Climate change 2001 : impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability : contribution of Working Group II to the third assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change /

Could enhanced global warming increase agricultural productivity and open new areas for farming? Might small changes in water runoff drastically disrupt major rivers and dramatically extend infectious disease vectors in Africa? With many species of plants and animals on the verge of extinction, the ecosystem of an entire continent may be at stake due to global warming. On the plus side, available evidence is offered showing possible enhanced productivity in forests and fields under optimal conditions. Precipitation variations affecting ground water recharge are creating drought and famine in dry areas, while buried hazardous waste is forced to the surface in newly wet areas. The melting of tropical glaciers in Asia, Latin America, and Africa is one of the most devastating and irreversible impacts of global warming cited in this authoritative and inclusive reference volume. This latest assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change conveniently cites and indexes the latest findings in a useful and attractive package that will stimulate research and convince skeptics. All levels. R. M. Ferguson Eastern Connecticut State University