Global Warming: The Human Contribution

by Jack Barrett

This book represents an attempt to explain the very complex subject of climate change as it is understood in terms of the greenhouse effect – the Earth being maintained at a global mean temperature that is about 34ºC warmer than it appears to be from satellite observations. In particular, there is a discussion of the evidence that the global mean temperature is being affected by human actions including the burning of fossil fuels; natural gas, oil and coal. The treatment is relatively gentle and should be acceptable to the general reader, and there are four appendices that contain more mathematical aspects of the subject. Thirteen of the fifteen chapters deal with the physics of the subject, while one chapter is devoted to the beneficial effects of having more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and another that contains criticism of the false approaches to the subject by extreme sceptics. The very controversial economic and political aspects of the subject are not dealt with.The front cover is a photograph of Seaford Head taken just before sunset and showing the Sky, the Earth (mainly chalk) and the Sea.

187 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 14, 2012