Internet Resources on Climate Change

Electronic Resources Accessible from DOI Locations Only

Department of the Interior employees are offered access to this database at their desktops; employees who are teleworking may access it through the Department's VPN. Others must contact a Reference Librarian for assistance.​
 

 

Web Sites on Climate Change

 


News
 

 


Science
 

The Fundamentals
 

  • Climate Resources at the National Academies (Science, Engineering, Medicine)

  • Encyclopedia of Earth: Climate Change

  • "Evolving Assessments of Human and Natural Contributions to Climate Change," by Jane A. Leggett, Specialist in Energy and Environmental Policy, Congressional Research Service. February 1, 2018. CRS Report.

  • Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet
    Global Climate Change is a multimedia Web site featuring photographs, movies, animations, interactive graphics, and other presentations of NASA's research into climate change.

  • National Climate Assessment
    Assessments have been integral components of US Global Change Research Program since its inception. It has a legal mandate to conduct a National Climate Assessment (NCA) every four years, the third and most recent of which was released in May 2014. Development of the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) is currently underway; the first volume was published in October 2017.

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
    The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the leading international body for the assessment of climate change. It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts.

    Most IPCC Reports published since 1997 are available online. Of special interest are the IPCC's Assessment Reports, which are published at regular intervals. Five assessment reports have been completed -- in 1990, 1995, 2001 and 2007, and 2013-2014. The Fifth Assessment Report is composed of 4 volumes and is available online. It's made up of the full reports prepared by the Working Groups (I, II, and III) and their Summaries for Policymakers as well as the Synthesis Report.

  • Introduction to Climate Dynamics and Climate Modeling
    An English-language online textbook by H. Goosse, P.Y. Barriat, W. Lefebvre, M.F. Loutre and V. Zunz, first designed for a course at the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium).

  • Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years
    By the Committee on Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Last 2,000 Years, National Research Council, 2006. The book assesses scientific efforts to reconstruct surface temperature records and their implications for understanding global climate change.

  • U.S. Geological Survey: Land Resources
    This website includes scientific reports, news releases, and information for the general public and policymakers, including Congressional briefings and podcasts produced by U.S. Geological Survey scientists.

  • United States Global Change Research Program
    The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) coordinates and integrates Federal research on changes in the global environment and their implications for society.

 


Further Explorations in Science
 

  • Arctic Report Card
    Produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Arctic Report Card tracks recent environmental changes throughout the Arctic, and is updated annually.

  • Climate Change: The Discovery of Global Warming
    By historian Spencer Weart, who is director, Center for History of Physics, American Institute of Physics. The essays cover the entire history of the discovery of climate change, from the late 19th century to today.

  • Climate Change: A Guide to the Information and Disinformation
    Produced by the Society of Environmental Journalists

  • Greenhouse Gas Online
    The site contains links to news articles and scientific abstracts from greenhouse gas-related papers from over 100 peer-reviewed journals.

  • RealClimate
    RealClimate is a blog by working climate scientists that aims to provide journalists and the public a quick response to developing stories and to provide the context sometimes missing in mainstream journalistic commentary. The discussion is restricted to scientific topics and will not get involved in any political or economic implications of the science.

  • Science Tracer Bullets Online: Global Warming and Climate Change
    An extensive guide to research, produced by the Library of Congress Science Reference Services in 2008. Includes bibliographies of selected books, conference proceedings, technical reports, government publications, journals, and Internet resources, as well as directories of organizations and data sources.

  • Weather and Climate Sites
    A list of web sites selected by the NOAA Central Library staff.

 


Climate Data Sources
 

  • California Climate Commons
    The Climate Commons offers a starting point for discovery of climate change data and related resources, information about the science that produced it, and guidance for applying climate change science to conservation in California.

  • Climate Watch (formerly CAIT Climate Data Explorer)
    Climate Watch offers open data, visualizations and analysis to help policymakers, researchers and other stakeholders gather insights on countries' climate progress.

  • Global Change Master Directory
    NASA's Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) holds more than 25,000 Earth science data set and service descriptions, which cover subject areas within the Earth and environmental sciences. The project mission is to assist researchers, policy makers, and the public in the discovery of and access to data, related services, and ancillary information (which includes descriptions of instruments and platforms) relevant to global change and Earth science research.

  • Greenhouse Gas Bulletin
    Published annually by the Atmospheric Environment and Research Division of the World Meteorological Organization, these bulletins report the latest trends and atmospheric burdens of the most influential, long-lived greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), as well as a summary of the contributions of the lesser gases.

  • NOAA Climate.gov
    The ultimate goal for the portal is to become the "go-to" website for NOAA's climate data, products, and services. It initially focuses on several datasets and products from NOAA's National Climatic Data Center, Coastal Services Center, and Climate Prediction Center, among others. The initial intent is to highlight some of most popular datasets and products.

  • NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
    NOAA’s former three data centers—the National Climatic Data Center, the National Geophysical Data Center, and the National Oceanographic Data Center, which includes the National Coastal Data Development Center—have merged into the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

    NCEI is responsible for hosting and providing access to one of the most significant archives on Earth, with comprehensive oceanic, atmospheric, and geophysical data. From the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun and from million-year-old sediment records to near real-time satellite images, NCEI is the Nation’s leading authority for environmental information.

 


Conservation in an Era of Climate Change (Adaptation)
 

 


Preventing Climate Change

 

Federal Policy-Oriented Sources
 

 

Intergovernmental Cooperation
 

 


Other Sources on Climate Policy
 

Magazines and Blogs

 

  • Climate Science & Policy Watch
    A non-profit public interest education and advocacy project, Climate Science & Policy Watch investigates and diagnoses the use and misuse of climate change research and assessments in U.S. national politics and policymaking.

  • Global Change Magazine
    The magazine of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), Global Change highlights its research and includes articles that link science, society and policy. It has been published quarterly since 1989, and formerly was known as the IGBP Newsletter.

  • Real Climate Economics
    A blog produced by Economics for Equity and the Environment Network (E3), a national network of economists whose applied research supports active environmental protection.

   

Reports
 

  • Economic Analysis and the Formulation of U.S. Climate Policy
    By Michael A. Toman; published by Resources for the Future, 2003

  • The Economics of Climate Change
    By Sir Nicholas Stern, Head of the U.K. Government Economic Service and Adviser to the Government on the Economics of Climate Change and Development, January 2007. The Stern Review demonstrates that the benefits of quickly lowering greenhouse gas emissions are higher than the overall costs to human welfare. It includes case studies, graphics of key issues, and guidelines for action.

  • The Economics of Global Climate Change
    By Jonathan M. Harris, Brian Roach, and Anne-Marie Codur, the Global Development and Environment Institute, Tufts University, 2015.
     

Organizations
 

 

Updated February 2023

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