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Global Climate Change

Introduction

UB Green, the university's environmental stewardship office, released a report detailing how UB's operations impact global warming and how the university might harness resources to reduce that impact. The result of two years of intensive data collection and analysis by UB Green, UB's environmental stewardship office, the 160-page "UB Green Climate Action Report" (26MB PDF) is chock-full of statistics about how UB's operations impact global warming, how that impact has changed during the past decade and how the university might harness resources on campus to dramatically reduce that impact.

Global climate change is one of the more scientifically complex and politically controversial environmental topics we confront. Some researchers and policy analysts have suggested that global environmental change represents the largest scientific undertakings in history. The following serves as an introduction to U.S. research and policy Internet resources for global climate change, and provides an example, New York and the Great Lakes, for state and regional Internet resources.

The earth's climate is determined by the amount of solar radiation absorbed by its surface and the amount of infrared radiation (heat) reflected back into space. The balance of the earth's heat depends on the input energy deposited by the sun and atmospheric abundances of radiatively active trace gases (the greenhouse gases), clouds, and aerosols. Greenhouse gases, which result from both natural and man-made processes, include carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons, halogenated compounds, and water vapor. Heat from the earth and its atmosphere that ordinarily radiates into outer space is instead absorbed by the greenhouse gases. This process boosts the heat energy in the lower atmosphere and on the earth's surface. As a result, the temperature of the lower atmosphere and the earth's surface increases, causing the planet to be warmer than usual.

Science Tracer Bullets Online: Global Warming & Climate Change This is a 21-page guide to the literature on global warming and climate change. It was prepared in June 2006 by the Science Division of the Library of Congress. It is a major gateway with links to hundreds, if not thousands of information resources. Includes a detailed list of Library of Congress Subject Headings.

Students, faculty, and staff at the University at Buffalo can use the Resources by Subject guide for Ecology & Environment to find bibliographic and reference databases, selected reference books, and Library Guides prepared by UB Librarians. The general public will have limited use of many of these resources.

The UB Green Office is another rich source for information about policies, programs, actions and activities taking place at the University at Buffalo, including Energy for the Future, Global Warming and Climate Change, and the UB Green Library (a small library collection NOT affiliated with the UB Libraries).

The American Meteorological Society, the nation's leading professional society for those working in the atmospheric and related sciences, has a weblog ("blog") addressing the challenging policy issues related to climate change. The AMS goal is to use this blog to help decision makers at all levels make sound policy based on the best available information. ClimatePolicy.org encourages the exchange among experts, policy-makers, journalists, and the broader society.

A Global Perspective

The issue of global change is international in scope.
  • World Meteorological Organization [http://www.wmo.ch/]
    Provides global weather information and other services for public, private and commercial use, including international airline and shipping industries.
  • United Nations Environment Programme [http://www.unep.org]
    UNEP supports an extensive Internet site of climate change resources.
  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [http://www.ipcc.ch/index.htm]
    Established by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to develop a scientific, technical and socio-economic response strategy to investigate global climate change.
  • United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) [http://www.unfccc.de/]
    Information source of news, data, and documents on global climate change. The Framework Convention was adopted at the United Nations in May 1999 and opened for signatures at the June 1992 UNCED (United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development) Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
  • Climate Change Information Kit [http://www.unfccc.int/essential_background/background_publications_htmlpdf/climate_change _information_kit/items/305.php]
    A series of 90 fact sheets covering both the scientific and policy aspects of climate change.Kyoto Protocol Drafted at the Conference of Parties (COP) Meetings in Kyoto, Japan, which calls for an international effort to reduce the emissions of gases contributing to the "Greenhouse Effect," and subsequent global warming. Additional United Nations documents are also available in full-text formats.
  • The International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) [http://www.igbp.kva.se/] and the International Council for Science [http://www.icsu.org/] (ICSU, formerly the International Council for Scientific Unions) serve as international global change research coordination bodies. These organizations provide scientific and technical oversight of the international research efforts and fill critical quality assurance functions.
  • Tiempo Climate Portal A useful source for international information with links to many free resources.
  • Climate Ark: Climate Change and Global Warming Portal International news about global warming and climate change.

U.S. Global Change Research and Policy

The U.S. global change research program is part of a global initiative to address the science and policy aspects of global environmental change.

  • President's Office of Science and Technology Policy [http://www.ostp.gov/] Oversees federal global change research.
  • National Science and Technology Council [http://www.ostp.gov/nstc/] Established by President Clinton in 1993 to develop and coordinate federal technology and scientific research.
  • Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR) [http://www.ostp.gov/NSTC/html/committee/cenr.html] Provides a formal mechanism for interagency coordination relevant to domestic and international environmental and natural resources issues.
  • U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) [http://www.usgcrp.gov] A multi-agency, interdisciplinary committee developed by CENR as a means to increase our understanding about the possible implications of global environmental change from scientific and social perspectives. The USGCRP was created as a Presidential Initiative in 1989. The ability to conduct research and develop policies requires access to high quality data and information. A major objective of the USGCRP is to manage, archive, and make available to all who need it the data and information resulting from its research and policy initiatives
  • Global Change Research Act of 1990 [http://www.gcrio.org/gcact1990.html]. Formalized the USGCRP in 1990.
  • Our Changing Planet: The U.S. Climate Change Science Program for Fiscal Year 2007 [http://www.usgcrp.gov/usgcrp/Library/ocp2007/default.htm], a comprehensive overview of the accomplishments and future direction of the USGCRP, is the definitive resource describing U.S. federal research. Previous years of Our Changing Planet and other climate change-related publications are found at Our Changing Planet and Online Library of the U.S. Global Change Research Information Office. The USGCRP has initiated a national assessment [http://www.nacc.usgcrp.gov/] on the potential consequences of climate variability and change for the nation. The national assessment process will analyze and evaluate what is known about the potential consequences of climate variability and change for the nation, in the context of other pressures on the public, the environment, and the nation's resources.
  • U.S. Climate Change Science Program provides summaries of key research findings from U.S. federal agencies.
  • Another choice on the GCDIS Web site is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) [http://gcmd.nasa.gov/], a comprehensive, searchable source of data and information with broad coverage of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, solid earth and biosphere. Other choices are USGCRP Science Topics, Agency Data Centers, Educational Resources, Libraries and Information Centers, and the Federal Geographic Data Committee (which develops standards for sharing geospatial data). You can use the GCMD to enter local (e.g., Rochester, New York) or regional (e.g., Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay) to locate specific data and information resources.
  • The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR ) [http://www.ncar.ucar.edu/info/about.html] Funded by the National Science Foundation. NCAR plans, organizes, and conducts atmospheric and related research programs in collaboration with universities, to provide state-of-the-art research tools and facilities to the entire atmospheric sciences community, to support and enhance university atmospheric research education, and to facilitate the transfer of technology to both the public and private sectors. NCAR is managed for the NSF by the
  • University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) [http://www.ucar.edu/]. Manages the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) for the National Science Foundation (NSF).
  • Climate [http://www.noaa.gov/climate.html] This is a major gateway to U.S.-related climate information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
  • The Climate Project [http://www.theclimateproject.org/] This site is a gateway to resources and events related to Vice President Al Gore's documentary movie, "An Inconvenient Truth."
  • Climate Crisis [http://www.climatecrisis.net/] is the major group promoting the documentary film, "An Inconvenient Truth." They provide a number of resources about the film including a companion "educational guide" (requires free login).

U.S. Data Resources and Information Management

The following groups are responsible for maintaining major repositories of quality controlled and documented data related to the USGCRP. These resources represent scientific and technical data and information that can be used for further scientific inquiry, education purposes, policy development, and decision making.

Special Online Reports

There are literally thousands of technical report, books, and journals articles describing the phenomenon known as climate change or global warming. Here is a very partial list of full-text, online reports of importance to the topic.

U.S. Research in the Private Sector

U.S. initiatives related to global change research may be predominated by those funded by Federal government sources. However, there is an active segment of global change-related scientific and technical research and policy development conducted by companies, institutes, organizations and consulting firms in the private sector.

  • The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) [http://www.epri.com/] is the research and development organization for the nation's electric utilities. EPRI has more than 25 years of service to about 1000 energy-related organizations in 40 countries. Their work covers a wide spectrum of scientific research, technology development, and product applications related to the generation, delivery, marketing, and use of energy.
  • The U.S. Department of Energy-supported National Laboratories [http:www.energy.gov/organization/labs-techcenters.htm] are major R&D contributors to a wide variety of scientific and technical programs related to global environmental change. These programs include active DOE participation in the USGCRP and a variety of projects related to energy efficiency and renewable energy.
  • Several representative examples of other private sector policy and research development are provided here.
    • Greentie [http://www.greentie.org/] is a private company operating in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia. It provides analyses and services related to financing mechanisms to developers of renewable energy and sustainable forestry projects.
    • Climatology Consultation Corporation [http://www.edrinc.com/] EDR performs basic and applied research in the dynamics of the physical environment and promotes education in atmospheric and climate-related sciences.
    • Pew Center on Global Climate Change [http://www.pewclimate.org/] is an organization attempting to investigate an innovative cooperative strategy to study the scientific, technical, and policy aspects of the global climate debate.
    • Trexler and Associates, Inc. (TAA) [http://www.climateservices.com/] conducts research and mitigation strategies related to climate change risk management, examining the technologies and policies requisite for greenhouse gas emissions reductions and offsets.
    • World Resources Institute (WRI) [http://www.wri.org/] is a nonprofit organization that is investigating the means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring growth for industries in the developed world and implementing appropriate technologies and policies in developing countries to promote industrial growth with a focus on cleaner. healthier, and sustainable concepts.
    • Environmental Defense [http://www.environmentaldefense.org/home.cfm] has taken global climate change as a major environmental topic, with many useful links.

Climate Change Resources for Local Regions: New York and the Great Lakes:

Implementing technologies and strategies to reduce global warming will be the responsibilities of subnational units (e.g., state and local energy agencies, local and regional energy and environmental groups, inter-state coalitions of utilities, aggregates of power utilities and energy producers). Local and regional inventories of global change resources can be compiled using many of the resources described above. There are many outstanding full-text global climate change Internet resources specific for New York State and the Great Lakes Region serving as an example of local and regional (e.g. state or ecosystem) global change Internet resources.

Climate Skeptics

The ongoing debate on the topic of global warming and climate change focuses on the validity of the science behind major technical policy reports such as the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's fourth assessment report, whose first of four volumes was released in February, 2007 (see: http://www.ipcc.ch/). The IPCC reports and other scientific studies have been subject to intense scrutiny by a small group of scientists discounting the findings of these documents. Several websites have emerged in recent years to follow these so-called "climate skeptics."

  • ExxonSecrets (Greenpeace)
    [http://www.exxonsecrets.org/]
    A FLASH application showing how one of the world's largest corporations deals with the issue of global warming/climate change.
    • Includes a list of fact sheets for organizations and individuals representing them.
  • Google Climate Change Skeptics
    [http://www.google.com/Top/Society/Issues/Environment/Opposing_Views/Climate_Change _Skeptics/] A directory of organizations and individuals disclaiming the effects and impacts of climate change.
  • Greenwash (MapCruzin')
    [http://www.mapcruzin.com/greenwash/index.html]
    GREENWASH: Perspectives on right-wing and libertarian think-tanks, free-market and common-sense environmentalists, and their corporate sponsors.
  • Investigation Reveals Widespread Suppression of Federal Climate Research (Union of Concerned Scientists)
    [http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/investigation-reveals-0007.html]
    Title is self-explanatory.
  • Real Climate
    [http://www.realclimate.org/]
    "RealClimate is a commentary site on climate science by working climate scientists for the interested public and journalist. We aim to provide a quick response to developing stories and provide the context sometimes missing in mainstream commentary. The discussion here is restricted to scientific topics and will not get involved in any political or economic implications of the science."
  • Scientists' Report Documents ExxonMobil's tobacco-like Disinformation Campaign on Global Warming Science (Union of Concerned Scientists)
    [http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/ExxonMobil-GlobalWarming-tobacco.html]
    This title is self-explanatory.
  • Source Watch (Center for Media in Democracy)
    [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Global_warming]
    "Welcome to SourceWatch, a collaborative project of the Center for Media and Democracy to produce a directory of the people, organizations and issues shaping the public agenda. A primary purpose of SourceWatch is documenting the PT and propaganda activities of public relations firms and public relations professionals engaged in managing and manipulating public perception, opinion and policy. SourceWatch also includes profiles on think tanks, industry-funded organizations and industry-friendly experts that work to influence public opinion and public policy on behalf of corporations, governments and special interests. Over time, SourceWatch has broadened to include others involved in public debates including media outlets, journalists and government agencies. Unlike some other wikis, SourceWatch has a policy of strict referencing, and is overseen by a paid editor."
  • Wikipedia: Sections of Articles