Looking for more info on global climate change? Look no farther. The links below can help you find what you need.
General Climate Change Information
The Smithsonian Institution offers one of the slickest websites around when it comes to climate change (after Grist’s, of course). This online exhibition on global warming, developed in partnership with Environmental Defense, includes dramatic visual examples of climate change in action and statistics that will shock you, plus games to learn more about global warming and suggestions to reduce your own energy consumption.
Climate Change Solutions, a project of the Pembina Institute, provides resources in both English and French for Canadian families, municipalities, schools, farmers, and businesses looking to reduce their impact on the climate.
Earth Trends, a new “environment information portal” launched by the World Resources Institute, includes a searchable database, data tables, country profiles, and maps related to climate change, as well as to many other topics on the environment.
Power Shift (hey, nice name!) works to create a market for clean energy, build the grassroots movement against global warming, and encourage government and corporate accountability. The website offers background on global warming, state-by-state breakdowns on the impacts of climate change, and plenty of info on all kinds of energy, from old-school fossil fuels to solar and wind.
Local Governments and Climate Change
Cities for Climate Protection is a campaign of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. The CCP website features a virtual city hall with sample resolutions and action plans for reducing CO2 emissions. It also includes links to climate-related publications, information on the cities participating in the CCP program worldwide, and an Energy Arcade with climate-change fun and games.
The Aspen Community Office for Resource Efficiency promotes renewable energy and energy efficiency in western Colorado and beyond. The CORE website includes info on solar and wind power, oil and natural gas issues, how to cash in on incentives for energy efficiency, and more. (For more on Aspen, check out Hal Clifford’s article.)
Clean Energy Now!, a project of Greenpeace, works to reduce California’s environmental impact by forging the world’s largest clean energy economy. The website has background info on clean energy and California politics, plus breaking news on the climate-change front, opportunities for action, and more.
The California Global Warming Campaign offers Californians a guidebook to green responsibility. Check out the interactive map of the state to see what’s in store for California should global warming continue. You’ll also learn how to be a responsible Californian by reducing your energy consumption and encouraging lawmakers to take action to prevent global warming.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network provides information on how to get a local clean energy project off the ground. The 30 fact sheets, which are also available as PDFs, cover topics from transportation to economic development to energy efficiency, and include examples from communities that are already putting these measures into practice.
The Earth Island Institute’s Climate Solutions is dedicated to making the Pacific Northwest a leader in “practical and profitable solutions” to stop climate change as soon as possible. Its website includes info on the science behind global warming, practical solutions, and a clean energy outreach center.
Download the climate change action plan drafted by New England governors and Canadian premiers in 2001. The plan identifies steps the region needs to take to curb greenhouse gas emissions, adapt economic resources and the physical infrastructure to address the consequences of climate change, provide outreach and education for the general public, and more.
Universities and Climate Change
Kyoto Now! is a student movement dedicated to persuading the U.S. Senate to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. Its website provides info on global warming, links to email your senators, and instructions on how to start a Kyoto Now! chapter on your campus.
The Tufts Climate Initiative works with faculty, staff, and students to reduce the university’s greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by the year 2012. TCI also does emissions research and monitoring, plus education, outreach, and event planning. (For more on TCI, check out Shelley Smithson’s article.)
The University of Colorado’s Blueprint for a Green Campus is an action plan for the university to comply with the Kyoto Protocol by cutting greenhouse gas emissions 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2010. The blueprint also includes myriad other ways to reduce the campus’s ecological footprint.
The New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability aims to reduce energy use and emissions, encourage green building design, facilitate environmentally friendly purchasing, and promote sustainability education and student activism on campuses in New Jersey.
Oberlin’s Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies provides information on the planning and construction of the college’s eco-fab environmental center. The website includes an ongoing assessment of how well the building is meeting expectations, including live data on energy performance, landscape conditions, building conditions, and water use.
The National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology Program aims to transform the nation’s college campuses into sustainable communities and train the next generation of environmental leaders. The website includes ideas on how to green your campus, plus links to environmental training, fellowships, internships, and resources. NWF also provides online versions of its Campus Environmental Yearbook and its State of the Campus Environment report.
Corporations and Climate Change
The Pew Center for Global Climate Change’s Business Environmental Leadership Council includes 37 major corporations that are taking concrete steps toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions while sustaining economic growth.
Cool Companies, a project of the nonprofit Center for Energy & Climate Solutions, lists the coolest companies around — i.e., those that agree to conserve energy and cut greenhouse gas emissions. This site also offers an interactive guide to energy-saving solutions.
The Business Council for Sustainable Energy, a group of senior executives in the natural gas, energy efficiency, electric utility, and renewable energy industries, supports climate-friendly business strategies.
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative, a project of the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, is a coalition of business, government, and nonprofit organizations dedicated to developing internationally accepted greenhouse gas standards and reporting procedures. It offers step-by-step instructions for calculating emissions.
The federal government’s Energy Star program offers tips to businesses on how to save energy and reduce emissions.
American Forests discusses ways that corporations can help slow global climate change. The website provides ideas to promote energy efficiency and information on corporate partnership opportunities, with examples of businesses (such as Eddie Bauer) that are already involved in the fight against climate change. It also offers a great online calculator to assess how much carbon dioxide your business generates and its overall impact on the global climate.
Faith Groups and Climate Change
Interfaith Climate Change Network is a collaborative effort of the Eco-Justice Working Group of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, which together have organized many statewide interfaith climate change campaigns. The coalition’s Global Climate Change Action Center lists action alerts and state interfaith global warming campaigns.
The Regeneration Project is an Episcopalian organization that founded Episcopalian Power and Light and co-founded the California Power and Light project. The California P&L project is targeting 8,000 congregations in the state to educate members about global warming and promote energy efficiency and clean energy. (Read a Grist diary by the Rev. Sally Bingham, director of The Regeneration Project.)
The Northwest Jewish Environmental Project seeks to integrate environmentalism into Jewish life in the Pacific Northwest. NJEP works with the Oregon and Washington Interfaith Global Warming Campaigns to spearhead education and activist movements on climate change issues.
Religious Witness to the Earth is an interfaith organization dedicated to bringing different religions together to fight global warming. The website lists local chapters and an interfaith prayer service about climate action, plus an invitation to sign the New England Interfaith Call for Climate Action.
Become an Energy Star congregation by making your place of worship energy-efficient. This U.S. EPA site provides you with more information and a how-to guide for winning your gold star.
