At this website, visitors can learn about the nine year research project that the U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and the University of Montana are conducting at Glacier National Park to determine how the mountain wilderness has responded to climatic variability and other external stressors. Visitors can learn how, based on their climate variability models,...

Take a first-hand look at how climate change affects the biosphere at this Web site from San Francisco's Exploratorium. Visitors can access long-term, short-term, and even near real time data from a number of research projects conducted by various institutions. All data are presented graphically, with straightforward explanations of phenomena in question. Science educators may find this Web site...

Created by a host of organizations (Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists, US Public Interest Research Group, World Resources Institute, and World Wildlife Fund), this site seeks to provide evidence of the "fingerprints" and "harbingers" of global warming. A clickable map of the world enables users to take a closer look at...

Released biennially by the United Nations Development Programme, the Human Development Report offers informed commentary and analysis of issues that affect humans across the world. In past years, the report has dealt with civil wars, starvation, economic growth, gender inequality, and a wide range of pressing matters. Released at the end of November 2007, this edition of the Human Development...

This website features the work of two groups: the Institute of Global Environment and Society (IGES) and the Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies (COLA). Both organizations were formed to improve the "understanding and prediction of Earth's climate variations and to share both the fruits of this research and the tools necessary to carry out this research with society as a whole." The Weather...

The International Pacific Research Center's (IPRC) website addresses "climate variation and predictability in the Asia-Pacific region, including regional aspects of global environmental change." The site offers the goals and objectives of the research activities in IPRC's four main themes: Indo-Pacific Ocean Climate, Regional Ocean Influences, Asian-Australian Monsoon System, and Impacts of Global...

According to an article published in the November 19, 1999, issue of the journal Science, a massive release of methane gas (CH4) may have caused global warming during the Paleocene Epoch 55 million years ago. The process began with a gradual atmospheric warming which sent warm currents of surface water down to the ocean floor. Solid methane, called methane hydrate, warmed and became gaseous. The...

Founded in 1991, the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change is an interdisciplinary organization that conducts research, independent policy analysis, and public communication on issues of global environmental change. The very cornerstone of the Program is the MIT Integrated Global System Model (ISGM) which is a "comprehensive research tool for analyzing potential...

A new report containing nearly a century's-worth of air temperature data is available online from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC). The mean monthly and annual values of surface air temperature were compiled from existing World Weather Records, Monthly Climatic Data for the World, and Meteorological Data for Individual Years over the Northern Hemisphere (excluding the former...

This website offers NASA's Earth Observatory newest feature -- an educational module about global warming. Beginning with a recap of the tremendous heat wave that struck Europe in the summer of 2003, the website proceeds with an educational discussion about the interaction between water vapor and other greenhouse gases and the atmosphere. Users can learn about climatic modeling and some...