Climate Change & Global Warming

Web Sites

• Alliance for Climate Protection
  An organization founded by Al Gore to persuade the American people of the importance and urgency of adopting and implementing effective and comprehensive solutions for the climate crisis.
• Ceres: 2006 Corporate Governance and Climate Change: Making the Connection
  This is a report issued by the Ceres investor coalition (a shareholder environmentalist group) that "analyzes how 100 leading companies are addressing the growing financial risks and opportunities from climate change -- whether from expanding greenhouse gas regulations, direct physical impacts or surging demand for climate-friendly technologies." Ceres' publications include many on climate change.
• CNN Special Report: Changing Earth
  "Is global warming really a threat? Yes, respond most scientists, but only recently have they been able to approach a basic agreement about changing climate."
• CO2 Science
  Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change offers a weekly online publication of its CO2 Science magazine, which contains editorials on topics of current concern and mini-reviews of recently published peer-reviewed scientific journal articles, books, and other educational materials on the subject of carbon dioxide and global change.
• Discovery Channel: Global Warming: What You Need to Know, with Tom Brokaw
  This is the companion site to the TV program that aired in the summer of 2006. Includes sections on Global Warming 101, Signs and Sources, Climate Change History.
• New Scientist Special Reports: Climate Change
  "Climate change is with us. A decade ago, it was conjecture. Now the future is unfolding before our eyes."
• Pew Center on Global Climate Change
  A research center that also engages in education and advocacy. Their website includes a section on Global Warming Basics and a Glossary of Terms as well as an In Depth section with online reports.
• Understanding and Responding to Climate Change
  Highlights of a March 2006 National Academies Report
• U.S. Climate Change Technology Program
  A multi-agency research and development program for the development of climate change technology
  • U.S. Climate Change Technology Program Strategic Plan
    Released on by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on September 20, 2006
• U.S. Global Change Research Information Office
  http://www.gcrio.org/
  The US Global Change Research Information Office (GCRIO) provides access to data and information on climate change from federal agencies involved in the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). It is maintained by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program.
• Washington Post: The Threat of Climate Change
  Read complete Post coverage on the science and politics surrounding the threat of human-induced climate change.
• Wikipedia: Temperature record of the past 1000 years
  A very interesting article in the "free encyclopedia" that discusses the need for a reconstruction of past temperatures in order to improve the understanding of current climate variability. There are only reliable records since about 1850 and only from a few countries. The article links important terms to other entries in Wikipedia.
• WorldWatch Institute: Low-Carbon Energy
  The WorldWatch Institute offers many reports on environmental issues.

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International

• The Climate Group
  The Climate Group is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing business and government leadership on climate change. It consists of companies, governments, and nonprofit organizations.
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
  The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to assess scientific, technical and socio- economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.
• New Scientist: Climate change: A guide for the perplexed
  A May 16, 2007 article from the New Scientist.
• Royal Society: Climate Change
  The Royal Society, the UK's national academy of science, is an idependent nonprofit organization composed of the most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists from the UK and the Commonwealth. Their Climate Change site is directed at the public and includes sections on facts and fictions about climate change and global climate change policy.
• SciDevNet: Climate Change
  This dossier provides news, analysis and background on current debates about the nature and implications of climate change as it relates to developing countries.
• United Nations Environment Programme: Climate Change
  This portal is a central source for substantive work and information resources regarding climate change.
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
  Over a decade ago (1994), most countries joined an international treaty -- the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) -- to begin to consider what can be done to reduce global warming and to cope with whatever temperature increases are inevitable. Recently, a number of nations have approved an addition to the treaty: the Kyoto Protocol, which has more powerful (and legally binding) measures.

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What You Can Do

• Carbon Footprint
  Measure the impact that your activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of green house gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide.
  • Calculator for the United States
• Keep Winter Cool
  "Fight global warming. Winter's short enough already." Keep Winter Cool is a partnership between NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) to raise visibility and public understanding of global warming and spotlight opportunities that exist right now to start fixing the problem.
• Replenish and Recycle: Principles to Grow By Throughout the New Year
  A December 29, 2007 article from the Washington Post by Joel M. Lerner about the impact of small things that you can do to reduce man's negative impact on the climate.
• Stop Global Warming
  StopGlobalWarming.org is an advocacy group for addressing the issue of global warming. A project of the Tides Center.

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Pittsburgh Resources

• Pittsburgh Climate Protection Initiative
  The Pittsburgh Climate Protection Initiative seeks to raise awareness and engage Pittsburgh’s residents, businesses, government and institutions of higher learning in taking actions that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on our local economy and human well being. The Initiative is financially supported through generous funding from the Roy A. Hunt Foundation, The Heinz Endowments and the Surdna Foundation.
  • Pittsburgh Climate Action Plan (June 2008)
    "In an effort to create a coordinated Pittsburgh climate protection effort, the Pittsburgh Climate Action Plan presents the City of Pittsburgh and its residents, businesses, and higher education institutions with opportunities to reduce the impacts of local and global climate change, improve the local environment and the local economy, and enhance Pittsburgh’s reputation as an environmentally progressive city."
  • Climate Change Roadmap for Pennsylvania
    The Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) released its Climate Change report in June, 2007. According to PEC, "Pennsylvania produces 1% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions."
    
  • Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment
    http://www.northeastclimateimpacts.org/
    The Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment (NECIA) is a collaboration between the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and a team of more than fifty independent experts to develop and communicate a new assessment of climate change. July 11, 2007, they published "Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast" (below) that was commented on in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
    • Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast - July 11, 2007 (160 pages)
    • Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast October 2006 (52 pages)
  • Penn Future's Cool Pennsylvania
    A site by Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future focusing on what Pennsylvanians can do about global warming since "Pennsylvania contributes 1 percent of all the pollution that causes global warming - more than 105 developing countries combined. Pennsylvania produces more greenhouse gasses than 47 states - only California and Texas produce more." Listen to PennFuture's podcasts on global warming.

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