The Basics
What is Climate Change?
"Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Such shifts can be natural, due to changes in the sun’s activity or large volcanic eruptions. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas...." (read more on this UN website)
What is Global Warming?
"Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s surface observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere. This term is not interchangeable with the term "climate change." (read more on this NASA website)
Mitigation & Adaptation
As explained on NASA's website, responding to climate change involves a two-pronged approach of mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation means “reducing emissions of and stabilizing the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere." Adaptation means “adapting to the climate change already in the pipeline.”
Explaining Climate Change to Kids
"Have you heard your parents or people in videos talking about climate change? Ever wondered what it is and why we care about it so much? NASA scientists have been studying Earth’s climate for more than 40 years. We used what we’ve learned in that time to answer some of your biggest questions..." (read more on this NASA website)
Addressing the Climate Challenge
Impacts and Solutions
Climate change impacts (and the ways to address them) manifest across multiple sectors and ecosystems. Visit these explainer pages on impacts including: Energy, Food, Ocean, Biodiversity, Land, Water, Health, Greenwashing, Human Security, Women, 1.5 Degrees.
Climate Anxiety/Mental Health: Climate anxiety happens when we experience distress about climate change and its impacts to our ecosystems, the environment, and human health and well-being. Cornell University offers a resource page on climate anxiety and coping strategies.
How to "draw down" carbon and greenhouse gasses? Visit Drawdown
International Cooperation: IPCC and the UN
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
What’s the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (Wikipedia)
UN Climate Solutions Page
Recommended Reading
Climate Authors – Non Fiction
Paul Hawken: Drawdown
Elizabeth Kolbert: Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
Barry Lopez: Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World
Bill McKibben: Eaarth
Rosanna Xia: California Against the Sea: Visions of Our Vanishing Coastline
Watch: Al Gore’s: An Inconvenient Truth: a Global Warning, and An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power
Climate Authors – Fiction
Kim Stanley Robinson: The Ministry for the Future
Octavia Butler: Parable of the Sower
N.K. Jemisin: The Fifth Season
Caoilinn Hughes: The Alternatives
Margaret Atwood: Oryx and Crake
Reading Lists
LA Times August 2023
Penguin April 2022
The Independent December 2023
World Economic Forum – November 2022 “Six Books Recommended by Climate Leaders”
Magazines & Journals
National Geographic
Inside Climate News (online)
Nature Magazine
Grist
Scientific American
Yale Climate Connections (online)
Video & Audio
Yale – Ultimate List of Clifi Films
Yale – Best Climate Change Movies and TV Series of 2023
Before the Flood Climate Change Movies to Watch
Climate One - Addressing the climate crisis begins by talking about it
Yale Climate Connections – Climate Connections podcast
Research Tips & Tools
Browse and Search the MARINet catalog for books on climate change
Note that "global warming" is also a good keyword to use when looking for books on climate change.
Look up Climate Change Keywords
Wikipedia Glossary of Climate Change Terms
UN Development Program Climate Dictionary
Tracking Impacts
Scripps Keeling Curve - Latest CO2 Reading -The Keeling Curve is a daily record of global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration maintained by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. They also offer a list of other trackers on this page.
NOAA Global Climate Dashboard -Tracks Greenhouse Gases, Arctic Sea Ice, Carbon Dioxide, Mountain Glaciers, Ocean Heat, Sea Level and more
Global Energy Monitor – Tracks Fossil Fuels and Energy Sector
Yale’s Map of Life - Biodiversity & Species
NOAA: State of the Climate Explainers
State of the Science Factsheets (solar radiation modification)
State of the Climate 2023
Arctic Ice Melt
Melting Glaciers
Atmospheric C02
Rising Temperatures (Global Surface Temp)
Warming Oceans
Community Action & Resources
Marin County Civic Groups
California
Climate Action California
Climate Resilience
California Climate Assessment
California State Adaptation Update
2022 California Indicators of Climate change Report (pdf)
US Government
Biden White House – “Inflation Reduction Act”
EPA Climate Change
EPA Climate Action Page
EPA Climate Indicators in the US 5th Edition - July 2024 pdf
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