Climate Change Website Summary, Essay Example

Climate, Environment, and the IMF (https://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/enviro.htm)

This article calls for the need to reduce atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gasses by enacting fiscal policies that will promote cleaner technologies for a reasonable cost. Furthermore, it lists the responsibilities that the IMF has, which includes conducting environmental research and determining the implications of these findings. Recently, the IMF published an article that summarized the subsidies for fossil fuel energy, which costs $2 trillion. The organization proposes that a tax similar to other resources be added to the sales of fossil fuels to reduce this governmental cost.

Water and Climate Change (http://water.worldbank.org/topics/water-resources-management/water-and-climate-change)

This article discusses the socioeconomic impacts of climate change. Many people live in regions with water scarcity and in economically deprived areas, this becomes even more challenging. Furthermore, it discusses techniques that may be useful for individuals who have a greater need to manage water. The World Bank is also assisting this cause helping countries in need to manage their risks, design water-related investment projects to help determine the impacts of climate change on hydrology and water use, and to identify appropriate options, guidelines, and methodologies for adaptation to these environmental conditions.

U.S. Energy Information Administration (http://www.eia.gov/)

This website provides statistics and summary information concerning energy use and related resource consumption. Topics of study include crude oil inventories, natural gas future prices, and weekly coal production. Daily, it focuses on different environmentally conscious news articles. The article hosted on the website for May 5, 2014 summarizes the U.S. ethanol imports from Brazil and notes that they have decreased in 2013. This led to the U.S. being a top exporter for this year.

International Energy Agency (http://www.iea.org/)

This website provides summaries of environmental policies from countries across the world. Topics of study also include market reports and trends towards clean energy. The website is currently focusing on a series of issues including pushing the Netherlands towards policies of decarbonization and electricity, the oil market report for April 2014, and a critique of Australia’s energy policy.

United Nations Global Issues (https://www.un.org/en/globalissues/climatechange/)

This main website provides news reports concerning climate change all over the globe. “Climate Change” discusses the increase in carbon dioxide levels and cites scientific data to demonstrate this idea. The beginning of this article discusses the history of the human relationship with climate change, explaining that in the 19^th century, humans first recognized that there was a connection between carbon dioxide levels and the Earth’s atmospheric temperature. In the 20^th century, the global effects of this greenhouse gas became apparent. The rest of the article sites the scientific knowledge that we have accumulated that proves that climate change is occurring. This includes record heat waves, unusually intense storms like Hurricane Katrina, and meteorological data. The end of the article briefly discusses the organizations that are conducting research to further understand global warming and to increase awareness.

EPA Climate Change (http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/)

This section of the environmental protection agency website discusses action plans to address climate change, explains why climate change occurs, the impacts of climate change, and what we can do about it. A key feature of this website is that it allows you to specifically track how climate change will impact the specific geographical region in which you are living. Furthermore, it provides basic information about climate change written in a manner that allows individuals that have not read up on this topic previously to gain a greater understanding of what it is and why it matters. On the top of the screen, it briefly lists President Barack Obama’s plan to address climate change. This plan includes reducing carbon pollution, cutting energy waste, helping states and cities prepare for the impacts of climate change, and partnering with other countries to alleviate global warming on a global scale.

Resilient (http://www.resilience.org/)

This website is a collection of environmentally conscious news articles that discuss environmental impacts in the local community. The current articles that are highlighted on the main page include a summary of how fracking is impacting Canada but there has been little attempt to fully understand its environmental consequences, a motivational article about why one environmentalist continues to fight to save the Earth, the benefits and impacts of cooperatives, how fracking is exposing people to radioactivity, and many others. The specific tool that the website has that allows users to connect to members of their community for discussion and support includes the ability to search for local Resilience groups. The website also advertises a volunteer community effort that it wishes its members to participate in for the month of May and features a donation link.

Earth Policy Institute (http://www.earth-policy.org/)

The Earth Policy Institute is a research consortium that acts to bring knowledge and awareness of environmental issues to the population. The website features news in the field and invites visitors to lectures. The main article featured on this website discusses the use of plastic bags and how they are being used less across the world. Despite this, approximately 2 million bags are being used each minute and some countries have successfully reduced their plastic bag usage, while others, such as the United States, have not made as significant process towards reduction. In addition to unbiased news, the website offers many blog postings by the individuals who run the website.

Post Carbon Institute (http://www.postcarbon.org/)

This website posts environmental news and provides speakers to serve at meetings to raise environmental awareness. This organization hires many researchers that contribute knowledge to the cause. One of the main news articles posted on this website discusses wildfires in the western and how they are posing threats to drinking water. Other articles discuss problems that we were currently facing with our investments in environmental policies that can decrease the carbon levels in our atmosphere, and the general problems that are associated with drilling for fossil fuels. The main page of the website also clearly states its goal, which is to lead the “the transition to a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable world”. It also allows users to donate to their cause, links to the Resilience website to encourage the formation of local businesses that are environmentally conscious, provides information about their fellows, and lists relevant books that website visitors might be interested in reading. Furthermore, the site provides many links to media that support their vision and would be useful to view for educating oneself on carbon reduction.