Climate Change and Global Warming
What is Climate Change?
“Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.” (What Is Climate Change?, United Nations)
What is Global Warming?
“Global warming is the long-term warming of the planet’s overall temperature. Though this warming trend has been going on for a long time, its pace has significantly increased in the last hundred years due to the burning of fossil fuels. As the human population has increased, so has the volume of fossil fuels burned. Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas, and burning them causes what is known as the “greenhouse effect” in Earth’s atmosphere.” (Global Warming, National Geographic)
Books and Movies
The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration by Jake Bittle
The Earth Transformed by Peter Frankopan
The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells
Climate of Hope by Michael Bloomberg
An Inconvenient Sequel by Al Gore
We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins At Breakfast by Jonathan Safran Foer
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power
Books for Children and Young Adults
Climate Change by Harriet Brundle
Agriculture and Land Use by Emilie Dufresne
The Greenhouse Effect by Mara Grunbaum
Biomes and Climate Change by Edward Ricciuti
Living With Climate Change by William D. Adams
Oceans and Climate Change by David Dreier
Understanding Climate Change by Jeff De La Rosa
Weather and Climate Change by David Dreier
Analyzing Climate Change by Philip Steele
Extreme Weather and Rising Seas by Karina Hamalainen
Organizations
Local Organizations
National/International Organizations
- Carbon180
- Clean Air Task Force
- Climate Action Network
- Cool Earth
- Earthjustice
- Environmental Defense Fund
- Greenpeace
- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC )
- NASA/Global Climate Change
- National Wildlife Federation
- The Nature Conservancy
- Rain Forest Alliance
- Sierra Club Foundation
Streaming
Climate Change 101 with Bill Nye (National Geographic)
IPCC Press Conference for Climate Change 2022
When the World Gets 1 Degree Hotter (BBC Earth)
Additional Information:
What is the Paris Agreement? (United Nations)
Paris Agreement Text in English
US Withdrawal From the Paris Climate Agreement and the WHO (European Parliament, February 2025)
State of the Global Climate (World Meteorological Organization, March 19, 2025)
Global Warming 101 (NRDC, March 2016)
The Causes of Climate Change (NASA)
After 40 years, researchers finally see Earth’s climate destiny more clearly (Science Magazine, July 2020)
The WIRED Guide to Climate Change (Wired, April 2020)
‘Worst-case’ global warming scenario still best guide until 2050, study says (Climate Home News, March 2020)
How to Act on Climate Change: A User’s Guide (Earth Day Network)
The slowing down of ocean currents could have a devastating effect on our climate (CNN, March, 2021)
Drought and Climate Change (Center for Climate & Energy Solutions, updated October 3, 2023)
Greenhouse gas levels hit a new record, cuts fall short, U.N. finds (NBC | October 25, 2021)
China at COP26: Beijing’s coal addiction is key to climate summit (NBC| October 28, 2021)
COP26 report card: How the world’s largest emitters are faring on climate goals (ABC | November 1, 2021)
Biden announces new methane rules and launches global pledge to slash planet-warming emissions (CNN | November 2, 2021)