What We Know about Climate Change, updated edition (Mit Press)

This booklet, by MIT professor of atmospheric sciences, is a short, comprehensive, and very readable, document about the issue of climate change. I noticed it through the warm recommendation published in a recent issue of "The Economist". I fully agree with the recommendation of "The Economist".

A very readable, concise, and even-keeled account of the science by an eminent scholar in the field. What else could a layman want?

A very useful and concise summary of climate science. I found the final short section on politics and solutions to be a bit disappointing - Emanuel does mention the large, coordinated campaign by fossil fuel companies to deceive the public, but takes about as much time to blame environmentalists for opposing nuclear power. The book feels aimed at a very centrist kind of reader, perhaps the now nearly mythical moderate Republican who can be swayed by a kind of just-the-facts bipartisan tone (the foreword by former GOP rep Bob Inglis suggests as much as well). It’s an important goal but one that perhaps detracts from the book’s value for other audiences.

Short and concise. Well written.

It only takes an hour to read, and this book is most definitely authoritative, but it misses my goal. I'm looking for a book that simply and effectively shows why 97% of climate scientists (who agree that this crisis is anthropogenic) are right. I want a climate science book that uses the right illustrations, backed up by evidence and stories of how scientists came to their conclusions. Most of all, I want a book with passion. Unfortunately, there is no passion to be found in this fairly dry summary. Factual, scientific information is not something that most people consume well. To be effective, science must be wrapped in storytelling: a story about our planet, our history, and about people. Carl Sagan was best at it. We so desperately need him now.

I really don't understand why there are quite a few unpleasant reviews stating that this book is too scientific and boring. I have a non-CS related college degree, and it was more than enough to really swallow and digest everything written here. The book is amazing. I wish all public discussions and endless politicians debates were as structured and as science-backed like this book. And this book is very short, which is a huge plus. For just 66 pages, it is much more informative about the issue than anything hundreds of pages longer that I have ever read. If you can't find time to read less than 100 pages about climate change, do you really care about this issue at all?..

This book can be read in less than an hour. If you know nothing about climate change you will learn a lot. If you already know a lot you will learn something new.

A short but thorough explanation of why the climate changes and what is within human control (and why it’s important humans do take some action). I already believed climate change was a problem but wanted more of the scientific details so I could have an informed viewpoint and more productive conversations on the topic. This book did the trick. I would add that the book does not take a partisan viewpoint, which I think is helpful.

Concise review of present knowledge is useful for all those who are interested in understanding how we might avoid the catastrophe of increasing global warming.

This very accessible book clearly lays out what it is known about climate change in a simple language. The author refrains from making vague or overly dramatic statements, and stick to a scientific style --- compare with the first sentence of David Wallace -Wells' best seller: "It is worse, much worse, than you think". Despite its short length, the book contains substantial information, and provide pointers to further resource on the topic. It may not be as deep as lengthier books, but it is a valuable introductory read on the topic.

The author is a genuine expert in his field. This is a quick read and worth your time. Considering the brevity, the reader will get an unusually clear explanation of factors like chaos and uncertainty. The author makes a good distinction between what is probably true and what is still uncertain. I appreciated his sketch of how computer models work. Interestingly, he points out the shortcomings of the peer review process, which the IPCC tends to claim is a guarantee of accuracy. In fact, much of the research cited by the IPCC is not even peer-reviewed, which would have been worth mentioning. Climate skeptics are presented as a politically motivated campaign to "discredit Climate Science." This is not helpful, especially when vast sums are being spent to hype alternative technologies ("Big Green"). There is an honest debate about the issues raised in this book. The main push-back is against "Climate Panic" and the lack of a workable plan. The track record on the net-zero project is not encouraging. "Big Green" is wildly misrepresenting the benefits of its subsidy-driven projects. In contrast to the quantitative approach in the rest of the book, the author's treatment of mitigation measures is mere hand waving. Climate activists are demanding immense sums without providing the feasibility studies and cost/benefit analysis that "conservatives" want to see. Publications that deal with this issue exist (Bjorn Lomborg and Bil Gates, for example) that have nothing to do with the left/right assumptions of the author.

Breve ma affronta i punti principali: Cosa sappiamo e non sappiamo; Possibili conseguenze; Le possibili scelte che ci troviamo di fronte; Rivalutare alcune scelte politiche.

O tema é complexo, inerentemente sujeito a muitas incertezas e, ainda em maior grau, a preconceitos. Na parte científica, o livro explica muito claramente conceitos complexos. O único motivo de não dar 5 estrelas ao livro é devido ao fato do autor se “aventurar” superficialmente em aspectos sociológicos/econômicos associados ao risco climático. Nesse aspecto, que não toma muito espaço do livro, as conclusões não são 100% convincentes.