Once in a while, you may find yourself wanting to consult or share a good source of basic climate-change information – a primer or introduction that’s short but not overly simple. Here are some recommendations for that situation.
(Incidentally, in America, primer in this sense usually rhymes with swimmer; in Britain, with timer.)
“Climate Science, Risk & Solutions: Climate Knowledge for Everyone.” Assembled by leading MIT climate scientist (and hurricane guru) Kerry Emanuel, this site is terrific, with lots of cool graphics and clearly explained, sophisticated information. It even has an audio version.
NASA’s “Climate Change” homepage isn’t in itself a primer, but look at the drop-down menus under “Facts,” “Mitigation and Adaptation,” and “Vital Signs” for good, readable information, with links and graphics.
The New York Times has consistently had some of the best coverage of climate change. This FAQ (“Have Climate Questions? Get Answers Here”) from 2021 is still current and quite good.
At the bottom of the United Nations “Climate Action” homepage is a collection of topical links to good explainers and primers on many key subjects. Global reach, and lots of links included.
“Report charts climate change’s growing impact in the U.S., while stressing benefits of action.” Marianne Lavelle, Katie Surma, Kiley Price, Nicholas Kusnetz, Inside Climate News. A good overview of the Fifth U.S. National Climate Assessment (2023), with links.
The European Environment Agency’s “Climate change impacts, risks and adaptation” is Europe-focused, solid, and interesting. Look under the “more information” topics at the bottom of the homepage, especially “climate change impacts, risks, and adaptation” and “climate change mitigation.”
Good primer for the climate scenarios as used by the IPCC: “This interactive primer gives an introduction to what climate change scenarios are and how they are connected to socioeconomics, energy & land use, emissions, climate change and climate impacts.”
“Where the World Is (and Isn’t) Making Progress on Climate Change.” Brad Plumer and Nadja Popovich, New York Times. A good summary of where we were late in 2023.
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