{"id":448,"date":"2007-05-22T16:43:41","date_gmt":"2007-05-22T21:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=448"},"modified":"2025-11-28T21:06:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T02:06:18","slug":"start-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.realclimate.org\/index.php\/archives\/2007\/05\/start-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Start here"},"content":{"rendered":"
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[Note this is page is updated somewhat regularly. Please notify us of any dead links. Last update: 10 May 2022.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’re often asked to provide a one stop link for resources that people can use to get up to speed on the issue of climate change, and so here is a selection. Unlike our other postings, we’ll amend this as we discover or are pointed to new resources. Different people have different needs and so we will group resources according to the level people start at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For complete beginners:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NCAR: Weather and climate basics<\/a>
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions: Climate basics<\/a>
Wikipedia: Global Warming<\/a>
NASA: Global Warming<\/a>
National Academy of Science: America’s Climate Choices (2011)<\/a>
Encyclopedia of Earth: Climate Change<\/a>
Global Warming: Man or Myth?<\/a> (Scott Mandia, SUNY Suffolk)
Open Learn: The Basics of Climate Prediction<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a booklet on Climate Literacy from multiple agencies (NOAA, NSF, AAAS) available here<\/a> (pdf<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK Govt. had a good site on The Science of Climate Change<\/a> (archived).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The portal for climate and climate change<\/a> of the ZAMG (Zentralaanstalt f\u00fcr Meteorologie und Geodynamik, Vienna, Austria). (In German) (added Jan 2011).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those with some knowledge:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IPCC Frequently Asked Questions are an excellent start (AR4 version here<\/a> , updates were provided in the 5th Assessment report (pdf<\/a>) and again for AR6<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UK Royal Society and US National Academies of Science produced a joint Q&A on climate change in 2014<\/a>, and an update in 2017<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RealClimate: Start with our index<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Informed, but in need of more detail:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Science: You can’t do better than the IPCC reports themselves (AR6 2021<\/a>, AR5 2013<\/a>, AR4 2007<\/a>, TAR 2001<\/a>). Also the Climate Science Special Report<\/a> for the US National Climate Assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History: Spencer Weart’s “Discovery of Global Warming<\/a>” (AIP)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Informed, but seeking serious discussion of common contrarian talking points:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of the below links have indexed debunks of most of the common points of confusion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n