Encyclopedia of Global Warming and Climate Change (3 Volume Set) | Date: 28 April 2011, 14:55
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Grade 10 Up—A useful reader's guide and a colorful 16-page introduction precede this encyclopedia's 750 articles. Volume 1 also offers a chronology that covers the subject from 4.5 billion years ago to 2007 and notes contributors and their affiliations. However, many of them are listed as "independent scholars" and their affiliation or expertise is unclear. An alphabetical list of the set's entries appears in each volume. The articles cover a variety of topics relating to global warming and climate change such as social effects and scientific causes. Entries on individual countries and key figures are also included. While the articles are full of useful information, the writing is not always clear and there are grammar issues throughout that make for choppy reading. In addition, some of the content is most appropriate for AP students. The layout is basic, featuring double columns of text on each page, with a few black-and-white stock photographs scattered throughout. Entries conclude with "see also" references, which are not always thorough, and a bibliography. The appendix presents charts and tables of relevant data ("Ice Age Temperature Changes," "Recent Sea Level Rise"), and each volume concludes with a comprehensive index. Additional.—Maren Ostergard, King County Library System, Issaquah, WA
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From Booklist
*Starred Review* Philander, a member of the geosciences faculty at Princeton University and research director of the African Centre for Climate and Earth System Science in Cape Town, South Africa, has gathered authors from fields as diverse as anthropology, chemistry, geography, and medicine to put together an encyclopedia of about 750 articles. The entries cover countries, climate models, atmospheric sciences, institutions studying climate change, and people studying the climate. Individual country entries highlight changes by country instead of by broad climatic regions and will help users understand global-warming issues in, say, Argentina or Tuvalu. Organizational entries are predominately focused on U.S. institutions and governmental entities. Although the preface notes that “scientific objectivity have been the watchwords” for the encyclopedia, entries provide a range of perspectives. One example is found in Alternative energy, overview, which states, “A comparison of production costs shows that fossil fuels are simply cheaper to produce than alternative fuels, which often need government subsidies to make them economically feasible.” This statement ignores the enormous subsidies given to the fossil-fuel industry in the U.S. and elsewhere that have allowed production costs to remain falsely low compared to alternative fuels. As the preface states, “Different perspectives that various authors have on some of these issues are part of the conversation that citizens or students concerned about the environment ignore at their own risk.” Though illustrations within the entries are in black and white, the introduction, which is repeated in each volume, has full-color climate-change maps. Also repeated in each volume are the alphabetical list of articles, the thorough index, and the appendixes, which contain graphs and charts that cover sea-level rise, temperatures, warming projections, and other statistics. Articles have see also references to related entries and a bibliography of works used. A “Resource Guide” listing books, articles, periodicals, and Internet resources as well as a brief glossary are available in volume 3. This is a useful set because of the individual country entries as well as the general-audience language. Libraries seeking a more academic or scientific approach might prefer either the Encyclopedia of Global Change (Oxford, 2002) or Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change (Wiley, 2002), but because of the importance of the topic, Encyclopedia of Global Warming and Climate Change belongs in most academic and large public libraries. --Steve Stratton
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