Global Warming Resources

In the last year global warming has rightfully received unprecedented attention from the media, but to obtain the most accurate and most extensive information about the subject it is best to read the original sources.

A near conclusion from these sources is that global warming is happening at an unnatural rate, and that this is an effect of human activity, namely the burning of greenhouse gas-causing fossil fuels like oil, coal, and natural gas. The current debate is not about whether global warming is real, but what we should do about it, which partially explains the policy inaction of many governments, notably the US.

Resources

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the most authoritative resource on the subject. The group assesses an extensive breadth of peer-reviewed research literature in developing collaborative reports on climate change. In February the IPCC made headlines when its Working Group I, which assesses the scientific aspects of the climate system and climate change, released a Fourth Assessment Report Summary for Policymakers that contained the strongest conclusions yet about climate change and the role of humans in it. Be on the lookout for forthcoming reports from its other working groups later this year.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a US federal agency within the Department of Commerce that focuses on the condition of the oceans and atmosphere, and it is the largest archive of climate data. Its website includes several educational features -- including: Global Warming FAQ, A Paleo Perspective on Global Warming, and a Climate Change Timeline -- as well as its climate data, if you are interested in crunching the numbers yourself.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is a fact-finding research bureau within the Department of the Interior, focusing on biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. In its Earth Surface Dynamics Program it is conducting extensive research about climate change's effects (but not its causes) on things like the world's glaciers, its drylands/deserts, and the Alaskan ecosystem.

The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change is a collection of three papers written by a team from the Treasury of the United Kingdom, led by Sir Nicholas Stern, that focus on the economics of climate change, including the topics of:

• The case for action to reduce the risks of climate change
• Value judgments, welfare weights and discounting: issues and evidence
• Building an effective international response to climate change