Climate Questions and Resources for Finding Answers
How will climate change affect my community?
- Use the Climate Wizard Simulation http://www.climatewizard.org/index.html# to see what different futures look like in your area.
- Use the tools on the US EPA Climate Change websiteto zoomin onyour community (and see pollution sources too) http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/
- Use the tools on the US NASA website (lots of nice images too) US NASA Climate Change http://climate.nasa.gov/
- For lots more information and details, download the 3rd National Climate Change Assessment (you can decide if you want the whole thing or just local details and summaries) http://www.globalchange.gov/nca3-downloads-materials
- For a good overview and lots of independently gathered information see the Berkeley Climate Project at http://berkeleyearth.org/
What steps can we take to be better prepared for change?
- Many communities are engaging in "adaptive management for resilience". You can learn more from the Resilience Alliance website http://www.resalliance.org/ and download their useful manual Resilience Assessment for Practitioners, 2nd edition, http://www.resalliance.org/resilience-assessment
- The US National Park Service website has rich downloadable resources that give examples of community-based planning and working with Federal and State agencies: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/resources.htm
Why do so many people in the US deny climate change is happening?
- Unfortunately, climate change denial is very well financed in the US. For more information and some excellent reports go to the Union of Concerned Scientists site. Have a look here: http://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/fight-misinformation/climate-accountability-scorecard-ranking-major-fossil-fuel-companies#.WL2mtvKlyug/
I am concerned that the Trump administration is working to silence climate scientists and putting "alternative facts" ahead of peer-reviewed science. Where can I learn more, and get active?
- The Union of Concerned Scientists' website has lots of resources and action items and is a good place to stay informed and get connected to other climate activists. See http://www.ucsusa.org/action-center#.WL2ntvKlyug
- Contact your congress members to urge them to keep the excellent federal climate websites available so that citizens like yourself (who have paid for these data with their taxes) can access this critical information. While activists have backed up most of the basic data in Canada, it will still be easy for Trump appointees to cut off the web access to your community resources unless you raise a fuss. This is your intellectual property, and your children's future- don't be shy!