This is the second edition of a book assembled by the same editors in 1995. The first edition was one of the earliest attempts at a regional assessment of the impact of climate change; in our case, the application was to the Texas region. There has been significant progress in climate research since then, and the present publication is our response to the many requests to revise and update the book. Our aim then and now is to provide an objective assessment of the impacts of climate change on the Texas region. Our target audience is the well-educated layman, especially those in a policymaking role, whether governmental or private. Our object is not to scare but rather to let our readers know what the current thinking is in the field so that they can plan for changes that are likely to occur. Separate chapters deal with different aspects of the problem, and each is written by an expert or experts in the field. The chapter authors come from a number of institutions in and outside Texas, and it was our intention not to represent any particular point of view. The book contains very little original research, but rather it represents, to the best of our ability, the state of the art of the science at this time as drawn from the published literature on the subject. The current chapter deals with the science of climate change, including the question of whether it even is a scientific undertaking, its foundations, paradigm changes in its history, and how we go about assessing the state of the art of climate science and the potential impacts of climate change. Finally, some results are presented along with a few implications for the future climate of the Texas region. Copyright 2011 by the University of Texas Press. All rights reserved.
