SCIENCE
The science clearly linking climate change to human activity has been confirmed repeatedly for over 50 years. To quote from NASA, “Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree that climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities.”
During the same 50 years a fossil-fuel supported misinformation campaign has fought back, misleading the public and affecting the education of children and the legislation desperately needed. The IPCC (the United Nations) and the NCA (the US Federal Government) have issued report after report, often reporting that previous assessments had been too optimistic or that scientists had actually underestimated the pace and severity of the climate problem.
Most of the leading scientific organizations throughout the world have issued public statements endorsing the position that climate change has been caused by human action.
In November, 2019, on the 40th anniversary of the world’s first climate conference, 11,000 scientists from 153 nations declared, in a Bioscience report, “clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency and that we must change how we live.” The scientists say the urgent changes needed include ending population growth, leaving fossil fuels in the ground, halting forest destruction, and slashing meat eating.
As you explore the different sections in SCIENCE, you will find that climate change has created a web of interconnected relationships that are compounding the consequences we face.
Setting records for the number of storms and wildfires, the contiguous USA ranked fifth warmest during 2020, according to a report issued by the NCEI, published on January 8, 2021.
Looking for a searchable chronology of climate-change events dating from 1824 to the present? Look no further, thanks to the University of Maine’s Sharon Tisher.
CURRENT NEWS
KEY RESOURCES
Carbon Brief’s definitive guide to the entire IPCC sixth assessment cycle
NOAA, Smithsonian and fed partners seeking suggestions to update key climate literacy guide
Q&A: IPCC wraps up its most in-depth assessment of climate change
AR6 Synthesis Report Climate Change 2023
Berkeley Earth
Climate Change 2021The Physical Science Basis Summary for Policymakers
Climate Time Machine
Earth Observing Dashboard
The Science of Climate Change Explained: Facts, Evidence and Proof
State of the Global Climate Observing System 2021
Video: Global Warming from 1880 to 2020
Making climate impact science more accessible to the public: ISIpedia launch
How Scientists Are Using the International Space Station to Study Earth’s Climate
Understanding Climate Change
Climate at a glance
Less than 2 °C warming by 2100 unlikely
Reduced dividends on natural capital?
NOAA’s Weather and Climate Toolkit
Climate Impacts Group
Climate Adaptation Science Centers
Data Snapshots: Reusable Climate Maps
THE WAR ON SCIENCE
Greenhouse Gas Bulletin
A Look at 2018: Takeaway Points from the State of the Climate Supplement
Massachusetts raises 2050 waste reduction target, may expand organics ban
IPCC
World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency
Following are a series of videos, dating back to 1956, collected by Peter Sinclair.