The Atlas of Climate Change: Mapping the World’s Greatest Challenge presents in clear and concise visual form the impacts and effects, solutions and mitigation actions surrounding climate change – which is our greatest
global challenge. Dr. Kristin Dow and Dr. Thomas E. Downing provide us with over 200 full-color maps and other illustrative details demonstrating the
climate change impacted world we live in. There are specific sections on signs of climate change, what is driving climate change, possible responses to
climate change, consequences and policy actions of climate change, climate change data, etc. filled with precise explanation and easy to understand
visual detail.
While as the authors state climate change touches everything and everyone, the value of The Atlas of Climate Change: Mapping the World’s Greatest Challenge is that this
premise is demonstrated visually in a concise manner expediting information transfer and learning. This makes this book an excellent communication tool
intended for the media, the classroom, business professionals and policy makers.
In particular, I find the sections on agriculture and water security and health impacts particularly instructive since the graphs and detailed maps
associated with these sections are helpful in explaining to climate change skeptics that climate change will impact their nutrition, their access to
clean water, and their health. In this manner, The Atlas of Climate Change: Mapping the World’s Greatest Challenge is an excellent
communication tool because data is presented visually in a manner that encourages conversation across boundaries in a manner that may provide
opportunities for climate change mitigation actions to occur. Yet while many governments have committed to climate change mitigation and adaptation
activities, the pace of climate change occurring globally has, as demonstrated visually in this book, outpaced activities to mitigate and adapt to
climate change. So in some ways, the beautiful illustrations, maps and graphs in The Atlas of Climate Change: Mapping the World’s Greatest Challenge should only further
remind us of the unique qualities of the Earth that we are damaging and losing under a climate change impacted world since now that we know climate
change is happening we are culpable if we do not stop it.
How to order:
The Atlas of Climate Change: Mapping the World’s Greatest Challenge
Paperback: 128 Pages
Publisher: Earthscan, 2011, 3rd Edition (978-1-84971-217-0)
Authors: Kristin Dow, PhD., and Thomas E. Downing, PhD.
Gabriel Thoumi, CFA is a frequent contributor to Mongabay.com.
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