{"product_id":"runaway-climate-what-the-geological-past-can-tell-us-about-the-coming-climate-change-catastrophe-9780865719897","title":"Runaway Climate: What the Geological Past Can Tell Us about the Coming Climate Change Catastrophe","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWith tipping points and extreme global warming looming, the key to understanding our climate future lies in our distant past \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWith rising emissions, we are on track to cause rapid global warming with devastating con- sequences. But how bad could climate change get and what might it do to planet Earth and humanity?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eRunaway Climate \u003c\/em\u003eexplores the causes of the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) rapid climate-heating episode, its dramatic impact on life on Earth, and lessons for our climate future.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFifty-six million years ago our planet experienced a period of intense warming known as the PETM, resulting in a rapid global temperature increase of about 7 C. Triggered by natural geological processes over millennia and magnified by strong climate feedback loops, the PETM lasted for about 180,000 years and drastically altered life on Earth. Yet in only a few short decades we've pumped similar amounts of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, making the PETM an unsettlingly apt analogy for our current predicament. This deeply cautionary tale explores: \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe runaway feedbacks that pushed the PETM's climate past the tipping point\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eSubsequent cascades of environmental devastation--from plant and animal migrations to ocean acidification, extreme weather, and mass extinctions\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eA sobering vision of life on hothouse Earth--a hostile world of desertification, sea-level rise, climate refugees, and agricultural collapse\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eThe urgent need for decisive individual and collective actions to slash carbon emissions, stabilize the climate, and undertake a rapid transition to a cleaner and healthier future.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cp\u003eScientifically rigorous, yet accessible to a wide audience, \u003cem\u003eRunaway Climate \u003c\/em\u003eis essential reading for every- one committed to understanding and taking action on the climate emergency.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e New Society Publishers\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/23\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780865719897\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256","brand":"Steven Earle","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43672964890805,"sku":"9780865719897","price":19.54,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_21a8e27a-f813-491a-95e2-e026945a6ea8.jpg?v=1709052255","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/runaway-climate-what-the-geological-past-can-tell-us-about-the-coming-climate-change-catastrophe-9780865719897","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}