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Background Information About Climate Change

Introductory Information

Maps and Illustrations
Children and adults join together for the Raleigh March for Science.

Education/Communication

Introductory Information

Background Information About Climate Change - Introductory Information

TitleSourceDescription
Climate Indicators Report EPAWith help from their partners, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) compiles a set of indicators tracking signs of climate change. These indicators represent a selected set of key measures of climate change, and are not an exhaustive group of all climate change indicators.
A Discussion on Climate Change: Evidence and CausesNASWritten by a UK-US team of leading climate scientists and reviewed by climate scientists and others, the publication is intended as a brief, readable reference document for decision makers, policy makers, educators, and other individuals seeking authoritative information on the some of the questions that continue to be asked. The team was convened under the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the U.K.’s Royal Society.
What We KnowAAASAn American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) compilation of “what we know” about climate science.
The Carbon CycleNASABy burning coal and oil, people are adding old carbon to the atmosphere faster than plants and the oceans can take it out. The carbon in the atmosphere acts like a blanket trapping heat and making the planet warmer. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) carbon expert Peter Griffiths explains.
Climate BasicsUSFSThis U.S. Forest Service site provides several resources that introduce the topic of climate change and discuss some of its implications for natural resource managers.
State of the Climate in 2020American Meteorological SocietyThe state of many monitored climate variables and the 2020 climate conditions of regions around the world.

Maps and Illustrations

Coastal Hazards Portal

This portal provides interactive access to coastal change science and data for our Nation’s coasts. It organizes products and information into discrete items within three specific coastal hazard themes: 1) severe storms, 2) shoreline change, and 3) sea-level rise.

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Global Carbon Atlas – Global Carbon Project

The Global Carbon Atlas is an online platform to explore, visualize and interpret global and regional carbon data arising from both human activities and natural processes.

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National Climate Change Viewer (NCCV)

The NCCV includes the historical (1950-2005) and future (2006-2099) climate and water balance projections derived from 20 downscaled CMIP5 climate models for the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 emissions scenarios.

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Education/Communication

Climate Communication – Interinstitutional

Climate Communication operates as a project of the Aspen Global Change Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the scientific understanding of Earth systems and global environmental change.

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Climate Change Education – NCSU

This website was designed by North Carolina State University to help educators understand climate and weather concepts and to be able to incorporate the learning material from this site into their course curriculum using examples as aids for learning. It is also useful for anyone else who wants a basic understanding of weather and climate, especially in the southeastern United States.

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Yale Project on Climate Change Communication – Yale University

Based on a mission to: Conduct research on public climate knowledge, risk perceptions, decision-making and behavior; Design and test new strategies to engage the public in climate science and solutions; and Empower educators and communicators with the knowledge and tools to more effectively engage their audiences.

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Center for Climate Change Communication – George Mason University

Their mission is to conduct unbiased public engagement research – and to help government agencies, non-profit organizations, and companies apply the results of this research – so that collectively, we can stabilize our planet’s life sustaining climate.

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Center for Research on Environmental Decisions – Columbia University

An interdisciplinary center that studies individual and group decision making under climate uncertainty and decision making in the face of environmental risk. CRED’s objectives address the human responses to climate change and climate variability as well as improved communication and increased use of scientific information on climate variability and change.

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Climate Change Resource Center – Forest Service

Start here to learn about climate change, how it may influence land management, and what options are open to natural resource managers for responding to these changes. Looking for a course on climate change? Explore the comprehensive learning modules. Interested in a quick look at how climate change affects our nation’s forests? Check out the videos. Or explore our other education offerings.

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Climate Literacy – University of British Columbia

This free YouTube course from the University of British Columbia has video modules that talk about the different scientific and socio-political dimensions of climate change, such as the carbon cycle, climate modeling, climate and the public.

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C-ROADS Climate Change Policy Simulator – Climate Interactive

C-ROADS is a free, award-winning computer simulator that helps people understand the long-term climate impacts of national and regional greenhouse gas emissions reductions at the global level.

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Teaching Climate – NOAA

NOOA’s Climate.gov Teaching Climate section contains many resources related to learning and teaching about climate and energy.

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