Climate Rochester 

RochesterEnvironment.com

Consider how Climate Change is going to affect our local environment, including NewsLinks, Resources, and Information for the Rochester, NY area.

Why the Climate Change issue is important to Rochesterians and our environment

 Deeply disturbing are the many changes Climate Change may have for the world environment and even the Rochester, New York area. Check out this page often for a continual update of the changes we are already experiencing from Global Warming and those that could come--we track NewsLinks on Rochester and Global Warming here: Climate Rochester NewsLinks.

Page Contents: NewsLinks |  List of Changes | how Climate Change will impact our area  |  information  | Take Action |  Monitoring Global Warming  |Official Global Warming Resources | Non-Official Global Warming Resources  | Blogs  | Discussions|

    Climate Rochester 

Like it or not, it’s becoming ever more evident that in New York State we can expect these possible scenarios:
 

Temperatures rising, a migration of plants and animals north as our climate adopts a Southern visage (though, most ((especially plants)) won’t move quickly enough), droughts, change in precipitation, lowering of Great Lakes water levels, coastal flooding, sea-level rise, shore-line change, extreme heat in our cities, more diseases (like Lyme disease, West Nile Virus, and maybe malaria) and more potent cases of poison ivy, air quality loss, agriculture changes, changes in the fisheries, changes in the dairy industry, changes in spruce/fir forest of the Adirondacks, alterations in winter recreation (did you know the NYS has “more ski areas than any other state in the nation”?), and an increase in ozone pollution." 

 
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List of possible changes to our Rochester-area environment because of Climate Change

From various sources, a list of possible consequences of Global Warming in our area.  Is the the aggregation of these predictions from all over that should alarm the public into the realization that these possible scenarios are not simply a view of things to come, they are specific occurrences that might be stopped if the public became engaged on the Global Warming issue. Ignoring these possible effects of Climate Change by refusing to accept any prediction that are not 'proven' is a foolhardy risk with our survival.

  • [Our Water supply may be at risk] NRDC: Climate Change, Water, and Risk Current Water Demands Are Not Sustainable |  Climate change will have a significant impact on the sustainability of water supplies in the coming decades. A new analysis, performed by consulting firm Tetra Tech for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), examined the effects of global warming on water supply and demand in the contiguous United States. The study found that more than 1,100 counties -- one-third of all counties in the lower 48 -- will face higher risks of water shortages by mid-century as the result of global warming. More than 400 of these counties will face extremely high risks of water shortages (July 29, 2010) [more on Climate Change in our area]
  • [incidents of West Nile Virus in our area could increase]  Changing climate increases West Nile threat in U.S. — The Daily Climate The higher temperatures, humidity and rainfall associated with climate change have led to increased outbreaks of West Nile Virus infections across the United States in recent years, according to a study published this week. One of the largest surveys of West Nile Virus cases to date links warming weather patterns and increasing rainfall – both projected to accelerate with global warming – to outbreaks of the mosquito-borne disease across 17 states from 2001 to 2005. (March 2009) The Daily Climate
  • [Climate Change could impact every aspect of public health.] Scientists Quantify Global Warming's Threat to Public Health: Scientific American From heat stress to sewage overflows, climate change promises to bring extreme weather that will challenge the ill-prepared U.S. public health infrastructure | Extreme weather induced by climate change has dire public health consequences, as heat waves threaten the vulnerable, storm runoff overwhelms city sewage systems and hotter summer days bake more pollution into asthma-inducing smog, scientists say.  (July 12, 2010) Science News, Articles and Information | Scientific American
  • [The Great Lakes are Changing] Lake Superior, a Huge Natural Climate Change Gauge, Is Running a Fever - NYTimes.com The Great Lakes are feeling the heat from climate change. As the world's largest freshwater system warms, it is poised to systematically alter life for local wildlife and the tribes that depend on it, according to regional experts. And the warming could also provide a glimpse of what is happening on a more global level, they say. "The Great Lakes in a lot of ways have always been a canary in the coal mine," Cameron Davis, the senior adviser to the U.S. EPA on the Great Lakes, said last week. "Not just for the region or this country, but for the rest of the world."  (July 19, 2010) The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia [more on Climate Change in our area]
  • [Our Agriculture will Change] Climate Change and Agriculture: Given the global nature of Climate Change I suspect most of the world’s agriculture will be affected by Climate Change.  It’s going to get complicated, because as areas warm up, not only will plants be able to grown where they couldn’t before, we will have agricultural pest that will migrate to, and droughts, and unstable weather.  These are real changes that are coming. We need as a people to address Climate Change and stop doing business as usual. U.S. agriculture could be disrupted by climate change | Nation | NewJerseyNewsroom.com -- Your State. Your News. DES MOINES, IOWA — Climate change is expected to disrupt agriculture in the U.S. Midwest, with high carbon dioxide promoting crop growth but stronger storms, drought, floods and migrating yields dampening yields. Overall, there are signs that crops will be stressed, and that weeds and insects will change their range. The Midwest climate has already become wetter and warmer, said Gene Takle, an atmospheric scientist at Iowa State University. That could mean a longer crop-growing season and savings on air conditioning, but it doesn't necessarily guarantee higher crop yields.  (July 15, 2010) Home | NewJerseyNewsroom.com -- Your State. Your News.
  • [Our forests will change] U.S. Forest Service - Climate Change Emphasis Area "The Forest Service has several inter-related programs to help forests, grasslands and humans mitigate and adapt to global climate change. " Especially interesting is Adapting Forests to Climate Change - Forest Disturbance Processes - Northern Research Station - USDA Forest Service "In the Northeast and Midwest, temperature records show that the length of the growing season is increasing, and that rapid freezing events are more common in the early spring. "
  • [Climate Change could change fish growth in the Great Lakes] SPECIAL REPORT: Researchers study impact of climate change on local fish | WSBT - News, Weather, Sports South Bend | Local News Since April, Purdue researchers have been catching fish in their larval stage along the Michigan shoreline to better understand the potential impacts climate change could have on their developmental processes. (July 8, 2010) WSBT - News, Weather, Sports South Bend [more on Climate Change in our area]
  • [Changes to our manmade infrastructure] Climate Change Changes: As we take Climate Change more seriously, we consider more ramifications of what these changes will be.  Many of the changes, like in earthquakes, will take place not just in our environment, but in our man-made infrastructure that not included Climate Change in its development.  What other things that man has developed will come under threat because of Climate Change? Climate change could affect marine infrastructure - CTV News The federal government is trying to come up with ways to protect millions of dollars worth of vulnerable infrastructure and coastline, years after it was urged to adapt to the effects of climate change. Ottawa has solicited a study on how some of the 1,000 small craft harbours that are critical to the fishing industry could be affected by rising sea levels, storm surges and a loss of shorefast ice -- all linked to climate change.  June 13, 2010)  Climate change could affect marine infrastructure - CTV News
  • [More Heat Stress for Humans] Warmer planet to stress humans: study › News in Science (ABC Science) A large number of healthy people won't handle the heat if temperatures continue to increase into next century, predict researchers. The study, which appears today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also suggests heat could affect more land mass than rising sea levels. The human body maintains a constant core temperature of 37°C by giving off excess heat through the skin. But, if the 'web-bulb' temperature of the air reaches 35°C, this heat dissipation stops causing the body to retain heat, resulting in heat stress. (May 4, 2010) ABC Science
  • [The Spread of new Pathogens]  The Spread of New Diseases and the Climate Connection by Sonia Shah: Yale Environment 360 As humans increasingly encroach on forested lands and as temperatures rise, the transmission of disease from animals and insects to people is growing. Now a new field, known as “conservation medicine,” is exploring how ecosystem disturbance and changing interactions between wildlife and humans can lead to the spread of new pathogens. (March 17, 2010) Yale Environment 360 [More on Climate Change]
  • [Possible changes to St. Lawrence River Ecosystem] Massive water crisis looming - The Cornwall Standard Freeholder - Ontario, CA Barring a huge worldwide reduction in fossil fuel use, global warming could pose massive environmental challenges on the St. Lawrence River ecosystem within 50 years or less. The river could drop one metre as the Great Lakes basin receives less precipitation--one of the expected fallouts from cli-mat e change, said Jeff Ridal, executive director of St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Sciences. (March 12, 2010) The Cornwall Standard Freeholder - Ontario, CA [more on Climate Change in our area]
  • [Bird Species Threatened] 2010 Report: Climate Change — News Release Secretary Salazar Releases New “State of the Birds” Report Showing Climate Change Threatens Hundreds of Species Austin, TX–Climate change threatens to further imperil hundreds of species of migratory birds, already under stress from habitat loss, invasive species and other environmental threats, a new report released today by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar concludes.   The State of the Birds: 2010 Report on Climate Change, follows a comprehensive report released a year ago showing that that nearly a third of the nation's 800 bird species are endangered, threatened or in significant decline. (March 11, 2010) 2010 Report: Climate Change — Report on Climate Change [more on Climate Change in our area]
  • [Invasive species move from the southern area into our area] Invasive Plants Move North Fall foliage is the veritable trademark of the Northeast. Families flock from around the world to take in the natural splendor. Imagine autumn in New England without its distinctive palette - choked out by a dense labyrinth of invasive vines. This nightmare may become a reality in the near future if current climate trends continue, increasing the threat of invasive plant species to the Northeast Region. (February 18, 2010)  Northeast Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Climate Change in our area]
  • ["Extreme heat and declining air quality are likely to pose increasing problems for human health, especially in urban areas]. Agricultural production, including dairy, fruit, and maple syrup, are likely to be adversely affected as favorable climates shift. Severe flooding due to sea-level rise and heavy downpours is likely to occur more frequently. The projected reduction in snow cover will adversely affect winter recreation and the industries that rely upon it. The center of lobster fisheries is projected to continue its northward shift and the cod fishery on Georges Bank is likely to be diminished." ]-from Northeast from 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. The USGCRP began as a presidential initiative in 1989 and was mandated by Congress in the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-606), which called for "a comprehensive and integrated United States research program which will assist the Nation and the world to understand, assess, predict, and respond to human-induced and natural processes of global change." "
  • [Weather will get whacky] 1/31/2010 - According to the National Wildlife Federation, Climate Change is going to affect North American in many unpredictable ways.  That unpredictability is what is going to make life for wildlife and various sorts of business problematic. So, if you’re planning for Climate Change, what do you base your planning on when the weather will be unpredictable? Odd-ball Winter Weather: Global Warming’s Wake-Up Call for the Northern United States N A T I O N A L W I L D L I F E F E D E R A T I O N 2 0 1 0 "Global warming is having a seemingly peculiar effect on winter weather in the northern United States. Winter is becoming milder and shorter on average; spring arrives 10 to 14 days earlier than it did just 20 years ago. But most snowbelt areas are still experiencing extremely heavy snowstorms. Some places are even expected to have more heavy snowfall events as storm tracks shift northward and as reduced ice cover on the Great Lakes increases lake-effect snowfalls. Even as global warming slowly changes the character of winter, we will still experience significant year-to-year variability in snowfall and temperature because many different factors are at play. "
  • [ Drop in water levels in Huron and Michigan to drier weather ] Climate change blamed for Great Lakes decline - The Globe and Mail Canadian-U.S. study attributes discernible drop in water levels in Huron and Michigan to drier weather  (December 17, 09)News from Canada and the world - The Globe and Mail [more on Climate Change in our area]
  • [Great Superior could be windier] Observatory - Changes in the Climate and a Windier Great Lake - NYTimes.com Chalk up another effect of climate change: it’s getting windier over Lake Superior. That is the conclusion of a study by scientists who have looked at the effects of increasing surface water temperatures in the lake and air temperatures over it. The water has warmed faster than the air, creating instability in the air mass that results in stronger winds. (November 17, 09) The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia [more on Climate Change in our area]
  • [Great Lakes Might Be Different] ENVIRONMENT-US: Greatest of Lakes Hit by Climate Change - IPS ipsnews.net The five Great Lakes extend across 244,000 square kilometres that straddle the U.S. and Canada, just 2,400 kilometres from the polar ice cap. The lakes support shipping to the Atlantic Ocean, and some of the richest commercial fisheries in the world. About 40 million people take their drinking water from the Great Lakes. At the same time, the lakes are massively polluted with chemicals and heavy metals, particularly the bottom sediment, after hundreds of years of industrialisation. The lakes are closed systems, and they hold onto pollutants. Forty-three Great Lake harbours are considered highly toxic waste sites.  (October 22, 09) IPS Inter Press Service [more on Great Lakes]
  • [Change our National Parks] Report: climate change threatens national parks | McClatchy WASHINGTON — America's national parks are at risk of disappearing or being fundamentally changed as seas rise, glaciers melt, trees die and animal habitat changes as a result of climate change, according to a report Thursday from two environmental groups. (October 1, 09 )McClatchy | Homepage  [more on Climate Change]
  • [Increase numbers of sewer overflows] "The report [Fourteenth Biennial Report ] says many wastewater systems could experience an increased number of sewer overflows as a result of climate change and that additional mitigation efforts may be needed. --from More effort needed to control sewer overflow :: Local News :: Post-Tribune MERRILLVILLE -- A large amount of stimulus funding should be spent on improving infrastructure to avoid millions of gallons of sewage overflowing into the Great Lakes, a new report says. (September 29, 09)http://www.post-trib.com/ [more on Great Lakes]
  •  [Drop in Great Lakes Water Levels] Study projects steep Great Lakes water level drop if greenhouse gases remain unchecked | Great Lakes Echo Great Lakes water levels could drop by up to two feet by the turn of the century as temperatures rise, according to a recent series of reports released by the Union of Concerned Scientists. (September 30, 09) Great Lakes Echo - Environmental news across the basin [more on Climate Change in our area]
  • Impacts of Climate Change in the United States - Great Lakes THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF GLOBAL WARMING ON THE GREAT LAKES REGION Critical Findings for the Great Lakes Region from the First National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change
  • ["Change agriculture in the Great Lakes region Lower Great Lake levels | Impact shipping and recreational boating on the Great Lakes|Lessen lake-effect snowfall events : Cause changes in the lakes temperatures alter the food web make-up of lake algae (the major source of food for fish) ] " Great Lakes Regional Assessment  (GLRA) What can individuals, communities, and industries do to take advantage of opportunities resulting from climate change and variability? Explore our site and find out what our report can tell you about our changing climate. 

 

Is Cap and Trade a possible solution for manmade Climate Change, or does it simply just put money it the pockets of the people who cause Climate Change?  

Cap and Trade The Story of Cap & Trade is a fast-paced, fact-filled look at the leading climate solution being discussed at Copenhagen and on Capitol Hill. Host Annie Leonard introduces the energy traders and Wall Street financiers at the heart of this scheme and reveals the "devils in the details" in current cap and trade proposals: free permits to big polluters, fake offsets and distraction from what’s really required to tackle the climate crisis. If you’ve heard about cap and trade, but aren’t sure how it works (or who benefits), this is the film is for you.

Rochester -area Climate Change Discussions

Online conversations on how Rochester is combating Climate Change.  A chance for you to chime in.

  • 7/10/2010 - Keeping sharp eyes on ice melt: Though Climate Change has faded recently in the public’s attention as a critical issue, is has not become less so. The BP Oil Spill and Climategate (though resent studies completely exonerate any wrong doing by climate scientists) continue to steal away the public’s eyes from this matter aided by our easily distracted press.  And while those bloggers and deniers whose ideology does not include physics rage on at every errant thought that pass their mind on this subject one the main indicator of Climate Change, glacier ice melt, melts on.  This being able to see and measure ice melt has to be one of the toughest nuts for climate deniers to crack. For watching ice melt is not as simple as it sounds. Glacial ice melt is being watched and measured by many scientists; by many specially designed satellites, and has been for some time.  One has to ask oneself, what’s the point of spending millions of dollars, sending so many satellites up into the atmosphere to measure so many predictable aspects of Climate Change if they are going to be so easily dismissed by the public and the media? more...
  • 6/23/2010 - The Press and Climate Change:  Finally, a long-awaited article on the credentials of those scientists speaking to the press on Climate Change.  For years the public understanding of the science behind Climate Change has been muddied by the press’s search of ‘objectivity’ who always seem to be able to find scientist strongly agreeing with the evidence that leaned towards a view that our planet is warming up due to anthropogenic change, and those who didn’t.  It made for great press and kept one of the most critical issues of our times in tied in what appears to be unnecessary knots.  But, has the press actually gone out and assessed the credentials of the scientists?  It doesn’t seem so and this has been a great failing of the press.  Long after a consensus by most of the world’s scientist weighed in on the side of Climate Change the press has sown the seeds of doubt.  Doubt is good to a point.  But, doubt can also make the public incapable of understanding something as important and complex as Climate Change.
  • Strange Days Ahead Doesn’t it seem odd to you here in the Rochester, NY region to read about a critical indication of Climate Change in our area only being reported across the ocean at the BBC? “Climate change 'makes birds shrink' in North America” (3/12/2010). Along with a loony media in rapture over their invention called climategate, the public’s disinclination to focus on the most potentially disastrous environmental change of our age, and our irrational denial of the obvious fact that our planet is warming up, we have to search the globe to discover what changes will occur here. In the face of a real threat to our existence, strange days are indeed ahead: more warming, more denial. more...
  • While it is critical that we focus on Climate Change, some of the day-to-day fluctuations seem to provide fuel for those who intend not to do anything about climate except drag their feet and deny Global Warming.  The latest issue of contention for those hoping for an out is the relative climate stabilization for the past few years. What's the issue? Less Water Vapor Slows Earth’s Warming Trends, Researchers Say - NYTimes.com A decrease in water vapor concentrations in parts of the middle atmosphere has contributed to a slowing of Earth’s warming, researchers are reporting. The finding, they said, offers part of the explanation for a string of years with relatively stable global surface temperatures.  (January 28, 2010)  and Atmospheric Dry Spell Eases Global Warming : NPR "A new study helps explain why the planet didn't warm up dramatically over the course of the past decade, even though the gases that cause global warming increased dramatically."
  • Connecting the Green Dots The Copenhagen Climate Conference is over and almost everyone, including President Obama himself, admits failure: “I think that people are justified in being disappointed about the outcome in Copenhagen.” (Obama on Health Reform Politics, Copenhagen Climate Outcome, 12/23/09 PBS: Newshour) Consequently, depending on how you connect the dots of this historic event, you will tend to view Copenhagen as positive, negative, or not relevant to your life. ‘Green Dots’, or specific environmental events like say an oil spill or an attempt by 190 nations to come to an agreement on how to tackle climate change, can be connected in many ways in the public’s mind. I mean this in the sense that one has the inalienable right to view these events in any way they wish. Logic or using science as your model for framing arguments may not be your thing. more...
  • Earth-fixing Gadgets In the back of many modern minds there probably nestles the comforting conviction that science will get us out of our twenty-first century environmental mess. It must be so because despite all signs that world-wide pollution rages on, our climate changes, and our oceans are dying, we go happily along as if there were no tomorrow. Instead of making the hard ethical choices need to get six billion souls focused on our environment, we trust in technology. more...
  • Climate Change: Are We Off the Hook? It must be heartwarming for climate change skeptics that the recent climate email flare-up in the news (In e-mails, science of warming is hot debate - washingtonpost.com) seems to question the validity of the current Climate Crisis. Nothing dilutes action like doubt. For action, especially wholesale planetary action on curbing global warming gases might have a devastating effect on the status quo of those thriving in our present economy. And that possible scenario must create great apprehension in the hearts of those whose ideology and values seem threatened by an abrupt, massive movement towards a sustainable way of life. more...
  • 12/04/09 - Get the science behind Global Warming from the scientists from a series of short videos from the Union of Concerned Scientists -- YouTube - ConcernedScientists's Channel "The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world. UCS combines independent scientific research and citizen action to develop innovative, practical solutions and to secure responsible changes in government policy, corporate practices, and consumer choices. "
  • Copenhagen Comes to Rochester! Except for our local institutions of higher learning, most Rochesterians seem to think that what’s going to happen (or not happen) in Copenhagen [UN Climate Change Conference, DEC 7-18] is about as important as last year’s bird nest. But, Copenhagen is coming to Rochester. It’s coming to Buffalo, Albany, NYC, Mexico City, Ireland, and Timbuktu. more...
  • Rochester’s 350.org Coverage Judging from the media response around the world, the 350.org event has been a hit: October 24 Press Release | 350.org “350.org To Stage Largest Day of Environmental Action in History | 5,242 Simultaneous Events on Climate in 181 Countries.” “Citizens, scientists and world leaders in 181 countries will take to nearby streets, mountains, parks, and reefs today to demand strong action on climate change, in what will be the most widespread day of political action in the planet’s history. 5,242 rallies and creative demonstrations will take place, all of them centered on the number 350, to draw attention to 350 parts per million (ppm), which an overwhelming number of scientists now insist is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.” more...
  • 10/18/09 - Environmental Thoughts - Rochester, NY: 350 Why It Matters 350 Why It Matters “350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide—measured in ‘Parts Per Million’ in our atmosphere. 350 PPM—it's the number humanity needs to get back to as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change.” –from Understanding 350 | 350.org Several events are going on in Rochester this coming Saturday for the 350.org and we hope you will attend one. If enough people demonstrate in a positive way that they acknowledge the problem of Climate Change and are willing to make their voice heard, it might make a difference. It’s all on 350.org.   more...
  • 10/16/09 - Can We Compete? Because we don't get it on energy, have we left ourselves vulnerable in the world economy?  Check out this interesting article: America's Offshore Wind Race is On: Can the US Compete with Canada? | SolveClimate.com For years the promise of North America's first offshore wind farm has been just that – a promise. The reality has been a big disappointment: proposals pigeonholed by Bush-era dirty energy policies and NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) opposition.  (October 15, 09) Solve Climate Chronicles for a New America
  • Climate change will hit home—it’s only a matter of how hard. The latest in climate forecasts for our region, NEW YORK is the report "Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment" by Union of Concerned Scientists. It reemphasizes and updates predictions of massive changes for our area due to climate change. There are other reports (“Forecast For New York” by Environmental Advocates of New York) and undoubtedly there will be more, for that is the direction things are going. more...
  • Watching for Local Signs of Climate Change: This is probably a non-story for environmental news, but something I’m going to be watching over the years. One of the many predictions about how Global Warming will affect the Northeast is a change in some flora of our area, which will affect some business, and the production of maple syrup may be one of those. (Maple syrup shortage taps wallets - Prices are up after poor spring weather kept production down— If you'll be giving or serving New York maple syrup this holiday season, you probably paid more for it this year. A combination of consumer demand and a supply shortage have boosted prices 10 percent to 20 percent at many area retailers. (December 24, 2007) Democrat & Chronicle)  more...

 

 

United States Global Change Research Program The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) coordinates and integrates federal research on changes in the global environmentUS Global Change Research Program and their implications for society. The USGCRP began as a presidential initiative in 1989 and was mandated by Congress in the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-606), which called for "a comprehensive and integrated United States research program which will assist the Nation and the world to understand, assess, predict, and respond to human-induced and natural processes of global change."

 

Resources on how Climate Change will impact the Rochester, New York area 

It's going to get complicated. Figuring out how, in such a complex system as our planet's climate, to assess the impact of climate change is going to be difficult.  So, don't rely on just one resource or an opinion unsupported by facts.

  • How does our region go about limiting green house gases?  Check this out: Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) CO2 Budget Trading Program "The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is a cooperative effort by ten Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states to limit greenhouse gas emissions. RGGI is the first mandatory, market-based CO2 emissions reduction program in the United States. The states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont are signatory states to the RGGI agreement. These ten states have capped CO2 emissions from the power sector, and will require a 10 percent reduction in these emissions by 2018. "
  • Climate change will hit home—it’s only a matter of how hard. (July 29, 2007) The latest in climate forecasts for our region, NEW YORK is the report by Union of Concerned Scientists.
  • Climate Change - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation New Yorkers are Working on Many Fronts Climate change touches every New Yorker, and every facet of our lives. Whether you are a government official, in business, affiliated with an institution, or a private individual, you have a role to play in reducing emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and the other greenhouse gases, and in preparing for climate change that cannot be avoided. This website tells how the New York State government is working to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt as the climate changes. It also gives information about how New Yorkers can move toward a climate-friendly economy and lifestyle. --from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
  • Climate Choices in the Northeast: Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment Time for climate action in the U.S. Northeast is now A new report by independent scientists shows that if heat-trapping emissions are not significantly curtailed, global warming will substantially change the Northeast's character and economy due to such impacts as rising sea levels, dangerously hot days, and lower crop productivity. But there is good news in the report too: individuals, businesses, and governments have a rich array of strategies at their disposal today to reduce emissions and avoid the most severe consequences of climate change. -- from Climate Choices
  • US National Assessment of Climate Change.  Overview: Northeast Climate Change Impacts  on the United States The Potential Consequences of  Climate Variability and Change Overview:  Northeast By the National Assessment Synthesis Team, US Global Change Research Program Published in 2000
  • Scientists: Global warming has already changed oceans - Politics - Bradenton.com In Washington state, oysters in some areas haven't reproduced for four years, and preliminary evidence suggests that the increasing acidity of the ocean could be the cause. In the Gulf of Mexico, falling oxygen levels in the water have forced shrimp to migrate elsewhere. (June 9, 09) Bradenton.com | Homepage
  • Climate change in Lake Superior ice A science fair project on Bayfield harbor shows the ice season there has shrunk. What started as a high school science fair project is the latest piece of evidence that global warming is affecting Lake Superior. (April 6, 09) StarTribune.com: Breaking news, video, blogs and more from Minneapolis, St. Paul and around Minnesota
  • "What’s at Stake How Global Warming Threatens the Buckeye State" -from Environment Ohio Research & Policy Center | Timothy Telleen-Lawton Frontier Group |  Amy Gomberg | Environment Ohio Research & Policy Center | December 2008
  • Gardener's Guide - Will Your State's Tree or Flower Continue to Grow in Your State? - National Wildlife Federation Plants across the nation are affected by global warming. You have probably seen that many plants in your backyard are blooming earlier. Global warming will mean that many native and iconic plants may no longer find suitable climate conditions in major portions of their historic range. Click on your state to see if your official State Trees or State Flowers may be affected."-- from National Wildlife Federation
  • Confronting Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region: Impacts on Our Communities and Ecosystems  --from Union of Concerned Scientists  --Reach about changes in the New York area: Great Lakes New York Overview "From the Finger Lakes to fertile farmlands, New York's natural splendor includes such sights as Niagara Falls and the foliage displays that attract millions annually. New York's farm and rural landscapes are the source of bountiful and varied crops, making New York the third largest producer of dairy products and sixth largest producer of fruit crops in the country. The shorelines and waters of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario are an integral part of the landscape as well as the economy of New York, attracting outdoor enthusiasts with opportunities for anglers, boaters, campers, hunters and wildlife watchers. They also provide important means for transporting goods produced in the region as well as provide hydroelectric power."
  • Given that Global Warming is occurring and that it’s occurring all over the world, then Rochester will experience the consequences of Global Warming.  (Neat little syllogism, that I learned in philosophy 101.) Wouldn’t we want to know what’s coming at us, or more likely because of the lag time in energy dispersal in a weather system as large as Earth, our children? As a matter of fact, wouldn’t everyone want to know how Global Warming is going to affect the Rochester area—business leaders, politicians, citizens of our community, teachers, businesses, hospitals, farmers, real estate people, lawyers, and well, just about anyone? Seems rational. So, if you do, check out this comprehensive report on what Global Warming may bring to our area and possible solutions we might consider for our area. Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast Prepared by the Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment Synthesis Team:
  • Learn about Climate Change in the Northeast and take actions. Climate Choices in the Northeast "See how global warming is changing the Northeast and how choices we make today will determine our children's and grandchildren's quality of life." --From Climate Choices www.climatechoices.org
  • Climate Change in our region: How will Climate Change affect the Great Lakes area? Find out: Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region - Starting a Public Discussion "Global warming is an undeniable reality, according to the latest (2007) report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an international group of scientists convened by the United Nations. The evidence is clear and noticeable: a rising average global air temperature, widespread melting of glaciers and ice, and rising mean sea levels worldwide. The report sounds the alarm that the Earth is warming, and that major components of our climate system are already responding to that warming."
  • What's Global Warming looking like in New York State? Great Lakes New York Overview From the Finger Lakes to fertile farmlands, New York's natural splendor includes such sights as Niagara Falls and the foliage displays that attract millions annually. New York's farm and rural landscapes are the source of bountiful and varied crops, making New York the third largest producer of dairy products and sixth largest producer of fruit crops in the country. The shorelines and waters of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario are an integral part of the landscape as well as the economy of New York, attracting outdoor enthusiasts with opportunities for anglers, boaters, campers, hunters and wildlife watchers. They also provide important means for transporting goods produced in the region as well as provide hydroelectric power. --from Great Lakes Main Index  from Union of Concerned Scientists
  • Arctic snow and ice is melting fast and portents change from global warming.  Get the facts from the experts as they monitor this concern National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) "We support research into our world's frozen realms: the snow, ice, glacier, frozen ground, and climate interactions that make up Earth's cryosphere. Scientific data, whether taken in the field or relayed from satellites orbiting Earth, form the foundation for the scientific research that informs the world about our planet and our climate systems. "
  • The Copenhagen Diagnosis The Copenhagen Diagnosis: Climate Science Report It is more than three years since the drafting of text was completed for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4). In the meantime, many hundreds of papers have been published on a suite of topics related to human-induced climate change. The purpose of this report is to synthesize the most policy-relevant climate science published since the close-off of material for the last IPCC report. The rationale is two-fold.
  • What are our neighbors Thinking about Climate Change?  As you know, the boundaries we set up to define our property, our towns, counties, states, and counties are simply ignored by Nature.  The only boundaries that Nature knows are the laws of physics.  That’s why we over here in the Rochester, NY region should care about what our friends across Lake Ontario are thinking of doing about Climate Change.  It will matter how our neighbors address climate change:  Check this out: Climate Change Adapting to in Ontario: Report of the Expert Panel on Climate Change Adaptation November 2009 "Preface - As part of the government’s Climate Change Action Plan, the Expert Panel on Climate Change Adaptation was appointed by the Minister of the Environment in December 2007. The Panel’s mandate was “to help the Ontario government, municipalities and Ontarians prepare and plan for the impact of climate change in areas such as public health, environment, infrastructure, and economy”. "
  • Odd-ball Winter Weather: Global Warming’s Wake-Up Call for the Northern United States N A T I O N A L W I L D L I F E F E D E R A T I O N 2 0 1 0 "Global warming is having a seemingly peculiar effect on winter weather in the northern United States. Winter is becoming milder and shorter on average; spring arrives 10 to 14 days earlier than it did just 20 years ago. But most snowbelt areas are still experiencing extremely heavy snowstorms. Some places are even expected to have more heavy snowfall events as storm tracks shift northward and as reduced ice cover on the Great Lakes increases lake-effect snowfalls. Even as global warming slowly changes the character of winter, we will still experience significant year-to-year variability in snowfall and temperature because many different factors are at play. "

Trail in Seneca Park.
Corn Field near Cayauga Lake
above scripts from Dynamic Drive

Important online information on Climate Change

Much has changed in the public's attitude towards the issue of Climate Change. Used to be that the doubters ruled, now most scientists and even the public agree that there's enough data to show that this issue is a great concern. Below are places online that describe the all-pervasiveness of this issue.

  • Earthbeat Radio Earthbeat Radio is the only hour-long broadcast of any kind in America dedicated entirely to the global warming crisis. Syndicated to over 50 stations nationwide from our Washington, D.C., studios, Earthbeat takes on every aspect of the climate / clean energy issue with interviews, features, humor, and commentary. Launched in 2003, we are an independent radio show produced out of Pacifica Radio’s flagship station WPFW 89.3 FM in Washington.
  • Stay current with Climate Change information from Dr. James Hansen: Makiko's Page What Path is the Real World Following? Makiko Sato & James Hansen Columbia University web page maintained by Makiko Sato (mhs119@columbia.edu) Our aim is to help people understand global climate change — and how the factors that drive climate are changing. We start with climate diagnostics — people are usually most interested in climate change itself. But cause-and-effect analysis requires also data on climate forcings (which drive climate change) and feedbacks (which amplify or diminish climate change).
  • Electronic Green Journal Convenient Resources for "An Inconvenient Truth" Frederick Stoss, University at Buffalo, State University of New York
  • NPR has a great introduction to the problem of Global Warming. "NPR : What We Can Do About Global Warming It’s part of the NRR series on Global Warming called NPR : Climate Connections
  • An Inconvenient Truth - Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced. If that sounds like a recipe for serious gloom and doom -- think again. From director Davis Guggenheim comes the Sundance Film Festival hit, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, which offers a passionate and inspirational look at one man's fervent crusade to halt global warming's deadly progress in its tracks by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it. That man is former Vice President Al Gore, who, in the wake of defeat in the 2000 election, re-set the course of his life to focus on a last-ditch, all-out effort to help save the planet from irrevocable change. In this eye-opening and poignant portrait of Gore and his "traveling global warming show," Gore also proves himself to be one of the most misunderstood characters in modern American public life. Here he is seen as never before in the media - funny, engaging, open and downright on fire about getting the surprisingly stirring truth about what he calls our "planetary emergency" out to ordinary citizens before it's too late.
  • Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions .These amount to an average of five per cent against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012.
  • Global Warming: Early Warning Signs Global temperature in 1998 was the hottest in the historical record, and the temperature increase over the 20th century is likely to be the highest of the past millennium. Global average temperatures have warmed about one degree Fahrenheit (0.6�C) since 1900. The ten warmest years on record have occurred since 1987, seven of them since 1994.
  • Climate-L.org A Knowledgebase of UN and Intergovernmental Activities Addressing Global Climate Change
  • Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity, by James Hansen, there is, despite all the explanations, science and cajoling, just one message, crystal and clear: Get the carbon dioxide levels down to 350 parts per million or we’re in trouble.  Who is Dr. Hansen? James Hansen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "Hansen is best known for his research in the field of climatology, his testimony on climate change to congressional committees in 1988 that helped raise broad awareness of global warming, and his advocacy of action to limit the impacts of climate change. "
  • Copenhagen De-briefing An Analysis of COP15 forLong-term Cooperation "Climatico is pleased to announce the release of its latest report entitled, “Copenhagen De-briefing: An Analysis of COP15 for Long-term Cooperation” This report analyses key issues under discussion in Copenhagen including: finance, technology transfer, REDD+, CDM and JI, as well as the ongoing conflicts between Annex I and Non Annex I countries. The Copenhagen Accord is also discussed along with its potential effect on future negotiations. Download the report at: Copenhagen De-briefing An Analysis of COP15 forLong-term Cooperation For enquiries, please contact our press office at: press@climaticoanalysis.org  or visit us online at: www.climaticoanalysis.org . "
  • EarthWire - Climate - Recent News
  • RealClimate "RealClimate is a commentary site on climate science by working climate scientists for the interested public and journalists. 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. All posts are signed by the author(s), except ‘group’ posts which are collective efforts from the whole team. This is a moderated forum. "
  • Climate Feedback Climate Feedback is a blog hosted by Nature Reports: Climate Change to facilitate lively and informative discussion on the science and wider implications of global warming. The blog aims to be an informal forum for debate and commentary on climate science in our journals and others, in the news, and in the world at large.
  • Nature Reports Climate Change Global climate change is arguably the most far-reaching challenge of this century. A free-access web resource from Nature Publishing Group, Nature Reports Climate Change is dedicated to authoritative in-depth reporting on climate change and its wider implications for policy, society and the economy.
  • Climate Change: What is being done about it?  There’s that old joke that everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.  But, around the world there are being things done about Climate Change—more than people sitting at their computers ranting about the newest factoid or arguing point to back up one’s Weltanschauung.    Global Ideas | Deutsche Welle Melting ice caps, catastrophic hurricanes, floods and drought plunging entire regions into a water crisis. These are the drastic images often associated with climate change. But what's actually being done on the ground to halt global warming? What kind of projects are helping to reduce emissions, inform people and spur them to change their lifestyles?  (March 5, 2010)  [More on Climate Change in our area]
  • Global Ideas | Deutsche Welle Melting ice caps, catastrophic hurricanes, floods and drought plunging entire regions into a water crisis. These are the drastic images often associated with climate change. But what's actually being done on the ground to halt global warming? What kind of projects are helping to reduce emissions, inform people and spur them to change their lifestyles? Each week GLOBAL IDEAS visits a new destination and reports on a new project, so check back often.  -from Home | Deutsche Welle

Take Action on Climate Change

There are ways you can become involve with solving Climate Change including several groups in the Rochester, NY area where you can join up and make a difference in our area's affect on Climate Change.

  • Climate Change Central - www.climatechangecentral.info -  climate change central community resource center - Climate Change Central is a community resource center on the topic of climate change located at 545 Park Avenue in Rochester. Our mission is to provide training and education on the vulnerabilities of the Rochester are to climate change; to serve as a clearinghouse for local and regional resources and information; to offer outreach services to community organizations, government agencies, and businesses; and to empower individuals to take community and community-based action.. We mean to be a friendly place where people can come to learn, discuss and become empowered to act. We have an on-site library and meeting space where we offer events like book discussions and move nights, and we are open for drop-ins. We also go to speak to groups elsewhere. 
  • Cool Rochester--Save money, energy, the planet http://www.coolrochester.org/  Cool Rochester is a non-profit group composed of concerned citizens who are engaging the Rochester community in the fight against climate change. We believe dramatic reductions of carbon dioxide emissions are necessary to preserve and protect a functioning planet for this (and future) generations. Our goal is to reduce Rochester area carbon emissions one billion pounds in three years. To achieve this, we need to recruit 80,000 households and workplaces to participate in our program, to reduce their emissions by 25%. By unleashing the power of community we can save energy, save money and save the planet. Join Cool Rochester. [RENewsletter June 28, 09]
  • Citizens Campaign for the Environment Fight Climate Change! The science is clear that human activities are contributing to global climate change, and urgent action is needed. While local and state governments are working to reduce emissions, a coordinated federal approach is critical for the United States to transform our behavior, energy use patterns, and economy to meet the challenge of the climate crisis. --from CCE - Water Protection Public Health Energy Renewable Policy Toxic Wildlife Chemical Contamination Subscribe Newsletter Jobs Calendar Pollution Air Quality Advocacy Farmingdale White Plains Albany Syracuse Buffalo
  • Energy/Global Warming Committee --from the Rochester Reginal Group Sierra Club | Sierra Club
  • Sign up for the email list Dr. James E. Hansen "Storms of My Grandchildren", by James Hansen Drs. Makiko Sato and James Hansen are constructing a webpage, Updating the Climate Science: What Path is the Real World Following? In addition to updating figures in the book Storms of My Grandchildren (see LA Times review), this page will present updated graphs and discussion of key quantities that help provide understanding of how climate change is developing and how effective or ineffective global actions are in affecting climate forcings and future climate change. A few errata in Storms are also provided on the "Update" webpage.
  • Climatecrossroads ClimateCrossroads.org fuses social-networking opportunities with fresh environmental journalism and authoritative global warming expertise -- giving it the ability to connect users with a wealth of multimedia information, expert opinions, and each other.  ClimateCrossroads.org, created by the Sierra Club, is the go-to site for people eager --after eight years of inaction on global warming -- to share ideas, information, opinions and opportunities to make real and urgent progress on climate change.

 

Cool RochesterCool Rochester--Save money, energy, the planet Cool Rochester is a non-profit group composed of concerned citizens who are engaging the Rochester community in the fight against climate change. We believe dramatic reductions of carbon dioxide emissions are necessary to preserve and protect a functioning planet for this (and future) generations. Our goal is to reduce Rochester area carbon emissions one billion pounds in three years. To achieve this, we need to recruit 80,000 households and workplaces to participate in our program, to reduce their emissions by 25%. By unleashing the power of community we can save energy, save money and save the planet. Join Cool Rochester.

Sources for Monitoring Global Warming 

Special sites that track and monitor environmental changes. 

  • The Daily Climate The Daily Climate works to increase public understanding of climate disruption, including its scope and scale, potential solutions and the political processes that impede or advance them. Establishing bonds of trust with our readers is a fundamental editorial objective; all of our reporting, editing and publishing adheres to the highest standards of journalism, including honesty, accuracy, balance and objectivity.
  • Clean Air-Cool Planet Clean Air-Cool Planet – the leading science-based, bipartisan non-profit organization dedicated to finding and promoting solutions to global warming
  • Be a part of monitoring Climate Change: Climate Interactive "Climate Interactive is building a community that creates, shares, and uses credible models, accessible simulations, and related media in order to improve the way leaders and citizens around the world think about the climate.  Our purpose is to get these sims and insights into the world as accessible products so they can be tweaked, enhanced, translated,  distributed and used to power change around the world. We’re building sims that are easy to use by climate analysts, communicators, and leaders of many types, and that provide immediate feedback, so users can see the results of different scenarios on atmospheric carbon levels and temperature. And we're sharing our own analysis  so that leaders have access to powerful insights. In particular, the "Climate Action Initiative" which includes policy leaders such as Dr. Robert Corell is using our simulations to make change at the highest levels of governments."
  • Solve Climate Chronicles for a New America The adequacy of the global response to climate change rests in America's hands. The power of its $13 trillion economy and its unparalleled per capita appetite for carbon make its influence, both at home and abroad, decisive. Policymakers know what needs to be done to solve the problem of global warming. They also know that action even in this time of economic distress is imperative and affordable, for both recovery and future prosperity must be green. Every honest citizen of the world knows the price of inaction is unthinkable and unquantifiable, for inaction leads only to catastrophic human suffering from natural systems run amok.
  • Quarterly SO<sub>2</sub> Emissions Tracking EPA regularly posts updates of quarterly sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions data from coal-fired power plants subject to the Acid Rain Program to make it easy for the public to track changes in emissions from these sources. --from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • Reuters AlertNet - Climate Change Reuters AlertNet is a humanitarian news network based around a popular website. It aims to keep relief professionals and the wider public up-to-date on humanitarian crises around the globe.
  • NCDC: * National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) * Welcome to the National Climatic Data Center website. The Center has long served the Nation as a national resource for climate information. NCDC's data is used to address issues that span the breadth of this Nation's interests. As climate knows no boundaries, we work closely with scientists and researchers world-wide. We develop both national and global data sets that have been used by both government and the private sector to maximize the resource provided by our climate and minimize the risks of climate variability and weather extremes. The Center has a statutory mission to describe the climate of the United States and NCDC acts as the Nation's Scorekeeper regarding the trends and anomalies of weather and climate. NCDC's climate data have been used in a variety of applications including agriculture, air quality, construction, education, energy, engineering, forestry, health, insurance, landscape design, livestock management, manufacturing, recreation and tourism, retailing, transportation, and water resources management among other areas. Our data and products fulfill needs ranging from building codes to power plant and space shuttle design. Our Nation's climate data are critical to our modern lifestyles.
  • Cornell Chronicle: Songbirds adapt to human-driven forest changes Can species quickly evolve when humans rapidly change their habitats? The answer, in some cases, is yes. A new study of North American songbirds finds that major changes in wing shape have occurred over the last 100 years in response to human-driven forest changes. (march 9, 2010) Cornell Chronicle Online [more on Wildlife in our area]
  • Northeast Regional Climate Center Established in 1983, the Northeast Regional Climate Center (NRCC) is located in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Cornell University. It serves the 12-state region that includes: Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia. Major funding is provided through a contract with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Center's staff works cooperatively with the National Climatic Data Center, the National Weather Service, state climate offices, and other interested scientists in the Northeast to acquire and disseminate accurate, up-to-date climate data and information.

Official Global Warming Resources

Because the Climate Change issue is science, scientist continually collect data analyze it and present it to the public.  Good to know your facts.

  • Climate Change - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation "To help minimize risks from climate change, New York State has set two goals: Reduce emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases by 80 percent from 1990 levels, by the year 2050 ("80 by 50"), and Improve resilience to climate change in all the state's communities. As we work toward these goals, new economic opportunities will open and our dependence on out-of-state energy sources will diminish. This page links to information about planning, programs and actions that reduce the risk of harm from climate change and increase the benefits of the emerging low-carbon economy. "
  • NASA - Global Warming Global warming is an increase in the average temperature of Earth's surface. Since the late 1800's, the global average temperature has increased about 0.7 to 1.4 degrees F (0.4 to 0.8 degrees C). Many experts estimate that the average temperature will rise an additional 2.5 to 10.4 degrees F (1.4 to 5.8 degrees C) by 2100. That rate of increase would be much larger than most past rates of increase. --NASA
  • Climate Change | U.S. EPA EPA's Climate Change Site offers comprehensive information on the issue of climate change in a way that is accessible and meaningful to all parts of society – communities, individuals, business, states and localities, and governments.
  • New York Climate Change Advisory Group In August of 2009 Governor David A. Paterson signed Executive Order No. 24  setting a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in New York State by 80 percent below the levels emitted in 1990 by the year 2050. The Executive Order also created the New York Climate Action Council (CAC) with a directive to prepare a draft Climate Action Plan by September 30, 2010. The Climate Action Plan will assess how all economic sectors can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate change. The Plan will also identify the extent to which such actions support New York’s goals for a clean energy economy.
  • The National Center for Atmospheric Research NCAR provides the university science and teaching community with the tools, facilities, and support required to perform innovative research. Through NCAR, scientists gain access to high-performance computational and observational facilities, such as supercomputers, aircraft and radar - resources researchers need to improve human understanding of atmospheric and Earth system processes. NCAR and university scientists work together on research topics in atmospheric chemistry, climate, cloud physics and storms, weather hazards to aviation, and interactions between the sun and Earth. In all of these areas, scientists are looking closely at the role of humans in both creating climate change and responding to severe weather occurrences.
  • NOAA Climate Services With the rapid rise in the development of Web technologies and climate services across NOAA, there has been an increasing need for greater collaboration regarding NOAA's online climate services. The drivers include the need to enhance NOAA's Web presence in response to customer requirements, emerging needs for improved decision-making capabilities across all sectors of society facing impacts from climate variability and change, and the importance of leveraging climate data and services to support research and public education. To address these needs, NOAA embarked upon an ambitious program to develop a NOAA Climate Services Portal (NCS Portal). Our goal is for the Portal to become the "go-to" website for NOAA's climate data, products, and services for all users.
  • USGS Office of Global Change: The USGS strives to understand how the earth works and to anticipate changes in how the earth functions. To accomplish this, USGS science aims to understand the interrelationships among earth surface processes, ecological systems, and human activities. This includes understanding current changes in the context of pre-historic and recent earth processes, distinguishing between natural and human-influenced changes, and recognizing ecological and physical responses to changes in climate.

 

Non-Official Global Warming Resources

The major environmental sites on Global Warming

  • Pew Center on Global Climate Change: The Pew Center on Global Climate Change The Pew Center on Global Climate Change brings together business leaders, policy makers, scientists, and other experts to bring a new approach to a complex and often controversial issue. Our approach is based on sound science, straight talk, and a belief that we can work together to protect the climate while sustaining economic growth.
  • Stop Global Warming: Join the Virtual March Here are some things you can do: Stop Global Warming: Learn More The Stop Global Warming Virtual March on Washington is a non-political effort to bring all Americans together in one place, proving there is a vast consensus that global warming is here now and it is time for our country to start addressing it. With the support of leading scientists, political and religious leaders, prominent Americans and concerned citizens, the Virtual March on Washington will move across the United States via the Internet from one town to the next, showing the evidence of global warming's alarming affects, and highlighting real people's concerns and real solutions along the way.
  • Global Warming | Union of Concerned Scientists Global warming is one of the most serious challenges facing us today. To protect the health and economic well-being of current and future generations, we must reduce our emissions of heat-trapping gases by using the technology, know-how, and practical solutions already at our disposal. --from Union of Concerned Scientists
  • AlGore.com Former Vice President Al Gore is cofounder and Chairman of Generation Investment Management, a firm that is focused on a new approach to Sustainable Investing. Gore is also cofounder and Chairman of Current TV, an independently owned cable and satellite television network for young people based on viewer-created content and citizen journalism. A member of the Board of Directors of Apple Computer, Inc. and a Senior Advisor to Google, Inc. Gore is also Visiting Professor at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
  • Health Effects - Conclusions - Global Warming - Sierra Club The world's leading authority on global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has concluded that unchecked global warming will cause a significant increase in human mortality due to extreme weather and infectious disease. No country, even industrialized nations like the United States, will escape these impacts. --from Sierra Club Home Page: Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet
  • National Resources Defense Council's Global Warming Page: Global warming may be the most devastating environmental problem human beings have created, and the toughest to solve. For starters, our society is largely powered by the fossil fuels that cause global warming. What's more, fossil fuel companies have vast reserves of money to pay for lobbyists, advertising and their own studies to counter scientific evidence. And many people think of global warming as an abstract problem, not a pressing threat.
  • Join me at www.350.orgGreen House Network: Helping To Stop Global Warming Our National Volunteer Speakers Network includes over 80 citizens in more than 30 states available to speak at no charge about global warming pollution, climate change policy and the path to a clean energy future. Over the last two years, our speakers have given over 300 talks on college campuses, at businesses, community centers, congregations and retirement communities, reaching more than 10,000 people. Members of the National Volunteer Speakers Network range from engineers to songwriters, from college professors to business people. They are united by a belief that global warming pollution presents a very real and present danger to the health of the planet's human populations and natural ecosystems, and that the United States needs to take immediate steps to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses.
  • The Climate Project The Climate Project (TCP) began in June 2006 as a commitment by former US Vice President Al Gore to train 1,000 Americans to become Presenters and to give the slideshow from his Academy Award-winning film An Inconvenient Truth. The class of "First Fifty" Presenters were trained in Nashville, Tennessee, which is the home of its international headquarters. TCP now has more than 3,000 Presenters who have reached an audience of more than 5 million people worldwide and its reach continues to grow.
  • GCP : Global Carbon Project : The Global Carbon Project (GCP) was established in 2001 in recognition of the enormous scientific challenge and fundamentally critical nature of the carbon cycle for Earth sustainability. The scientific goal of the project is to develop a complete picture of the global carbon cycle, including both its biophysical and human dimensions together with the interactions and feedbacks between them.
  • Global Warming - National Wildlife Federation "Our country is home to a diverse array of wildlife ranging from the highest peaks, to the driest deserts, to freshwater and marine environments and to all the places in between. The abundant and diverse wildlife resources, which are so important to our culture and well-being, face a bleak future if we do not address global warming. " - National Wildlife Federation

 

Global Warming Blogs

Places where you can discuss your concerns on Global Warming

  • Post Carbon Cities "The Post Carbon Cities program helps local governments understand the challenges posed by energy and climate uncertainty, and provides resources for elected officials, planners, managers and others to develop plans and responses appropriate to their communities. Post Carbon Cities is a program of Post Carbon Institute. Post Carbon Institute conducts research, develops resources and organizes leaders to aid the smooth transition of local economies to a world no longer dependent on hydrocarbon fuels nor emitting climate-changing levels of carbon: the post-carbon world."
  • Environment Forum | Analysis & Opinion | Reuters
  • Natural Resources and the Environment - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com  "By 2050 or so, the world population is expected to reach nine billion, essentially adding two Chinas to the number of people alive today. Those billions will be seeking food, water and other resources on a planet where, scientists say, humans are already shaping climate and the web of life. In Dot Earth, reporter Andrew C. Revkin examines efforts to balance human affairs with the planet’s limits. Supported in part by a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, Mr. Revkin tracks relevant news from suburbia to Siberia, and conducts an interactive exploration of trends and ideas with readers and experts."
  • BBC NEWS | Special Reports | Green Room  The Green Room -from BBC News.
  • Dateline Earth Dateline Earth Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporters Lisa Stiffler and Robert McClure dish up enviro tidbits from around the region and across the globe -- stuff you might have missed, cool environmental happenings locally and speedy updates for ongoing issues.
  • Climate 411 - Blogs & Podcasts - Environmental Defense Fund  Blogging the science and policy of global warming  --from Environmental Defense - Finding the Ways That Work
  • Climatecrossroads "ClimateCrossroads.org fuses social-networking opportunities with fresh environmental journalism and authoritative global warming expertise -- giving it the ability to connect users with a wealth of multimedia information, expert opinions, and each other.  ClimateCrossroads.org, created by the Sierra Club, is the go-to site for people eager --after eight years of inaction on global warming -- to share ideas, information, opinions and opportunities to make real and urgent progress on climate change. "