Sudden and disruptive climate change : exploring the real risks and how we can avoid them / edited by Michael C. MacCracken, Frances Moore and John C. Topping, Jr.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part 1. The Potential for Rapid Changes to the Weather and Climate -- Introduction to Part 1 / Michael C. MacCracken -- Ten Reasons Why Climate Change May be More Severe than Projected / A. Barrie Pittock -- Potential Increased Hurricane Activity in a Greenhouse Warmed World / Judith A. Curry -- Potential Effects of Weather Extremes and Climate Change on Human Health / Devra Lee Davis and John C. Topping, Jr -- Part 2. The Potential for Rapid Melting of Ice and Amplification of Sea Level Rise -- Introduction to Part 2 / Robert W Corell -- Changes in Polar Sea Ice Coverage / Claire L. Parkinson -- Changes in the Greenland Ice Sheet and Implications for Global Sea Level Rise / Eric Rignot -- Why Predicting West Antarctic Ice Sheet Behavior is So Hard: What We Know, What We Don't Know and How We Will Find Out / Robert Bindschadler -- Part 3. The Potential for Dramatic Changes in Coastal Regions -- Introduction to Part 3 / The Honorable Tom Roper -- The Potential for Significant Impacts on Chesapeake Bay from Global Warming / Michael S. Kearney -- The Northern Gulf of Mexico Coast: Human Development Patterns, Declining Ecosystems and Escalating Vulnerability to Storms and Sea Level Rise / Virginia Burkett -- Threats and Responses Associated with Rapid Climate Change in Metropolitan New York / Malcolm Bowman, Douglas Hill, Frank Buonaiuto, Brian Colle, Roger Flood, Robert Wilson, Robert Hunter and Jindong Wang -- Increasing the Resilience of Our Coasts: Coastal Collision Course of Rising Sea Level, Storms, Coastal Erosion and Development / Bruce C. Douglas and Stephen P Leatherman -- Preparing and Protecting American Families from the Onslaught of Catastrophe / Admiral James M. Loy -- Part 4. The End of Evolution? The Potential for Rapid Changes in Ecosystems -- Introduction to Part 4 / Paul C Pritchard -- Where Will Ecosystems Go? / Anthony C Janetos -- Increasing Vulnerability of Alaska's Boreal Forest as a Result of Climate Warming and the Changing Fire Regime / Eric S. Kasischke and F. Stuart Chapin III -- Polar Bears in a Warming Arctic / Andrew E. Derocher -- Part 5. The Potential for Accelerating Action to Limit Climate Change -- Introduction to Part 5 / William A. Nitze -- International Action to Buffer Against the Rapid Onset of Climate Change / Sir Crispin Tickell -- A Moral and Profitable Path to Climate Stabilization / John C. Topping, Jr and Erin Frey -- Moving Toward Climate Stabilization: Iceland's Example / President of Iceland Olafur Ragnar Grimsson -- Climate Impacts in the Developing World: A Case Study of the Small Island States / Nasir Khattak -- Stimulating a Clean Energy Revolution / Christopher Flavin -- Recycling Energy to Reduce Costs and Mitigate Climate Change / Thomas R. Casten -- Addressing Climate Change: Religious Perspectives and Initiatives / Denis Hayes and panelists -- Climate Solutions on Today's Campuses: How Today's Students Must Drive a Modern Industrial Revolution / Dan Worth -- Strategies for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions: The Role of Greenhouse Gas Offsets / Alexia Kelly.