This book is the first to explore the dramatic amplification of global warming underway in cities and the range of actions that individuals and governments can undertake to slow the pace of warming. A core thesis of the book is that the principal strategy currently advocated to mitigate climate change – the reduction of greenhouse gases – will not prove sufficient to measurably slow the rapid pace of warming in urban environments. Brian Stone explains the science of climate change in terms accessible to the non-scientist and with compelling anecdotes drawn from history and current events. The book is an ideal introduction to climate change and cities for students, policy makers and anyone who wishes to gain insight into an issue critical to the future of our cities and the people who live in them.
• The first book to explore the dramatic amplification of global warming underway in cities • Outlines the range of actions that can be taken to slow the pace of warming
Contents
Prologue: la canicule; 1. Keeling's curve; 2. The climate barrier; 3. Islands of heat; 4. The green factor; 5. Leveraging canopy for carbon.
Reviews
'Cities have begun to feel the sting of a changing climate already. This powerful volume reminds us what we can still do - globally and locally - by adapting to that which we can't prevent, and even more crucially, preventing that to which we can't adapt.' Bill McKibben, Schumann Distinguished Scholar, Middlebury College and author of The End of Nature
'In this groundbreaking study, Stone provides the first systematic analysis of what a changing climate will mean for cities. [He] argues convincingly that we must be as concerned about urban warming as global warming … a clarion call for cities to begin to shape their climate destinies.' Timothy Beatley, Teresa Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities, University of Virginia
'… highly significant and unique because it fully bridges the study of cities, climate, and urban heat.' William D. Solecki, City University of New York (CUNY) and Director, CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities
'A great introduction to how climate change will hit cities and what can be done about it … essential reading for urban planners, city officials, and the general public.' David W. Orr, Oberlin College and author of Down to the Wire: Confronting Climate Collapse
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