Global Warming: The Complete Briefing

This is an essential book for anyone who wants to move past the media hype on this important subject. It covers the breadth of the science in an accessible manner, and chapter 8 looks at why we should be concerned. Houghton discusses his personal belief there, and successfully brings issues of religion and ethics into the debate - something which, as he points out, is all too often deliberately left out of the discussion.

Good, detailed book

Lucidly written by an outstanding scientist, discusses the many factors and mechanisms involved, and places anthropogenic change in its context along with natural factors. The scientific consensus on this issue has shifted steadily in one direction, from airy speculation about whether man-made change is real, to pressing concerns about how much, how soon, to what effect, and what to do about it; this book shows why.

I am one of those nerds who will read a textbook from cover to cover if it interests me.This is one of those. So comprehensive and an easy read!

Whenever dealing with computer-models, just bear in mind, that what we are really talking about is 'GUESS WORK'! No matter how sophisticated computer-models are, they simply cannot model such a chaotic mechanism as 'climate'. There are thousands of variables at play with respect to the climate system e.g. water-vapour, clouds, greenhouses gases like Carbon Dioxide, vast oceans, sun, top soil and vegetation, etc. In addition, computer-models have many real world short-comings with respect to the climate system. For example, computer-models cannot account for water-vapour (the dominant greenhouse gas) comprising 97% of the atmosphere, they cannot explain how cosmic rays are theoretically linked to the formation of low-level cloud development which is thought to be a hugely important factor in itself, etc.Granted, C02 is a greenhouse gas and does retain heat trapping properties that should lead to some warming. But this simple reasoning by itself falls way short of the mark when talking about affecting 'GLOBAL' temperatures. In my opinion, there are probably far more powerful and influential forces at play that considerably overwhelm anthropogenic influences e.g. a combination of factors all interacting on some level P.S. sun, cosmic rays, water vapour and the vast oceans which cover 70% of the earth's surface.The theory of human-induced climate change has been postulated, but has not been scientifically demonstrated in accordance with the scientific method. For this reason alone, I remain skeptical - until proven otherwise by empirical data/measurement.However, I recommend this book to anyone who possesses an interest in the subject of 'climate change'. It is a wise move never to dismiss alternative viewpoints!

Anyone interested in learning and understanding the science behind global warming needs to read this book.

You should only read this book if you are also going to read a book such as The Satanic Gases in conjunction with it because, otherwise, you will only be getting one (slightly evangelical) side of the argument.It is also interesting to note that this book views global warming as a set in STONE fact, rather than the speciously reasoned argument that hard core environmentalists use to halt the progress of the human race.

It's a good one.

The title of the book "Global Warming - The Complete Briefing" is aptly named, as it is an excellent briefing, or primer, on the subject of global warming. The book avoids the politics of global warming, which can grow tiresome to those of us who actually work in the climate change field. Instead, the book focuses on the basic science behind global warming, and is a very balanced, non-partisan approach to causes, effects, uncertainties, and potential impacts.The reading level of the book is college level science, similar to a beginning or intermediate level physical science or meteorology class. If you are looking for an over-all guide to the science of global warming, this is a great book. If you are looking for a less academic, more popular-culture point of view on global warming, look into "Hell and High Water - Global Warming - The Solution and the Politics and What We Should Do" by Joseph Romm for an eminently enjoyable, easily readable guide to some of political and cultural aspects of global warming.

This is essentially a compendium of one or more presentatios on the subject. basic reference on Global Warming. Contains qualitative descriptions of models, and tables of values for reference.I would have liked to have seen more mathematics of each model; tis is more a compendium of one or more presenttions.

Well written, lots of data, now somewhat dated.

I have to take immediate issue with the [anonymous] reviews below that claim that this book doesn't address the difference between natural climate cycling and anthropogenic climate change: that difference, in a nutshell, is PRECISELY what this book deals with. Those reviewers never read it, or failed completely to follow its line of reasoning. This is NOT a partisan, political, ideological book. It is simply a guided tour of the science of climate change, revised in 2004. It carefully parses the current research. Read the table of contents [you can click on it at the top of the page] and see that the book is organized around the following inevitable questions: Is climate changing? How much is it changing? How much of that change is caused by people? What are the likely effects, short- and long-term, of these changes? What can we do about it? In the case of climate change, despite all of the political complications that have accrued to what was originally science, these questions are PRECISELY the ones a thinking person needs to ask. To have a book structured around them, referring, as it does, to the best [scientific, independently-refereed] research is a gift. It seems that almost everybody today picks their position on climate change as part of an ideological package-deal: most American conservatives almost automatically disdain the science because the Bush White House and Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter disdain it. Most American progressives almost automatically embrace the NOTION of climate change without actually knowing the science, because Al Gore, et al, have told them to. Both positions, taken in ignorance of the science, are ideolgical and symptomatic of the worst party-line politics. I urge you to read the science. It will take some effort, but that effort is our civic duty. This book has no agenda other than compiling the research and putting it before the reading public in an accessible format.

This is a great book. It really clears up some questions I had concerning global warming and climate change. Its easy to read and understand for the average person. I made an A in the class because its clear, concise and the material is easy to retain.