Saturday, February 4, 2012

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Resources

Climate Science Basics

The foundation of climate change science is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Established in 1988 by two bodies of the United Nations (UN): the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the UN's Environment Program the United Nations, the IPCC is the world's leading authority on climate change. The IPCC objectively and openly assesses scientific information to understand the risk of climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.

The IPCC meets regularly to provide independent assessments and advice on climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and reduction. The IPCC forms its assessments from existing information, and does not conduct original research.

To date, four Assessment Reports have been published, the most recent report was published in 2007. There are three parts of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report including:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 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.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a comprehensive website that details how it is helping society understand, plan for, and respond to climate variability and change. This is achieved through the development and delivery of climate information services, the implementation of a global observing system, and focused research and modeling to understand key climate processes. The NOAA climate mission is an end-to-end endeavor focused on providing a predictive understanding of the global climate system so the public can incorporate the information and products into their decisions.

NOAA is a key participating agency in the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) as well as other significant international, national, and regional activities.

NOAA's climate programs are focused on three themes:

NOAA's operational climate program monitors and forecasts short-term climate fluctuations and provides information on the effects climate patterns can have on the nation.

NOAA's Climate Program Office manages competitive grant programs, leads NOAA climate international, education and outreach activities, and coordinates climate activities across NOAA.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) plays an important role in weather and climate observation and monitoring, understanding of climate processes, the development of clear, precise and user-targeted information and predictions and the provision of sector-specific climate services, including advice, tools and expertise, to meet the needs of adaptation strategies and decision-making. The following are some useful WMO and climate change resources:

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has a number of useful resources and information on climate issues.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is an international treaty that considers what can be done to reduce global warming and to cope with whatever temperature increases are inevitable. Recently, a number of nations have approved an addition to the treaty: the Kyoto Protocol, which has more powerful (and legally binding) measures. The UNFCCC secretariat supports all institutions involved in the climate change process, particularly the COP, the subsidiary bodies and their Bureau.

Tipping elements in the Earth's climate system
Published online before print February 7, 2008, 10.1073/pnas.0705414105
PNAS | February 12, 2008 | vol. 105 | no. 6 | 1786-1793
OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE

Timothy M. Lenton*,†, Hermann Held‡, Elmar Kriegler‡,§, Jim W. Hall¶, Wolfgang Lucht‡, Stefan Rahmstorf‡, and Hans Joachim Schellnhuber†,‡,||,**

*School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, and Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom; ‡Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, P.O. Box 60 12 03, 14412 Potsdam, Germany; §Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890; ¶School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University, and Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, Newcastle NE1 7RU, United Kingdom; and ||Environmental Change Institute, Oxford University, and Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, Oxford OX1 3QY, United Kingdom

Edited by William C. Clark, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, and approved November 21, 2007 (received for review June 8, 2007)

The term "tipping point" commonly refers to a critical threshold at which a tiny perturbation can qualitatively alter the state or development of a system. Here we introduce the term "tipping element" to describe large-scale components of the Earth system that may pass a tipping point. We critically evaluate potential policy-relevant tipping elements in the climate system under anthropogenic forcing, drawing on the pertinent literature and a recent international workshop to compile a short list, and we assess where their tipping points lie. An expert elicitation is used to help rank their sensitivity to global warming and the uncertainty about the underlying physical mechanisms. Then we explain how, in principle, early warning systems could be established to detect the proximity of some tipping points.

WWF Climate Change Resources:

WWF's international website on How Global Warming and Climate Change work

Impacts:

Information on Changes in weather and climate and WWF's report, "Extreme Weather: Does Nature Keep Up?"

General climate impacts information

Information on Impacts to Nature

Species

Habitats

Adaptation:

Climate resilience, also known as adaptation, refers to the ability of ecosystems to withstand the effects of climate change. In order to protect ecosystems and natural resources we must also work with communities to prepare for climate change. This is necessary because the vulnerabilities of communities and ecosystems are intrinsically linked, just as is their resilience potential. Below are some of climate adaptation resources:

Solutions:

WWF is working to stop climate change by providing cutting-edge science, championing policies to reduce carbon emissions and mobilizing businesses to drive new and innovative solutions. With a team of dedicated experts working in more than 50 countries, we are focusing our efforts on four areas where we can have the most impact:

Climate Solutions: WWF's Vision for 2050

Brochure: Facing the new climate - How WWF helps curb global warming

WWF/Allianz Group Report - Climate Change and Insurance: An Agenda for Action in the United States

Climate Education:

WWF's resources, "What you can do about global warming"

WWF Climate Change Curriculum for Teachers

Witnessing Climate Change:

Climate Witness is WWF's initiative that documents the direct experiences of people who are witnessing the impacts of climate change on their local environment.

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