Displaying items by tag: climate

Wednesday, 20 July 2011 20:29

Climate Change Resources

The US Environmental Protection Agency 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. According to The National Academies, "The phrase 'climate change' is growing in preferred use to 'global warming' because it helps convey that there are changes in addition to rising temperatures."

The Wikipedia website is an excellent place to begin researching climate change or any other topic. Wikipedia says, "Climate change is any long-term significant change in the 'average weather' of a region or the earth as a whole. Average weather may include average temperature, precipitation and wind patterns. It involves changes in the variability or average state of the atmosphere over durations ranging from decades to millions of years. These changes can be caused by dynamic processes on Earth, external forces including variations in sunlight intensity, and more recently by human activities.

Have a look at the Oceana website to learn about the effects of climate change and global warming on the oceans of the World. Oceana says, "Like the human body the planet needs to stay within a small temperature range for life to exist comfortably. A small increase in our body temperature can make us feel ill while an increase of just a few degrees can result in our organs failing and perhaps even death. Similarly, small changes in the global temperature can result in huge and sometimes devastating consequences for the Earth."

The UU Ministry for Earth (formerly the Seventh Principle Project) is an affiliate organization of the Unitarian Universalist Association. The Ministry' mission is to facilitate and support the work of Unitarian Universalists by affirming and promoting the Seventh Principle of the UUA, "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part." Ministry members believe that the Earth is in peril from human activities, and for us as people of faith, this is a moral and spiritual crisis of utmost importance.

The Florida Climate Change website is a treasure trove of information dealing with changes in the earth climate or weather patterns as they pertain to Florida. This includes temperature, rainfall, wind, and evaporation. Florida's CFO Alex Sink established this resource-rich site because our climate can change for a variety of reasons, including changes in the intensity of sunlight, plate tectonics, greenhouse gas concentrations, variations in the Earth's orbit, large-scale volcanic eruptions, and changes in ocean currents.

Visit NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center website to learn how, from polar ice to phytoplankton, parts of the earth system are constantly changing. At NASA, scientists strive to better understand these changes and how they are interconnected. Using remote-sensing data from satellites, this research diagnoses our planet's current health and will help future generations and explorers understand the earth system as a whole.

You will want to visit Mother Nature Network - "...environmental news and information that makes sense," says the "About Us" page on this site launched January 2009. The site goes on, "MNN wasn't designed for scientists or experts. It was created for the...the regular person who wants information...that everyone can understand...." The site calls itself "...your one-stop resource and an everyman's eco-guide offering original programs, articles, blogs, videos, and how-to guides along with breaking news stories."

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.

The Environment News Service (ENS) exists to present late-breaking environmental news in a fair and balanced manner. ENS contributors cover issues and events that affect the global environment such as: legislation, politics, conferences, lawsuits, international agreements, demonstrations, science and technology, public health, air quality, drinking water, oceans and marine life, land use, wildlife, forests, natural disasters, the indoor environment, hazardous materials, toxics, nuclear issues, renewable energy, recycling, transportation, and environmental economics.

The 1000 Friends of Florida is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit membership organization that was founded in 1986 to serve as Florida's growth management "watchdog." Headquartered in Tallahassee, they also have an office serving Martin and Palm Beach Counties.

The organization maintains an experienced staff to monitor local, regional and state growth management activities and recommend actions to the 1000 Friends' Board of Directors. The staff coordinates with other public and private organizations involved in growth management issues.

The Nature Conservancy's mission is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.

The Nature Conservancy has developed a strategic, science-based planning process, called Conservation by Design which helps identify the highest-priority landscapes and seascapes that, if conserved, promise to ensure biodiversity long term.

Worldwide, there are thousands of these precious places. Taken together, they form a vision of conservation success and a roadmap for getting there -- the "Conservation Blueprint." The Nature Conservancy believes that, "...by protecting and managing these Last Great Places, we can secure the future of the natural world."

Strength of the Sierra Club Florida Chapter lies in the efforts of local grassroots volunteers and a volunteer effort focused in the Club's 17 local Groups. The Nature Coast Group was recently formed from parts of existing Groups to better serve Sierra Club Florida's west-coast members.

Each Group operates somewhat independently of the Florida Chapter. Each has its own Executive Committee, holds general meetings at times and locations that are convenient for them, organizes outings, and monitors local conservation issues. They have no paid staff and are run completely by volunteers.

The main environmental initiatives of National Sierra Club currently are: Smart Energy Solutions to Global Warming; Safe and Healthy Communities; America's Wild Legacy.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established to provide the decision-makers and other interested parties with an objective source of information about climate change. The IPCC is a scientific intergovernmental body set up by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Climate change is a very complex issue: policymakers need an objective source of information about its causes, its potential environmental and socio-economic consequences, and the adaptation and mitigation options to respond to it. This is why WMO and UNEP established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988.

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