The Nature Conservancy in Indiana - JWN

Calculate Your
Carbon Footprint

Use the Nature Conservancy's online carbon footprint calculator to measure your - or your household's - carbon footprint. The calculator will estimate how many tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases your choices create each year.

The Facts and Impacts
of Climate Change

Average global temperatures increased by about 1 degree Fahrenheit over the 20th century.

The United States contains only 5 percent of the world’s population, but contributes 22 percent of the world’s carbon emissions.

Between 20 and 25 percent of carbon emissions come from deforestation and land use change.

Climate change is linked to stronger storms and more droughts, fires and floods.

Major impacts include: endangering wildlife, rising seas and large economic losses.

More facts and impacts can be found at The Nature Conservancy's Climate Change Initiative.

Here's the deal...climate change is very much real. It's impacts have already been felt in our communities and communities all over the world. Although it's a big problem, a few small changes in our daily lives can help lessen the impact of climate change in our society and for future generations to come.

Climate Change and Global Warming:
What's the Difference?

The terms "global warming" and "climate change" have been used interchangeably, but there are differences in these phenomenas. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, global warming is an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth's surface and in the troposphere (the lowest part of the atmosphere), which can contribute to changes in global climate patterns.

Climate change refers to any significant change in measures of climate (such as temperature, precipitation, or wind) lasting for an extended period of time (decades or longer). Both global warming and climate change can occur from a number of causes, both natural and human induced.

Why have we been hearing more about climate change and less about global warming? The National Academy of Sciences believes that "the phrase 'climate change' is growing in preferred use to 'global warming' because it helps convey that there are other changes in addition to rising temperatures."

The Climate is Changing

Many people are still skeptical about climate change and the role humans play. In 2001, the White House asked The National Academy of Sciences to look into the extent of how human activity attributes to global climate change. In their report, Climate Change Science: An Analysis of Some Key Questions, the National Academies found that "changes observed over the last several decades are likely mostly due to human activities.”

Though progress in science and research has been made since this document was first released, it doesn't change the view that humans everywhere are participating in polluting the earth atmosphere with heat-trapping gases. Just how are we contributing to climate change? Human activities that change the atmosphere's composition include the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, land development/urban sprawl and desertification.

To learn more about climate change, check out "Understanding and Responding to Climate Change: Highlights of National Academies Reports 2008 Edition."

What The Nature Conservancy is Doing about Climate Change

The Nature Conservancy is working with other conservation organizations, policy-makers, industry leaders and concerned citizens to lessen our impact on climate change. As climate change is the biggest threat to our mission, The Nature Conservancy is taking steps to address the issue by:

For more information on what we're doing to help, visit The Nature Conservancy's Climate Change Initiative.

What We Can Do to Help

We Hoosiers can help too! It's amazing what a few small changes in our everyday routines can do to slow the pace of climate change. Multiply these small acts by over six million - the number of Hoosiers today - and that's a big difference!

The Nature Conservancy offers a number of climate-saving tips such as:

walking or biking to work
using compact fluorescent light bulbs
recycling & buying recycled products
eating locally by shopping to your local farmer's market
planting a (native!) tree

Or you can offset your carbon footprint just like the Conservancy is doing in the Lower Mississippi Valley.

The EPA also provides over 25 easy steps you can take in your home, office, on the road or at school. Not only will you decrease your greenhouse gas emissions, but you'll also reduce air pollution, increase the nation's energy independence and save money. You may also want to check out Treehugger's Green Guides for even more information on how to help save the planet.

For More Information

The EPA's Climate Change website offers information on science, heath and environmental effects and our nation's climate policies. Parents and educator's may be interested in their site just for kids.

Climate change is very much a global issue. Visit the United Nations Environment Programme's Climate Change website for information on what other countries around the world are doing about this problem. Check out their fact sheets, publications, maps and graphics if you're interested.

Climate Change at the National Academies has even more reports and projects to peruse for more information on climate change.

The Union of Concerned Scientists' Common Sense on Climate Change is a good read for any concerned citizen.

Calculate Your Carbon Footprint

The Facts and Impacts of Climate Change

Climate Change and Global Warming: What's the Difference?