Definition and scope
This guide provides a general introduction to resources on the topic of climate change. It is based in part on the following definition of climate change as provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which reads:
Climate change refers to any significant change in measures of climate (such as temperature, precipitation, or wind) lasting for an extended period (decades or longer). Climate change may result from: - natural factors, such as changes in the sun's intensity or slow changes in the Earth's orbit around the sun
- natural processes within the climate system (e.g. changes in ocean circulation)
- human activities that change the atmosphere's composition (e.g. through burning fossil fuels) and the land surface (e.g. deforestation, reforestation, urbanization, desertification, etc.)
Those with an interest in other aspects of meteorology should also consult the library subject guide for climate and weather.
Use a subject search and enter one of the following Library of Congress subject headings:
- Atmospheric chemistry
- Climatic changes
- Global environmental change
- Global temperature changes
- Global warming
- Greenhouse effect, atmospheric
- Ocean – atmosphere interaction
Also, to help focus a search, many of the above subject terms can be used together with appropriate subheadings such as:
- economic aspects
- environmental aspects
- forecasting
- government policy
- history
- measurement
- research
- social aspects
Selected library resources
The University Libraries at Virginia Tech have numerous print and online books related to climate change in the collection. Below are examples of recent publications that present a range of perspectives in order to help fully understand the issues.
Databases
- Environment Complete from EBSCOhost
- Environment Complete offers deep coverage in areas of agriculture, ecosystem ecology, energy, renewable energy sources, natural resources, marine and freshwater science, geography, pollution and waste management, environmental technology, environmental law, public policy, social impacts, urban planning, and more. Environment Complete contains records from domestic and international titles going back to the 1940s.
- Environmental Impact from CABI
- Information on the effects of climate change on the biosphere. It also covers other aspects of man's damage to the environment such as pollution, deforestation, desertification and habitat loss. Includes over 6000 full text documents linked to the CABI repository, over 70 relevant CAB Reviews articles, links to over 750 climate change reports from over 100 key organizations, and 52 CAB eBooks from our environmental science front-list.
- Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management from CSA
- Cross search of CSA databases: Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management and Sustainability Science Abstracts. 1967-present.
- Inspec from Engineering Village
- As one of the major physics-indexing databases, INSPEC will contain many citations to scientific and technical literature on weather, meteorology and climate change.
- Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center from Gale
- Opposing Viewpoints brings together information to fully understand hot social issues (like climate change): pro and con viewpoint articles, reference articles that provide context, full-text magazines, academic journals, and newspapers, primary source documents, government and organizational statistics. Use this database when comparing the arguments and debates surrounding climate change.
Websites
There are a multitude of pages on the web related to climate change but finding reputable sources of information can be a challenge. Below is a selected list of sites that serve as a starting point for research.
- NOAA Climate Service Portal
- An interactive "climate dashboard" that lets users see a range of constantly updating climate datasets (e.g., temperature, carbon dioxide concentration, and sea level) over adjustable time scales
- A new Web-based climate science magazine called ClimateWatch, featuring videos and articles of scientists discussing their recent climate research and topics that cannot be relayed in charts and graphs
- Explanations and exploration of data products available from NOAA and partner agencies, with direct links to the sources of the comprehensive datasets
- Educational resources for students and teachers, including lesson plans for the classroom and laboratory, educational games and interactive media
- Easy-to-understand fact sheets and presentations for professionals and the public about climate science, research and climate impacts.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Climate Change
- An accessible introduction to the issue of climate change. Covers such areas as scientific research, health and environmental effects, and U.S. climate policy.
- Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change
- Established by the UN Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization, the IPCC reviews and assesses worldwide information relevant to climate change.
- United States Global Change Research Program
- An interagency guide to federal research on climate and global change. The publications section also includes scientific assessments and annual reports to Congress.
- NASA – Global Climate Change
- Provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, this site provides basic information and resources on climate data and indicators of climate change. The missions link details some of the many satellites and types of instrumentation used to remotely study the earth.
- NOAA Climate Monitoring
- This site from the National Climatic Data Center provides a monthly summary of the state of the climate along with reports on climate extremes, droughts, hurricanes, tropical storms.
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
- This site focuses on international efforts to address climate change, including the Kyoto protocol and the Copenhagen convention.
