A clear, concise discussion of today’s hottest topics in climate change, including adapting to climate change and geo-engineering to mitigate the effects of change, Engineering Response to Climate Change, Second Edition takes on the tough questions of what to do and offers real solutions to the practical problems caused by radical changes in the Earth’s climate. From energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions reduction, to climate-altering technologies, this new edition explores the latest concerns such as acidification of the ocean, energy efficiency, transportation, space solar power, and future and emerging possibilities. The editors set the stage by discussing the separate issues of the emissions of radiatively important atmospheric constituents, energy demand, energy supply, agriculture, water resources, coastal hazards, adaption strategies, and geo-engineering. They explain the difference between the natural and human drivers of climate change and describe how humans have influenced the global climate during past decades. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions, calculations, and possible research topics. See What’s in the Second Edition: New conceptual tools and research necessary for problems associated with fossil fuels Cutting-edge topics such as adaption and geo-engineering The latest concerns such as acidification of the ocean, energy efficiency, transportation, and space solar power Solutions to problems caused by changes in the Earth’s climate So much has changed in the 15 years since the publication of the first edition, that this is, in effect, a completely new book. However, the general theme is the same: the climate energy problem has become largely an engineering problem. With this in mind, the book explores what engineers can do to prevent, mitigate, or adapt to climate change.

A clear, concise discussion of today's hottest topics in climate change, including adapting to climate change and geo-engineering to mitigate the effects of change, Engineering Response to Climate Change, Second Edition takes on the tough questions of what to do and offers real solutions to the practical problems caused by radical changes in the Earth's climate. From energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions reduction, to climate-altering technologies, this new edition explores the latest concerns such as acidification of the ocean, energy efficiency, transportation, space solar power, and future and emerging possibilities. The editors set the stage by discussing the separate issues of the emissions of radiatively important atmospheric constituents, energy demand, energy supply, agriculture, water resources, coastal hazards, adaption strategies, and geo-engineering. They explain the difference between the natural and human drivers of climate change and describe how humans have influenced the global climate during past decades. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions, calculations, and possible research topics. See What's in the Second Edition: New conceptual tools and research necessary for problems associated with fossil fuels Cutting-edge topics such as adaption and geo-engineering The latest concerns such as acidification of the ocean, energy efficiency, transportation, and space solar power Solutions to problems caused by changes in the Earth's climate So much has changed in the 15 years since the publication of the first edition, that this is, in effect, a completely new book. However, the general theme is the same: the climate energy problem has become largely an engineering problem. With this in mind, the book explores what engineers can do to prevent, mitigate, or adapt to climate change.

This book goes beyond the analysis offered by typical works on this subject to propose real solutions to problems caused by changes in the earth's climate. From new ways to cut energy consumption and reduce carbon dioxide emissions to discussions of the possibilities of sea walls and climate-altering technologies, Engineering Response to Global Climate Change presents new conceptual tools and suggests research necessary for correcting and alleviating problems caused by global warming. Engineers are just now being asked to consider the problems of climate change and the possible technological responses. This complete reference covers the whole range of potential impacts of climate change and their engineering solutions. Of special interest is the chapter on geoengineering, which suggests how engineers may someday be able to intervene in planetary processes to reduce the effects of global warming. Edited by a regional director of the National Institute for Global Environmental Change and offering the collective expertise of a team of expert authors, each renowned in his or her field, this book offers thorough coverage of this important topic from an engineering and technology perspective.

Climate Change is a collection of a number of papers as well as chapters about the science of the subject. This collection is meant to inflame and excite conversation among engineers and scientists with society at large. It would serve as a catalyst for a three-credit course as a relatively new engineering subject to both engineering and non-engineering university students. As university education develops to better prepare future leaders to appreciate science, technology, engineering and mathematics, engineering courses for a mix of engineering and non-engineering majors, are essential and so is the requirement of worthy textbooks. This monograph intends to be one of the useful tools available for this timely topic. The wide range of topics includes climate change and theories, the second law of thermodynamics, the global greenhouse effect, anthropogenic heat release, evidence around us owing to environmental change, sea level rise, jungles and forests, heat islands, atmospheric carbon dioxide removal via technology, nanotechnology and other innovations in response to climate change, the energy–water–food nexus.

A leading scientist argues that we must consider deploying climate engineering technology to slow the pace of global warming. Climate engineering—which could slow the pace of global warming by injecting reflective particles into the upper atmosphere—has emerged in recent years as an extremely controversial technology. And for good reason: it carries unknown risks and it may undermine commitments to conserving energy. Some critics also view it as an immoral human breach of the natural world. The latter objection, David Keith argues in A Scientist's Case for Climate Engineering, is groundless; we have been using technology to alter our environment for years. But he agrees that there are large issues at stake. A leading scientist long concerned about climate change, Keith offers no naïve proposal for an easy fix to what is perhaps the most challenging question of our time; climate engineering is no silver bullet. But he argues that after decades during which very little progress has been made in reducing carbon emissions we must put this technology on the table and consider it responsibly. That doesn't mean we will deploy it, and it doesn't mean that we can abandon efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But we must understand fully what research needs to be done and how the technology might be designed and used. This book provides a clear and accessible overview of what the costs and risks might be, and how climate engineering might fit into a larger program for managing climate change.

Societies develop engineered systems to address or mediate climate-related problems, such as drought, sea-level rise or wildfire control; the mediation involves public trust, public engagement, and governance. In these efforts, societies also decide - intentionally or implicitly - questions of justice and sustainability, such as what areas will receive mediation measures, what types of measures will be used, and what levels and kinds of local impacts are tolerated. In September 2010, the Center for Engineering, Ethics, and Society at the National Academy of Engineering began working with four other partners on a Climate Change Educational Partnership Phase I planning grant from the National Science Foundation. The project focused on defining and characterizing the societal and pedagogical challenges posed by the interactions of climate change, engineered systems and society, and identifying the educational efforts that a network could use to enable engineers, teachers, students, policymakers, and the public to meet the challenges. The project also aimed to build awareness of the complexities among a diverse set of communities affected by climate change and engineered systems and to engage the communities in addressing these challenges. The Climate Change Educational Partnership is the summary of three workshops convened over the course of the grant on the interactions of climate change with engineered systems in society and the educational efforts needed to address them. The first workshop provided the partners with an introduction to the varied social and technical dimensions found in the relationships among climate, engineered systems, and society. The second workshop built on the common language developed in the first. It allowed the partners to expand involvement in the project to include representatives from community and tribal colleges, professional societies and business. It examined the opportunities and challenges for formal and informal education, particularly in engineering classrooms and science museums, to prepare students and citizens to address these issues. The third workshop allowed the partners to broaden further the discussion and the audience. It solicited participation from government officials, Native American tribal representatives, professional society leaders, as well as educators, artists, scientists, and engineers who are developing programs that can manage change and educate students and citizens in ways that foster their leadership skills. The Climate Change Educational Partnership will be a useful resource to engineers, educators, corporate leaders, local and regional officials, members of professional societies, and others in their efforts to understand and address the challenges of climate change and its societal impacts.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • In this urgent, authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical—and accessible—plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe. Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science, and finance, he has focused on what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide to certain environmental disaster. In this book, he not only explains why we need to work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases, but also details what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal. He gives us a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face. Drawing on his understanding of innovation and what it takes to get new ideas into the market, he describes the areas in which technology is already helping to reduce emissions, where and how the current technology can be made to function more effectively, where breakthrough technologies are needed, and who is working on these essential innovations. Finally, he lays out a concrete, practical plan for achieving the goal of zero emissions—suggesting not only policies that governments should adopt, but what we as individuals can do to keep our government, our employers, and ourselves accountable in this crucial enterprise. As Bill Gates makes clear, achieving zero emissions will not be simple or easy to do, but if we follow the plan he sets out here, it is a goal firmly within our reach.