Climate Change Resources

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
“Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report.” IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) The report is the most recent installment in a series of IPCC Assessments that provide comprehensive scientific evidence regarding the state of the Earth's changing climate. The work was conducted by hundreds of scientists around the world since 1988, when the IPCC was founded by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
See: Website

U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP)
U.S. Department of Agriculture
“The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity." Product 4.3 published 2008. The CCSP integrates the federal research efforts of 13 agencies on climate and global change. This report, coordinated by USDA, is an extensive examination of climate impacts on U.S. ecosystems.
See: Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.3

Healing Our Waters, Great Lakes Coalition
“Great Lakes Restoration and the Threat of Global Warming.” Published 2008. This report synthesizes current climate change science and highlights potential impacts of climate change, including lower lake levels.
See: Report | Website

Union of Concerned Scientists
“Confronting Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region: Impacts on Our Communities and Ecosystems.” Updated 2005. Written by leading university and government scientists in the Great Lakes region, this comprehensive report examines the potential impacts of climate change on the various ecosystems of the Great Lakes region.
See: Websites

U.S. Global Change Research Program
“National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change: A detailed overview of the consequences of climate change and mechanisms for adaptation.” Published 2000. This report analyzed and evaluated what was known about the potential consequences of climate variability and change for the nation, in the context of other pressures on the public, the environment, and the nation's resources.
See: Website

Great Lakes Regional Assessment Group
“Preparing for a Changing Climate: The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change: Great Lakes Overview.” A report of the Great Lakes Regional Assessment Group for the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Published in 2000. The Great Lakes Regional Assessment Team report summarizes the methods, findings, and recommendations of the potential impacts of future climate change in the Great Lakes region.
See: Website

International Joint Commission
“Climate Change and Water Quality in the Great Lakes Basin; Report of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board to the International Joint Commission.” Windsor, Ontario; Detroit, Mich.: International Joint Commission, 2003. This report explores the risks, opportunities and responses of climate change and Great Lakes water quality, as well as significant implications for the Great Lakes region.
See: Website

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPA's Climate Change Site offers comprehensive information on the issue of climate change in a way that is accessible and meaningful to all parts of society – communities, individuals, business, states and localities, and governments.
See: Website

Pew Center on Global Climate Change
Established in 1998, the Center brings together business leaders, policy makers, scientists, and other experts to provide credible information, straight answers, and innovative solutions in the effort to address global climate change.
See: Website

MSU Conference on Climate Change
Michigan State University has held two recent conferences on “Climate Change in the Great Lakes: Decision Making Under Uncertainty,” with diverse attendees including researchers, decision makers, educators, activists, businesspeople, and citizens. During the conferences, participants identified key messages for decision makers: areas where there is consensus or at least very broad agreement. These key messages relate to (a) effects of climate change in the region, (b) ways of making climate-related decisions given uncertainty, (c) research needs, and (d) prescriptions for action.  
See: Summary Report (PDF)

Top