Climate Change

Latest News & Updates

Visit EPA's Climate Change: State and Local Governments for details on actions by states and efforts by local agencies to address climate change, along with links to relevant EPA voluntary programs that can help states and localities meet their goals.

Issue Summary

Climate change is defined as the long-term fluctuations in temperature, precipitation, wind, and all other aspects of the Earth's climate. Human activities are believed to be responsible for causing recent changes in the climate by altering the chemical composition of the atmosphere. These changes are believed to be caused by the build-up of greenhouse gas emissions coming from cars, industrial facilities, agricultural sites, solid waste landfills, and other human activities. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide have the ability to trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere; much like a greenhouse retains heat. There is a strong sentiment that the continued build-up of greenhouse gases will cause global temperatures to increase and global and regional weather patterns to change, resulting in severe weather events such as floods, storms, and droughts, as well as a rise in sea level.

Changes in climate can affect local communities in various ways. For example, warmer temperatures can affect local economies by causing soil moisture to decline forcing farmers to change how and what types of crops they produce. In addition, warmer temperatures can also impact human health as infectious diseases, spread by mosquitoes and other insects become more prevalent as temperatures increase.

Local governments are in a pivotal position to help mitigate the impacts of climate change, because they have the capacity to inform, educate and influence the activities of people in their community. By influencing greenhouse gas-producing activities such as transportation, industry, and solid waste management, local governments can make a difference. The resources below provide information on programs, publications, and organizations that can assist local governments in mitigating the affects of climate change.

Resources

U.S. EPA Other Federal Agencies States Organizations/Non-Government Programs Publications Databases and Tools

U.S. EPA

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Climate Change. Provides information about the various ways to mitigate climate change.

EPA National Water Program Strategy: Response to Climate Change. Provides an overview of the likely effects of climate change on water resources and the nation's clean water and safe drinking water programs.

Other Federal Agencies/Programs

Energy Information Administration. This Department of Energy Web site offers publications about greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Provides information about the impacts of global warming on the weather.

National Safety Council. Environmental Health Center conducts education and outreach campaigns about the challenges and opportunities related to global climate change.

DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency. The Office of Building Technology, State and Community Programs, within the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, provides information about the benefits of improving energy efficiency in buildings.

States

Climate Change State Resource Locator. Use this tool to locate state climate change resources. You will find links to state climate change main pages, state action plans, climate policies and more.

EPA Summary: State and Local Governments. This section of the site provides details on actions by states and efforts by local agencies to address climate change, along with links to relevant EPA voluntary programs that can help states and localities meet their goals.

Organizations/Non-Government Programs

International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). ICLEI's Cities for Climate Protection Campaign is an effort to help local governments implement policies and measures that reduce global warming pollution and improve air quality.

World Health Organization (WHO). Climate and Health Web page provides information about how the climate and weather impacts human health.

Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA). Web site has information on upcoming air-related conferences and workshops, updates on recent events, and on-line publications.

Pew Center on Global Climate Change. Educates the public and key policy makers about the causes and potential consequences of climate change, and encourages the reduction of emissions of greenhouses gases.

Union of Concerned Scientists. This Web site contains information about the implications of climate change.

Northeast Sustainable Energy Association. This Web site promotes energy conservation and renewable energy, and includes information on green building practices, sustainable transport, and outreach.

Cool Companies. Produced by the Center for Energy and Climate Solutions, this web site contains information describing how the best businesses boost profits and productivity by cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Publications

EPA's Smart Growth Publications.

Climate Change and Waste. Folders, Fact Sheets, and Case Studies. The following folders and accompanying fact sheets describe the link between climate change and municipal solid waste.

National Goal to Reduce Emissions Intensity. In February 2002, the United States government announced a comprehensive strategy to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of the American economy by 18 percent over the 10-year period from 2002 to 2012. Greenhouse gas intensity measures the ratio of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to economic output. Meeting this commitment will prevent the release of more than 100 million metric tons of carbon-equivalent emissions to the atmosphere (annually) by 2012 and more than 500 million metric tons (cumulatively) between 2002 and 2012.

EPA Action Steps: What You Can Do. Tips you can use to save energy and water, cut waste, and make other environmentally protective choices.

Databases and Tools

EPA's Clearinghouse for Inventories and Emissions Factors. Access to numerous databases covering emissions inventories, Emissions Factors & Policy Applications Center (EFPAC), Emissions Modeling Clearinghouse (EMCH), and EPA's Monitoring Knowledge Base Site.

Waste Reduction Management Tool. The Waste Reduction Management (WARM) tool is designed to help users track greenhouse gas emissions reductions from a landfill taking into account several different waste management practices (source reduction, recycling, combustion, composting, and landfilling).

MOBILE6 Emissions Model. MOBILE6, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) model for estimating pollution from highway vehicles, is now available online. MOBILE6 calculates emissions of hydrocarbons (HC), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and carbon monoxide (CO) from passenger cars, motorcycles, light- and heavy-duty trucks.