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Quotations

"We are upsetting the atmosphere upon which all life depends. In the late 80s when I began to take climate change seriously, we referred to global warming as a "slow motion catastrophe" one we expected to kick in perhaps generations later. Instead, the signs of change have accelerated alarmingly."

~David Suzuki

"All across the world, in every kind of environment and region known to man, increasingly dangerous weather patterns and devastating storms are abruptly putting an end to the long-running debate over whether or not climate change is real. Not only is it real, it's here, and its effects are giving rise to a frighteningly new global phenomenon: the man-made natural disaster."

~Barack Obama

News

> Waxman plans to release draft emissions bill this month  

> Research paints stark new picture of polar warming  

>Despite wide support from scientists, coral reef bill has some detractors

More News >

Special Contribution from Encyclopedia of Earth

"The last two decades of the 20th century produced mounting evidence that climate change posed significant risks to society. At the beginning of the 21st century, climate change has become a defining issue of our time."

"The importance of this issue is underscored by its magnitude and complexity: it is a global problem with wide geographic and economic disparity between the largest sources of the problem and those who will experience the greatest impacts. Many solutions often run counter to powerful entrenched interests and long-held patterns of individual behavior. All of this is happening amidst a global community that is increasingly connected by flows of information, people, commerce and environmental change."

"This collection brings together some of the world’s leading scientists and organizations and presents the essential knowledge underlying the issue of climate change."

~Cutler J. Cleveland (cutler)

Editor-in-Chief, Encyclopedia of Earth

Featured Article: Dr. Mohan Munasinghe—leading climate scientist, Chairman of Munasinghe Institute for Development (MIND), and Honorable Senior Advisor to the Government of Sri Lanka—provides an authoritative but accessible overview of the science and policy underlying the issue of climate change.

Browse articles on climate change, organized by topic, and see a listed of "Wanted Articles" that you may be qualified to write.

Featured Resources

Climate Change Education is a hub website dedicated to global warming science education.

> Source Code: Climate Change is Real

> Climate Change and Africa

> Small Town Climate Change


> Seal cubs threatened by global warming WWF warns


> Could Arctic ice melt spawn new kind of cold war?

Featured Organizations

350.org is an international grassroots campaign that aims to mobilize a global climate movement united by a common call to action. By spreading an understanding of the science and a shared vision for a fair policy, we will ensure that the world creates bold and equitable solutions to the climate crisis.

Campus Climate Challenge is a project of more than 30 leading youth organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada. The Challenge leverages the power of young people to organize on college campuses and high schools across Canada and the U.S. to win 100% Clean Energy policies at their schools. The Challenge is growing a generation-wide movement to stop global warming.


South African Climate Action Network (SACAN) is a network of like-minded Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Community Based Organisations (CBOs) and individuals working on climate change issues in South Africa.


International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) is an international association of local governments and national and regional local government organizations that have made a commitment to sustainable development. ICLEI's mission is to improve the global environment through local action. On the issue of global warming, we provide resources, tools, and technical assistance to help local governments measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their communities.

Issue Description

Climate change refers to the variation in the Earth's global climate or in regional climates over time. It describes changes in the variability or average state of the atmosphere - or average weather - over time scales ranging from decades to millions of years. These changes may come from processes internal to the earth, be driven by external forces (e.g. variations in sunlight intensity) or, most recently, be caused by human activities.

In recent usage, especially in the context of environmental policy, the term "climate change" often refers to the ongoing changes in modern climate, including the rise in average surface temperature known as global warming. In some cases, the term is also used with a presumption of human causation, as in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The UNFCCC uses "climate variability" for nonhuman caused variations.

Did You Know?

• Unless we limit the amount of heat-trapping gases we are putting into the atmosphere, we will face a warming trend unseen since human civilization began 10,000 years ago. (Source: IPCC 2001)

• The consequences of continued warming at current rates are likely to be dire. Many densely populated areas, such as low-lying coastal regions, are highly vulnerable to climate shifts. A middle-of-the-range projection is that the homes of 13 to 88 million people around the world would be flooded by the sea each year in the 2080s. Poorer countries and small island nations will have the hardest time adapting. (Source: McLean et al. 2001, Global Warming Myths and Facts)

Keywords

global warming, biodiversity, carbon dioxide, pollution, greenhouse gases, climate policy, regulation, fuel efficiency, atmosphere, temperature, weather, energy production, coal, oil, gas, combustion, global commons, carbon budget, climate equity, climate justice, atmospheric carbon concentration, climate change mitigation, low-carbon development, emissions trading, Kyoto Protocol, greenhouse effect, climate change and crop yields, climate change and impacts on weeds, diseases, and insect pests; sea level rise, carbon cycle, climate change and water resources, agricultural emissions, climate change and ocean currents, wildlife responses to climate change, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), general circulation models (GCMs), climate change and fire, aerosols, climate change and melting ice, developed countries, developing countries, climate justice, carbon footprint, carbon neutral, copenhagen

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