Air: Our Planet's Ailing Atmosphere

About this book

Climate change is an issue that has taken on great urgency in recent years, but it is not an isolated problem. Hans Tammemagi argues that climate change is but one of the many problems associated with the changing character of one of the most basic components of life: the air we breathe.

Tammemagi's fascinating exploration of air illustrates that it is far from being an empty void; rather, it is a vast ocean of gases that are layered, constantly mixing, generating weather, and providing the basis of life itself. While illustrating the beauty and mystery of air, Tammemagi also examines its declining quality in chapters that discuss smog over cities (and elsewhere), acid rain, the depletion of stratospheric ozone layer, and, of course, global warming. As a scientist, writer, and activist, Tammemagi explains the key issues associated with air in a clear, lucid, and compelling style. Air is a vital piece of reading on an issue of rapidly growing urgency.

Containing a wealth of information such as the history and evolution of our atmosphere, biographical notes about key scientists, descriptions of significant inventions, and colour photography, Air: Our Planet's Ailing Atmosphere presents the great aerial ocean as we have never seen it before.

Contents

1. The Plight of the Atmosphere
2. The Delicate Atmosphere
3. The Ever-Changing Weather
4. Smog: The Deadly Haze
5. Transportation: A Large Environmental Tire Print
6. Acid Rain: The Scourge of the Loons
7. King Coal and Fossil Fuels
8. The Tenuous Ozone Shield
9. The Globe is Heating Up
10. More Signs that the Canary is Choking
11. The Path Forward

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