Recommended Web Sites for Teaching Climate Change
General
US EPA Climate Change (more info) overview of basic sciences and policy issues
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (more info) home page
IPCC reports (more info) , including the most recent 4th assessment
Summary for Policymakers summary of the 4th assessment report with graphics
National Academy of Science - climate change reports produced by committees of the nation's top scientists, engineers, and other experts who are convened to address key scientific and technical aspects of climate change and other topics.
US Geological Survey (more info) - climate home page
Climate Change Collection - a suite of science education web-based resources covering natural climate dynamics as well as human impacts on the climate system
Real Climate.org (more info) - A blog by climate scientists. Offers excellent, up-to-date summaries of many climate topics.
Summaries of Recent Research
Nature Reports: Climate Change - current research, analysis and news about climate change, from the journal Nature
Science Daily: Global Warming News (more info) - Browse news, scientific articles, images and video on a variety of climate topics. The advertisements and layout of the site can be a bit distracting though.
Data Sets
NOAA The World Data Center for Paleoclimatology (more info) - provides data about past climate and environment derived from a diverse range of proxies such as tree rings, ice cores, pollen, sediments and more. The data cover the globe, and while most span the last few millennia, some data sets extend back in time 100 million years.
NOAA A Paleo-Perspective on Abrupt Climate Change (more info) - selected datasets from glacial times and the Holocene, with supplemental text and references. This site would be useful for students because it presents a complete story.
CDIAC Global Change Data and Information Products - CDIAC's data holdings include current carbon emissions by country, paleoclimate data, long-term climate trends, and more. The format is easy to browse.
Energy Information Administration Carbon Dioxide Emissions Data (more info) - International CO2 data from various fuel sources, plus projected CO2 emissions through 2030. Excel format.
Common Sense Climate Index (more info) - Simple climate statistics for many sites across the world. What's the climate record near your hometown?
Imagery
Repeat Photography of Glaciers (more info) - These paired photographs from the National Snow and Ice Data Center provide striking visual evidence of climate change.
Graphics from the 3rd and 4th IPCC assessment reports (more info) - The graphics from the 4th assessment report are listed by figure number without a figure title for reference, so they are not user-friendly for quick browsing. The graphics from the 3rd assessment report are listed by title and are easier to browse.
Vital Climate Graphics (more info) - Compiled from the second IPCC assessment report, these graphics include causes of climate change and projected impacts such as temperature changes and sea level rise. The figures are browseable by title.
Global Warming Art (more info) - Over 130 different images, graphs and photos describing various elements of climate change. Each image has a description, citation and information for reuse.
Charts and Figures from the World Resources Institute (more info) - A comprehensive greenhouse gas flow chart and other useful charts and graphics.
See a gallery of climate-related visualizations
Personal Impacts
Making Sense of Climate Change (more info) , a down-to-earth description from the Sierra Club
What Can You Do? (more info) from the World Wildlife Fund
Why Bother? (more info) - essay by Michael Pollan
12 Steps to Kick the CO2 Habit (more info) by the UN Environmental Programme
Carbon Footprint Calculators
Ecological Footprint Calculators (more info) This website contains interactive calculators for determining various environmental impacts. The site includes more than 15 different calculators to determine greenhouse gas emissions, ecological footprints, electricity pollution, air travel pollution, commuting costs, appliance costs, pollution prevention and more.
Ecological Footprint Quiz (more info) This Ecological Footprint Quiz asks a series questions about food, housing, transportation and waste production. The results of the quiz provide an estimate of how much productive land and water are required to support your lifestyle, and how your footprint compares to the average resident in your country. The website also contains answers to common questions about the quiz, tips for reducing your footprint, and detailed information on the calculations and methodology. A useful Excel spreadsheet that contains each calculation in the quiz can be found in the FAQ section.
Global Warming - Calculators (more info) This EPA web page contains several greenhouse gas emissions calculators from EPA and other organizations. These interactive calculators help estimate the greenhouse gas emissions of human activities, convert carbon emissions to equivalent units, and identify and compare emissions reduction options. The calculators vary greatly in complexity, scope, and intent.
Carbon Footprint (more info) This website has interactive tools to calculate your carbon footprint, which is a way to measure how much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are produced by your activities. This site also contains specific recommendations for reducing and off-setting your carbon footprint, as well as links to news and information about global warming.
