Climate change and society: consequences of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide

This book summarizes current knowledge of the causes of climatic change and presents a scenario of the future climate distribution that could prevail on a warmer Earth. It then focuses on the impacts of climatic change - in particular, a global warming accompanied by a shift in rainfall patterns - in such vital areas as food and fiber production, water resources, natural ecological systems, fisheries, health and disease, energy demand, and so forth. The authors discuss in detail the political, economic, social, and ethical implications of global environmental change. They also evaluate national and international strategies for mitigating the impacts of climatic change or possibly averting that change altogether.