The Greenhouse Effect, Climate Change, and U.S. Forests.

The Greenhouse Effect, Climate Change, and U.S. Forests, edited by William E. Shands and John S. Hoffman. The Conservation Foundation, 1250 24th Street, NW, Washington, DC. 20037. Tables and graphs, 304 pp., hardcover, $29.95 plus $2 postage and handling.

Concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxides, and some other trace gases in the atmosphere have been increasing. This buildup, which results from human activities, seems likely to continue.

Theoretically these gases will trap solar radiation in the atmosphere and cause a gradual global warming. If this occurs, it will surely bring about major changes in the world we know today.

This book explores some of the future possibilities. It is composed of a series of papers that describe the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the causes, the theoretical impacts on climate, and the impacts on forests in the United States.

The papers emphasize in many ways the uncertainties of projections of global warming, regional climate changes, and the effects on forests and other forms of life. Nonetheless, they make a convincing case for a future that will be greatly different from the one we know now-a future in which there will be major changes in the distribution and range of most commercially important tree species.

The book describes developing problems; the likely impacts on the society, the economy, and the environment; and the opportunities to change the outlook in desirable ways. In general the conclusion is that though not much can be done to avert the further buildup of the greenhouse gases, the effects of a warmer climate on forests and forest industries can be mitigated through research and technological change. The opportunities are there, but as always, the question is: will society take the action necessary today to address changes or problems that will confront it sometime in the future?