Sustainability: Websites

The National Climate Assessment summarizes the impacts of climate change on the United States, now and in the future. A team of more than 300 experts guided by a 60-member Federal Advisory Committee produced the report, which was extensively reviewed by the public and experts, including federal agencies and a panel of the National Academy of Sciences.

"A first-of-its-kind multi-sector strategy to help guide California's efforts in adapting to climate change impacts"

"...presents the substance of the Climate Change 2007 Synthesis Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in simplified language and structure."

"Five steps for safeguarding wildlife from climate change,
eleven wildlife profiles, from migratory birds to grizzly bears, and dozens of national park stories, from the Arctic to the Caribbean"

"The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan agency that works for Congress."

"...presents the substance of the Climate Change 2007 Synthesis Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in simplified language and structure."

"...quantifies the specific financial and human resources needed, as well as infrastructure required, to meet the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals)."

"...is a series of lectures given by leading international figures that examine our current relationship with the natural world and discuss what tomorrow might bring."

"Fifty years of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research on glacier change shows recent dramatic shrinkage of glaciers in three climatic regions of the United States. These long periods of record provide clues to the climate shifts that may be driving glacier change."

"...in addition to clean air, the well-being of our planet also requires that water, wastewater and the resulting biosolids (sludge) need to be managed more seriously, and in a focused, coordinated and cooperative manner."

"...provides an overview of capital flows and an analysis of the trends in sustainable energy investment activity."

"...reviews recent urban planning practices and approaches, discusses constraints and conflicts existing, and identifies innovative approaches that are more responsive to current challenges of urbanization."

Click 'DATA' icon at top of page for the report. "The PACE presents statistics on capital expenditures and operating costs for pollution prevention and pollution treatment by type of media, air water or solid waste and type of activity, treatment, recycling, disposal and prevention. The survey also collects expenditures for site cleanup, permits, fees and product redesign."

"...the first comprehensive study of the phenomenon of informal settlements in the region."

"...summarizes the presentations and discussions held during the 'Forum on Sustainable Urbanization in the Information Age' which took place in May 2008 in New York City."

"An interdisciplinary MIT faculty group decided to study the future of nuclear power because of a belief that this technology is an important option for the United States and the world to meet future energy needs without emitting carbon dioxide and other atmospheric pollutants."

"Large cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases are needed if we are to avoid the worst effects of global climate change. This Rapid Assessment Report describes the vital contributions which ecosystems can and must make to improve these efforts."

"It is meant to assist trainers prepare and deliver training courses that provide an understanding of economic instruments and basic capability to use such instruments in a practical setting."

"...the Trade and Development Report 2009 is addressing the question of how increased efforts aimed at climate change mitigation can be combined with forward-looking development strategies and rapid growth in developing countries."

"...serves as an advocacy tool to promote conservation and sustainable management of the world’s forests through a better understanding of the values they provide in support of global ecological stability, economic development and human well-being."

"...introduce(s) the basic concepts of water quality and how it is related to ecosystem and human health; and to present an overview and assessments of current and upcoming global water quality issues with examples from around the world."

"...assesses global freshwater resources including what drives the pressures facing them, how water is used, climate change's future effects on water supplies and options for improving water management for sustainable development."

This scientific report is a call to arms that investigates the economic costs associated with climate change. It discusses the cost of implementing mitigation policies compared to the long term costs of the results of climate change.

"ipl2 is a public service organization and a learning/teaching environment. To date, thousands of students and volunteer library and information science professionals have been involved in answering reference questions for our Ask an ipl2 Librarian service and in designing, building, creating and maintaining the ipl2's collections."

"INFOMINE is a virtual library of Internet resources relevant to faculty, students, and research staff at the university level. It contains useful Internet resources such as databases, electronic journals, electronic books, bulletin boards, mailing lists, online library card catalogs, articles, directories of researchers, and many other types of information."

"The WWW Virtual Library (VL) is the oldest catalogue of the Web, started by Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of HTML and of the Web itself, in 1991 at CERN in Geneva. Unlike commercial catalogues, it is run by a loose confederation of volunteers, who compile pages of key links for particular areas in which they are expert; even though it isn't the biggest index of the Web, the VL pages are widely recognised as being amongst the highest-quality guides to particular sections of the Web."

"eGreenBot.com - Your Global Search Engine for Online Green Resources that searches 93+ selected meta search engines and directories over the Internet and is powered by Google."

HERO contains the key studies EPA uses to develop environmental risk assessments for the public. Most resources are peer-reviewed articles; also includes books, chapters, reports, patents, websites, public laws and more.

"This searchable database contains over 3,800 proven solutions from more than 140 countries to the common social, economic and environmental problems of an urbanizing world."

"Founded in 1980 the mission of the Schumacher Society is to promote the building of strong local economies that link people, land, and community."

"The Earth Portal is a comprehensive resource for timely, objective, science-based information about the environment."

..."seeks to facilitate information exchange and discussion among the growing and diverse group of individuals, institutions, and networks engaged in the field of science and technology for sustainability and to provide access to emerging ideas, relevant activities, key documents and web sites."

"isr conceptualises, develops and manages projects in the rapidly changing and complex research area of sustainability."

"Next 10 is an independent, nonpartisan organization that educates, engages and empowers Californians to improve the state’s future."

"Permaculture (permanent agriculture) is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems."

"SEI is an independent international research institute. We have been engaged in environment and development issues at local, national, regional and global policy levels for more than 20 years."

"Rather than looking broadly at sustainability, the Forum focuses on the way in which science and innovation can be conducted and applied to meet human needs while preserving the life support systems of the planet. "

"The Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a 501 c3 non-profit organization committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings."

"WRI works with business partners, governments and civil society to confront today’s most urgent environmental challenges."

"Worldchanging.com is a nonprofit media organization headquartered in Seattle, WA, that comprises a global network of independent journalists, designers and thinkers. We cover the world’s most innovative solutions to the planet’s problems, and inspire readers around the world with stories of new tools, models and ideas for building a bright green future."

"The Worldwatch Institute is an independent research organization recognized by opinion leaders around the world for its accessible, fact-based analysis of critical global issues. The Institute's three main program areas include Climate & Energy, Food & Agriculture, and the Green Economy."

"The Sustainability Program of EPA’s Office of Research and Development maintains this Web site to provide one-stop access to EPA and related programs and the latest research and activities"

Photos, movies, animations, interactive graphics, etc.

Maps, data tools, events, news, graphs, etc.

Focuses on the philosophical debate surrounding global warming.

Science-based info on environmental issues.

Life satisfaction & life expectancy in terms of ecological footprint, challenging traditional measures of a country's sucess which don't consider environmental cost.

Groundwater, drinking water & wastewater; laws & regs; water science; wetlands, oceans & watersheds; funding & grants.