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During the late 1980's, troubling stories about global warming and the greenhouse effect began surfacing in the media. Since then, every report of recordbreaking temperatures or a natural disaster like the Yellowstone fire of 1988 has been touted as another example of this supposedly man-made phenomenon. But within the scientific community, researchers are engaged in debate over how much, if any, human activity is responsible for accelerating the natural process of global warming.
In The Heated Debate, Robert C. Balling, Jr. dispels much of the "science fiction" of global warming and the greenhouse effect, skillfully guiding the reader through the minefield of charged scientific issues - the influence of carbon dioxide (CO[subscript 2]) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the atmosphere, desertification, melting glaciers and rising ocean levels, and more - while getting the message across that environmental disaster is not imminent. By translating the scientific data into understandable language, avoiding theoretical predictions and the purely speculative, Balling presents an evenhanded look at the divisive arguments surrounding global warming and the greenhouse effect.
The author represents a growing band of scientists dedicated to the study of global warming and to giving the public and government a view of it stripped of drama - a factual view that can help prevent rash judgements and help mold effective public policy. To this end, the noted political scientist Aaron Wildavsky in his introduction speaks to what global warming and the greenhouse effect mean in the world beyond science.
Most serious studies of global warming and the greenhouse effect have been undertaken since the 1980s. As the science of global warming outgrows its infancy, Balling believes that "future technology, future economic resources and the ability to acquire new information" can and will create a positive attitude about global warming, while helping to negotiate the "doomsayers" messages of disaster. After reading The Heated Debate, political leaders, policy makers, and average citizens will have the information needed to start thinking rationally about the effects of global warming, and for making informed choices on how to deal with it.
