Human Impacts on Weather and Climate - William R. Cotton

As the world's population rises, there is increasing evidence that human activities are having a significant impact on the weather and climate, from a local to global scale. Human Impacts on Weather and Climate is a non-mathematical presentation of the basic physical concepts of how human activity may affect weather and climate. This book assesses the current hypotheses, and examines whether the impacts are measurable. Included are: critical evaluations of the scientific status of weather modification by cloud seeding; human impacts on regional weather and climate; and human impacts on global climate, including the greenhouse gas hypothesis. Discussions also focus on the modern philosophy of science and its application to determining human impacts on weather and climate. Human Impacts on Weather and Climate will be invaluable for upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses in meteorology, geophysics, and earth and atmospheric science, as well as for policymakers and readers with an interest in how humans are affecting the atmosphere. An extensive reference list is included.

'Contents-wise this is an excellent book ... It is written with great honesty and courage, attacking many of the sacred tenets of weather modification and of climatic doomsday predictions.' Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics

'I can recommend the book to anyone concerned to understand the present debates with regard to climate change on both a local and global scale. The style of writing makes for easy reading, and the layout of the book is such that sections of particular interest can be found easily.'
Open University Geological Society Journal

'... offers a valuable perspective that will be useful particularly for undergraduate courses in earth and atmospheric sciences. Students without a strong grounding in mathematics and physics will find this straightforward account quite approachable and welcome.'
Allen Perry, International Journal of Climatology