Contextualizing Climate Change Linking Science and Culture

Perspectives on new climate realities of impacted locations

Understanding the full context of our changing climate entails both the underlying science and related social, economic, and environmental justice issues. This work uses an engaging storytelling style to provide a comprehensive understanding of the existential threat of climate change. Each chapter travels to a specific location on Earth, tying underlying issues of climate and sustainability into a global narrative. In this way, the reader is able to witness and evaluate the urgent need to address the challenge of climate change.

Dr. Keith Peterman is a professor emeritus at York College of Pennsylvania. In addition to serving as a member of the ACS Committee on Environmental Improvement, he has served as a Fulbright Scholar in Germany and in Russia, a National Academy of Sciences Research Scholar in Poland, a Research
Fellow at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., and as a visiting professor in China and New Zealand. He takes student groups to Costa Rica each year to investigate climate change issues linked to impacts, adaptation, and mitigation. He participates in the United Nations climate
conferences as an accredited member of the press. He is a 2020 recipient of the ACS CEI Award for Incorporating Sustainability into Chemistry Education.

Matt Cordes is the founder and principal writer at WritingWorks. Since 2005 he has worked with more than 500 commercial and nonprofit clients across the U.S. to provide writing, research, and business development consulting. With several clients working in the renewable energy space (primarily solar
photovoltaics and circular economic development), Matt focuses on topics of climate and energy in many of his writing efforts. He has participated in four United Nations climate conferences and written extensively on the topic of climate change.

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Montezuma: Lush Green and Natural Warmth
Chapter 3: Monteverde: Orgy of the Golden Toad
Chapter 4: The Ring of Fire: Volcanoes and Other Natural Forcing
Chapter 5: England: John Dalton and the Atomic Theory
Chapter 6: Doha: Mass Balance - It's the Law
Chapter 7: China: From the Cultural Revolution to the Economic Revolution
Chapter 8: Grand Canyon: Water Structure, Properties, and Challenges
Chapter 9: Ethiopia: Water and Human Health
Chapter 10: Jimma: Bean to Brew - What's Invested in a Cup of Coffee?
Chapter 11: Switzerland: Glaciers Retreat
Chapter 12: Geneva: Hypothesis to Informed Consensus
Chapter 13: Churchill: Climate Change at the Arctic's Edge
Chapter 14: Copenhagen: The Long Road from Rio to Paris
Chapter 15: Paris: The Paris Agreement and the Path Beyond
Chapter 16: Lima: Indigenous Peoples and Disenfranchised Voices
Chapter 17: Planet Earth: The Anthropocene
Chapter 18: Costa Rica: Natural Capital

Editors' Biographies
Author Index
Subject Index