is, on page 6 "GLOBAL WARMING IS HAPPENING BECAUSE OF THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT. A GREENHOUSE IS A HOUSE MADE OF GLASS. THE GLASS LETS IN SUNLIGHT BUT KEEPS WARM AIR FROM ESCAPING. EARTH IS NOT A GREENHOUSE, BUT CERTAIN GASES IN THE ATMOSPHERE ACT LIKE THE GLASS IN A GREENHOUSE. SUNLIGHT PASSES THROUGH EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE AND WARMS THE GROUND. SOME OF THE HEAT BOUNCES BACK INTO SPACE, BUT MUCH OF IT REMAINS TRAPPED NEAR THE GROUND BY CARBON DIOXIDE, WATER VAPOR, AND OTHER GREENHOUSE GASES IN THE ATMOSPHERE". On page 10 "FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, THE BALANCE OF GREENHOUSE GASES IN THE ATMOSPHERE HAD NOT CHANGED MUCH. BUT NOW WE BURN HUGE AMOUNTS OF COAL, OIL, AND NATURAL GAS TO GENERATE ENERGY. EVERY YEAR, BILLIONS OF TONS OF CARBON DIOXIDE POUR OUT FROM THE EXHAUSTS OF CARS, TRAINS, TRUCKS, AIRPLANES, BUSES, AND SHIPS AND FROM CHIMNEYS OF FACTORIES. THERE IS 30 PERCENT MORE CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE AIR THAN THERE WAS 150 YEARS AGO". On pages 18-19 "AS TEMPERATURES RISE, THE LEVEL OF THE OCEANS WILL RISE. A RECENT STUDY FOUND THAT IF AVERAGE TEMPERATURES RISE BY 3 DEGREES CELSIUS(5.4 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT), GREENLAND'S ENORMOUS ICE SHEET WILL BEGIN TO MELT AND SEA LEVELS ALL OVER THE WORLD MAY RISE BY A HALF FOOT TO 3 FEET OR MORE. THIS MAY HAPPEN OVER YEARS OR DECADES OR MAY TAKE LONGER THAN A CENTURY. A 3-FOOT RISE IN SEA LEVEL WOULD SWAMP THE GULF COAST AND EVERY EAST COAST CITY FROM BOSTON TO MIAMI. RISING WATERS WOULD COVER LOW-LYING AREAS SUCH AS THE NILE DELTA AND COUNTRIES SUCH AS BANGLADESH. MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WOULD BE FORCED TO MOVE. THE ANARTIC ICE CAP HOLDS ABOUT 90 PERCENT OF THE WORLD'S ICE AND ABOUT 70 PERCENT OF ITS FRESHWATER. IT DOES NOT LOOK AS IF THE ENTIRE ICE CAP WILL MELT ANYTIME SOON, BUT IF IT DOES HAPPEN, SEA LEVELS WOULD RISE 20 OR MORE FEET. NOW, THAT WOULD CAUSE MAJOR FLOODING IN COASTAL AREAS". This book has 32 pages in it so you can read the whole thing on your train or bus commute to or from work, global warming is real and we all need to do something about it.

This explains about the effect about Global Warming in non high science so everyone can understand why.

Product was exactly as advertised with competitive price very good value. Delivery was within the time frame quoted and arrived in great shape!

My students love this book

Lite weight description, very clear for the young. Covers common concerns, Good.

It was perfect for the report I was doing. Beautiful pictures and nice information.

naive and non-critical

GREAT

It is rather surprising to see this children's book appearing under the respected Smithsonian imprint. Its title says it all, with a glib acceptance of all the current fashionable global warming theories promoted by the IPCC and others. Children deserve much better than this hackneyed and out-of-date pamphlet, which again surprisingly, was published in 2010. It repeats erroneous claims of the imminent demise of the polar bear despite evidence on the ground in Nunuvat, Canada, that they are thriving. Surveys may appear to show a falling population, but then most are carried out by flying biologists (who might find some problem in seeing white animals against a white background). The evidence from the IPCC is deeply flawed owing to faulty computer models, which neglect the effects of water vapour and droplets (clouds). The temperature of the earth has in fact been flatlining for the past decade or more (as the IPCC graphs show clearly), and all those dire warnings of imminent catastrophe are quite baseless. Its call to action (presumably for kids) demands we all use the expensive fluorescent lights, which provide poor illumination and react too slowly to prevent tumbles and falls (especially among the elderly). They have of course been overtaken by LEDs which are far better and are becoming cheaper as time passes. Forget this poor book and give your kids something better!