Science Magazine's State of the Planet: With a Special Section on Energy and Sustainability

Taken from the pages of Science and supplemented by contributions from the magazineand#8217;s editors, State of the Planet 2008-2009 offers contemporary science writing that is sometimes provocative, frequently enlightening, and always authoritative. Published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Science is one of the most respected scientific magazines in the world. With a readership of more than one million people, it offers and#147;hard scienceand#8221; from top scientists to both educated lay readers and scientists alike.

The articles collected here are arranged thematically and each section is introduced by a prominent scientist or science writer. Donald Kennedy, who was Editor-in-Chief of Science when these articles appeared in the magazine, contributes a preface and several short essays. Focusing on issues of energy and sustainability, sections of the volume are devoted to the prospects of energy-sparing technologies and alternatives to fossil fuel use, including ethanol and cellulosic digestion. Other sections center on climate change, led by a comprehensive essay on the state of scientific knowledge today and followed by contributions about the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, as well as the effects of climate change that have been measured to date, including changes in migration and breeding cycles of birds and flowering in plants, changing patterns of hurricanes and extreme weather events, and alterations in forest fire frequency.

Interspersed throughout the book are Science news pieces that highlight particular issues and cases relevant to the main scientific findings. A glossary of key terms and concepts helps students and nonspecialists better understand the terminology and the issues.

"This book provides a one-stop shop for the best of Science on energy and environment. Through original research articles and interpretive commentary, it assesses critical issues and explores necessary solutions. It is a great source for teachers, students, and all who care about the future of their planet."

"State of the Planet 2008-2009 brings to the reader a well written and diverse array of information and knowledge recently gained about the influence of human activities on our only home. The information thoughtfully summarized and integrated in State of the Planet makes the case: if we act together, we can succeed in keeping planet earth habitable."

"The book provides a nice blend of somewhat technical reading with essays that are easily comprehensible for various audiences...great backbone of data from top-rate scientists"

"If you have a certain affection for our little blue home planet and wonder how it fares, you couldn't do better than by reading this work. From our energy opportunities to our Arctic challenges, it is cutting edge science made readable. I hope all Congressmen read it!"

Taken from the pages of Science and supplemented by contributions from the magazine’s editors, State of the Planet 2008-2009 offers contemporary science writing that is sometimes provocative, frequently enlightening, and always authoritative. Published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Science is one of the most respected scientific magazines in the world. With a readership of more than one million people, it offers “hard science” from top scientists to both educated lay readers and scientists alike.

The articles collected here are arranged thematically and each section is introduced by a prominent scientist or science writer. Donald Kennedy, who was Editor-in-Chief of Science when these articles appeared in the magazine, contributes a preface and several short essays. Focusing on issues of energy and sustainability, sections of the volume are devoted to the prospects of energy-sparing technologies and alternatives to fossil fuel use, including ethanol and cellulosic digestion. Other sections center on climate change, led by a comprehensive essay on the state of scientific knowledge today and followed by contributions about the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, as well as the effects of climate change that have been measured to date, including changes in migration and breeding cycles of birds and flowering in plants, changing patterns of hurricanes and extreme weather events, and alterations in forest fire frequency.

Interspersed throughout the book are Science news pieces that highlight particular issues and cases relevant to the main scientific findings. A glossary of key terms and concepts helps students and nonspecialists better understand the terminology and the issues.

How often in today's environmental debates have you read that "the science is in dispute"-even when there is overwhelming consensus among scientists? Too often, the voice of science is diminished or diluted for the sake of politics, and the public is misled. Now, the most authoritative voice in U.S. science, Science magazine, brings you current scientific knowledge on today's most pressing environmental challenges, from population growth to climate change to biodiversity loss.

Science Magazine's State of the Planet 2006-2007 is a unique contribution that brings together leading environmental scientists and researchers to give readers a comprehensive yet accessible overview of current issues. Included are explanatory essays from Science magazine editor-in-chief Donald Kennedy that tie together the issues and explore the relationships among them.

Donald Kennedy served as editor-in-chief of Science from 2000-2007. A biologist by training, Kennedy is the Bing Professor of Environmental Science emeritus and President emeritus at Stanford University. In the late 1970s he served as commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He is the author of many books, including Academic Duty, an overview of American higher education at the end of the twentieth century.

Acknowledgments

Introduction

and#160;

PART I. Energy Solutions

-Introduction \ Donald Kennedy

-The Energy-Economy-Environment Dilemma \ John P. Holdren

-Renewable Energy Sources and the Realities of Setting an Energy Agenda \ Janez Potocnik

-Ethanol for a Sustainable Energy Future \ Josand#233; Goldemburg

-The Billion-Ton Biofuels Vision \ Chris Somerville

-The Biofuels Conundrum \ Donald Kennedy

-Carbon-Negative Biofuels from Low-Input High-Diversity Grassland Biomass \ David Tillman, Jason Hill, and Clarence Lehman

-Commentary: "Carbon-Negative Biofuels from Low-Input High-Diversity Grassland Biomass" \ Michael P. Russelle, R. Vance Morey, John M. Baker, Paul M. Porter, and Hans-Joachim G. Jung

-Response to Commentary: "Carbon-Negative Biofuels from Low-Input High-Diversity Grassland Biomass" \ David Tillman, Jason Hill, and Clarence Lehman

-Can the Upstarts Top Silicon? \ Robert F. Service

and#160;

PART II. What's Already Happened?

-Introduction \ Donald Kennedy

-Warming and Earlier Spring Increase Western U.S. Forest Wildfire Activity \ A. L. Westerling, H. G. Hidalgo, D. R. Cayan, T. M. Swetnam

-How Much More Rain Will Global Warming Bring? \ Frank J. Wentz, Lucrezia Ricciardulli, Kyle Hilburn, Carl Mears

-Running Out of Waterand#151;and Time \ John Bohannon

-Rapid Advance of Spring Arrival Dates in Long-Distance Migratory Birds \ Niclas Jonzand#233;n et. al.

-Perspectives on the Arctic's Shrinking Sea-Ice Cover \ Mark C. Serreze, Marika M. Holland, Julienne Strove

-Recent Sea Level Contributions of the Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheets \ Andrew Shepherd and Duncan Wingham

and#160;

PART III. Projecting the Future

-Introduction \ Donald Kennedy

-IPCC Report Lays Out Options for Taming Greenhouse Gas \ John Bohannon with reporting by Eli Kintisch

-The Limits of Consensus \ Michael Oppenheimer, Brian C. O'Neil, Mort Webster, Shardul Agrawala

-Commentary: A Closer Look at the IPCC Report \ Susan Soloman, Richard Alley, Jonathan Gregory, Peter Lemke, Martin Manning

-Response to Commentary: A Closer Look at the IPCC Report \ Michael Oppenheimer, Brian C. O'Neil, Mort Webster, Shardul Agrawala

-Simulating Arctic Climate Warmth and Ice Field Retreat in the Last Interglaciation \ Bette L. Otto-Bliesner et. al.

-A Semi-Empirical Approach to Projecting Future Sea Level Rise \ Stefan Rahmstorf

-Prioritizing Climate Change Adaptation Needs for Food Security in 2030 \ David B. Lobell et. al.

-Critical Assumptions in the Stern Review on Climate Change \ William Nordhaus

-Climate Change: Risk, Ethics, and the Stern Review \ Nicholas Stern and Chris Taylor

and#160;

PART IV. Dealing with Climate Change

-Introduction \ Donald Kennedy

-A Combined Mitigation-Geoengineering Approach to Climate Stabilization \ T. M. L. Wigley

-Preparing to Capture Carbon \ Daniel P. Schrag

-A Guide to CO2 Sequestration \ Klaus S. Lackner

-Carbon Trading \ William H. Schlesinger

-Carbon Trading Over Taxes \ William Chameides and Michael Oppenheimer

and#160;

Index