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Category: Climate and climate change
Project: Climate Hot Map
Organization: Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists, United States Public Interest Research Group, World Resources Institute, World Wildlife Fund
Language: English
Country/Region: Global
Summary: Global warming is a hot topic, and this site attempts to define the local impacts of global warming and the impending consequences of climate change. Users may click on icons pitched on regional maps of the world and retrieve clear explanations of the effects of unusually warm weather under two categories: "fingerprints" and "harbingers." According to the Web site and projected by models of a changing climate, "fingerprints" are direct outcomes of a widespread and long-term trend toward warmer global temperatures and "harbingers" identify events that foreshadow the types of impacts likely to become more frequent and widespread with continued warming. The site's "Hotspot Selection Criteria" defines the organizations' methodology of choosing and displaying the impacts. A PDF version is available of a world map with icons that symbolize the impacts of global warming, i.e. coral reef bleaching, spreading disease, and droughts and fires. The site's section of "Impacts of Climate Change in the United States," added in November 2000, explores regions and sectors of the environment such as agriculture, human health, and coastal areas. The site also provides a list of almost 90 references to consult for supplemental information on climate change. Educators may access a curriculum guide to the Climate Impacts Map and download activities for the classroom.
© 2001 - Rainforest Alliance