Intense heat and drought in the summer of 1988...greenhouse warming...acid rain...the ozone hole...rain forest destruction...Hurricane Hugo: "The Endangered Earth" is making headlines around the world, and we are aware as never before of the fragility of the global environment and our own vulnerability to climate change. Yet, despite the technological advances of the last three decades, our knowledge of how the Earth's systems work and interact remains incomplete at best. To determine environmental policies for the future, we need more information and better global climate models.

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