Appendix B
The Resource Center
Compiled by Erika G. Feulner, M.A.
The Resource Center offers a selection of information sources as first
contact points for launching interdisciplinary research projects. In conjunction
with Chapter 1, the individual chapter references, and suggested study
projects, the Resource Center provides a unique linkage to traditional
and electronic resources within the contents of the book. It also assists
the user in accessing outside resources, thereby expanding on the themes
of this book.
References appear at the end of each chapter. Electronic references
are listed as chapter references but might reappear in the Resource Center.
The most useful function of the Resource Center is its guidance for
searching and utilizing website information. Searching electronic resources
has become an integral part of conducting modern-day research.
Websites are listed in three categories:
- Annotated websites: comprehensive sites dealing with the themes of the book on an international/global basis and providing extensive links.
- Topically arranged websites: sites that are grouped under specific topics (such as climate, land use, and population growth) with a focus on a particular theme or regional and local information. They are detail oriented and often relate to electronic chapter references.
- Useful directories and online libraries: sites that provide either one or a combination of the following services: free access to large library collections online; information network systems providing cross-referenced resources; e-mail addresses, fax numbers, and phone numbers for contacting experts.
The Resource Center does not claim to be all-comprehensive but presents
a carefully selected choice of resources to encourage innovative and motivated
research. Its main objective is to make links of information more transparent.
The quality standards of the American Library Association served as selection
criteria. The criteria for evaluating electronically transmitted information
sources are outlined in Appendix A.
Annotated Websites
The following websites were selected for their cross-reference linkages supporting the themes of the book, their capacity to provide access to multiple information systems, their timely update practice, and their international or global dimension. Many of the sites feature links to each other. This can prove helpful when a server does not bring the desired site on screen via its uniform resource locator (URL)--access can be obtained quite frequently through another site. Some sites refer primarily to environmental issues; some refer primarily to health issues. A few sites feature cross-cutting themes and allow access to environmental and health issues (i.e., CIESIN, United Nations, World Bank, World Resources Institute).
The first eight URL listings are U.S. government agencies with primary concerns for the environment and human health. They are followed by two United States based sites with strong international links.
The next 11 listings were selected for their specific global and international essence and interdisciplinary research goals. The selection starts with the United Nations site, which has worldwide locations for various member groups or programs, of which five were selected for annotation. The remaining five listings are programs sponsored by the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU); all are located in Europe, but they are globally linked. They constitute a close international research network. The site functioning as an umbrella for the ICSU-sponsored programs is the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), accessible via two addresses.
The next small cluster of four listings with home pages in the United States and Europe were chosen for their emphasis on linkages.
The compilation ends with four selections offering services or perspectives that reinforce the global and interdisciplinary aspects of environmental research.
U.S. Government Agencies
URL: http://www.epa.gov/epahome/research.htm
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
EPA's mission is to protect human health and the environment. The information
on this site is extensive and provides access to publications and technical
documents, ongoing research programs, environmental data and tools for
scientific inquiry, laboratories and research centers, and a host of links
to other resources. As the gateway to environmental information in the
United States, it is linked to other federal and state government sites,
thereby providing the opportunity to cross-reference a vast collection
of available information on a theme. The environmental page of the Department
of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA, http://www.eia.doe.gov/energy/environ.html),
particularly, features EPA/EIA cross-cutting references. The EPA site is
updated regularly and current within the span of a month.
URL: http://www.hhs.gov/
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
HHS is the federal government's principal agency for protecting the
health of all Americans and providing essential human services. The department
includes more than 300 programs, carried out by 13 agencies. Of the 8 public
health operating divisions, 2 provide particularly appropriate resources
for the themes of this book: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH). Both are annotated separately.
URL: http://www.cdc.gov/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
CDC is located in Atlanta, Georgia, and performs many of the administrative
functions for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).
CDC's mission is to promote health and quality of life by preventing and
controlling disease, injury, and disability. The CDC includes 11 centers,
institutes, and offices and produces a wide variety of health reports.
The National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), the National Center
for Health Statistics (NCHS), and the National Center for Infectious Diseases
(NCID) are especially valuable for the researcher of environmental health
issues in providing resource material. They are easily accessible through
the CDC site and feature updated information.
URL: http://www.nih.gov/
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
The National Institutes of Health are the federal government's medical
research centers. NIH provides a large pool of resources such as consumer
health publications, clinical trials, health hotlines, MEDLINE, and the
NIH Information Index (a subject-word guide to diseases and conditions
under investigations at NIH). The National Library of Medicine (NLM), a
part of NIH, offers any researcher in a health-related field the most extensive
resource collection on health issues. MEDLINE is NLM's premier database,
covering the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine,
the health care system, and the preclinical sciences and may be accessed
free of charge on the World Wide Web. MEDLINE contains bibliographic citations
and author abstracts from more than 3,900 biomedical journals published
in the United States and 70 foreign countries and more than nine million
records dating back to 1966. NLM can be accessed over the NIH site or separately
at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/.
URL: http://www.nasa.gov/
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
NASA has an extensive site that provides the searcher with special
search help, allowing access to HTML, PDF, and Word files. NASA is deeply
committed to spreading the unique knowledge that flows from its aeronautics
and space research and offers extensive information in many formats. The
environmental researcher will find the results and publications from NASA's
Earth Science projects most helpful, especially the "Global Change Master
Directory" (http://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov),
which is linked to neonet's ceos-idn (see under "Directories," below).
URL: http://www.usgs.gov/
U.S. Geological Survey(USGS)
USGS provides reliable scientific information on biological resources,
geology, national mapping, and water resources. Data can be accessed via
the National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse, which is a component of the
National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). USGS is committed to the management
of water, biological, energy, and mineral resources. A special program
is the USGS Global Change Research Program, annotated below.
URL: http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/
USGS Global Change Research Program
The USGS Global Change Research Program is a component of the U.S.
Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), complementing research and observations
on oceanic, atmospheric, and biological processes in other federal agencies.
USGS global change research examines terrestrial and marine processes and
the natural history of global change. USGS documents the character of environments
in the past and present and the interactions of processes involved in environmental
change.
URL: http://www.nsf.gov/
National Science Foundation (NSF)
NSF is an independent U.S. government agency responsible for promoting
science and engineering through programs that invest $3.3 billion per year
in almost 20,000 research projects in science and engineering. NSF partnerships
with other government agencies and in the private sector are extensive
through the sponsorship of these research projects. NSF is strongly involved
in environmental research, especially via its cross-cutting programs. This
website is extensive and provides many valuable links.
United States based Organizations
URL: http://www.ciesin.org/
Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
CIESIN was established in 1989 as a not-for-profit, nongovernmental
organization to provide information for a better understanding of our changing
world and is United States<N>based, located at Columbia University in
New York. CIESIN conducts projects with a broad array of national and international
sponsors. It maintains two major programs: the Global Change Research Information
Office (GCRIO) and the Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC).
In terms of supporting the themes of this book, CIESIN offers a particularly
helpful resource in thematic guides to key environmental issues, annotated
separately below.
URL: http://www.ciesin.org/TG/thematic-home.html
CIESIN Thematic Guides
Thematic guides offer overviews of some of the key topics and issues
that pertain to the human dimensions of global change, including agriculture,
human health, land use, ozone depletion, political institutions, remote
sensing, environmental treaties, resource indicators, and integrated assessment
modeling of climate change. Through the use of links within editorial essays
that provide structure and direction, thematic guides offer online access
to the full texts of journal articles, book sections and chapters, papers
from proceedings, governmental reports, maps and images, and other relevant
materials. The human health guide includes climate change-related subsections:
changes in the incidence of vector-borne diseases attributable to climate
change, potential increases in mortality due to global warming, and health
effects from increased exposure to ultraviolet-B radiation.
URL: http://www.wri.org/
World Resources Institute (WRI)
Founded in 1982 and based in Washington, D.C., WRI is an independent
center for policy research and technical assistance on global environmental
and development issues. The institute's particular concern is to build
bridges between ideas and action, meshing the insights of scientific research,
economic and institutional analyses, and practical experience with the
need for open and participatory decision making. WRI publishes "World Resources:
A Biennial Report on the Global Environment," a comprehensive data source
combining a broad array of environmental, economic, and social data for
148 countries with supporting essays on key trends and timely issues. WRI
policy initiatives include health and environment indicators, climate protection,
environmental health education, reducing pollution in developing countries,
and environmental performance indicators. The site is updated daily and
provides a comprehensive set of links to other organizations, electronic
media, and data sources.
International Organizations
URL: http://www.un.org/
United Nations
The home page of this world organization lists the United Nations's
five major concerns: peace and security, economic and social development,
international law, human rights, and humanitarian affairs. Fourteen buttons
serve as pathfinders of which the "UN around the World" is most helpful
in finding specific U.N. programs or affiliations. The click on "Web Sites
in the UN System" produces a world map and a listing of the acronyms of
all U.N. programs and affiliations, whose geographic locations are indicated
by connective lines to the map. Five of these programs were selected to
be annotated for this collection (WHO, The World Bank Group [IBRD, MIGA],
UNEP, FAO, WMO).
URL: http://www.who.int/
World Health Organization (WHO)
WHO was founded in 1948 at the peak of efforts, which had lasted more
than 100 years, to combat worldwide health hazards like cholera, plague,
smallpox, and yellow fever. A specialized agency of the United Nations
with 191 member states, the World Health Organization leads the world alliance
for Health for All. WHO has four main functions: to give worldwide guidance
in the fields of health, to set global standards for health, to cooperate
with governments in strengthening national health programs, and to develop
and transfer appropriate health technology, information, and standards.
WHO's mission is the attainment of the highest possible level of health
by all peoples, which translates into more than a dozen different objectives
and specialized functions. Health promotion and the environment is one
objective, which has put WHO in research partnerships for gathering current
data on conditions and needs, particularly in developing countries. Information
is widely available and accessible through the pages on "Information Sources"
and "Health-Related Sites Hosted by the World Health Organization." One
of WHO's regional offices is singled out for separate annotation (see below).
URL: http://www.paho.org/
Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
In the historical sequence of efforts culminating in the founding of
the World Health Organization, the Pan American Sanitary Bureau--forerunner
of today's PAHO--was established in 1902; it later became WHO's regional
office for the Americas. In 1950, PAHO was recognized as a fully autonomous
and specialized inter-American organization, thereby becoming a component
of the United Nations and the inter-American systems. It is based in Washington,
D.C. PAHO's mission statements coincide closely with those of the WHO but
concentrate on the Americas. PAHO has documented the changes and advances
in health achieved by the countries in the region for close to a century,
thus providing invaluable information resources. PAHO's country profile
database functions as the official regional information source on mortality
in the Americas. PAHO issues a quadrennial publication, "Health in the
Americas," as well as the annual series, "Health Statistics from the Americas."
URL: http://worldbank.org/
The World Bank Group
The World Bank's formal relationship with the United Nations is defined
by a 1947 agreement that recognizes the bank as an independent specialized
agency of the United Nations--as well as a member and observer in many
U.N. bodies. United Nations/World Bank cooperation dates back to the founding
days of the two organizations (1944 and 1945, respectively). The Global
Environment Facility (GEF), launched in 1990, is jointly administered by
the bank, the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP), and the U.N. Environment
Programme (UNEP). GEF projects are administered in four program areas:
- conserving biodiversity and improving forest, farmland, coastal, mountain, marine, and wildlife management
- saving energy and promoting open markets for renewable energy
- addressing the degradation of oceans, coastlines, lakes, wetlands, and rivers caused by the loss of habitats and pollution and stopping overfishing
- assisting nations in eastern Europe and the Russian Federation in phasing out the use of chemicals that deplete the ozone layer
The Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development (ESSD) Network
enhances and maintains strategic alliances with key partners (governments,
foundations, regional development banks, bilateral and multilateral agencies,
U.N. agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and specific constituents)
to advance environmentally and socially sustainable development in client
countries. ESSD oversees the integration of economic, environmental, rural,
and social criteria in World Bank financed projects.
The bank's site map lists an index of all development topics and subtopics
(e.g., environment or health, nutrition and population) that provide access
to specialized information.
URL: http://www.unep.org/
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
UNEP is a comprehensive, always currently updated site addressing far-reaching
environmental issues, including human health and well-being. Global, national,
and regional data on environmental issues are collected and documented.
The Global Environmental Outlook (GEO) facilitates a comprehensive report
on the state of the environment based on the input of 20 regional centers.
The list of environmental issues is organized under 7 headings: access
to environmental information, chemicals, environmental law and enforcement,
forest fires, industry and environment, trade and environment, and youth
and environment; together, these include 30 subheadings. Part of the UNEP
is the United Nations System-wide Earthwatch (http://www.unep.ch/earthw.html).
URL: http://www.fao.org/
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
FAO was founded in 1945 with a mandate to raise levels of nutrition
and standards of living, improve agricultural productivity, and better
the condition of rural populations. It is the largest autonomous agency
within the U.N. system. The organization offers direct development assistance
and acts as an international forum for debate on food and agriculture issues.
FAO is active in land and water development, plant and animal production,
forestry, fisheries, economic and social policy, investment, nutrition,
food standards and commodities, and trade. A specific priority of FAO is
sustainable development, a long-term strategy for the conservation and
management of natural resources.
Within FAO's extensive website, three locations are of special interest
in the context of this book's resource collection: Global Information and
Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS), Emergency Prevention
System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES),
and Sustainable Development (SD) Dimensions Specials. All three locations
can be accessed from FAO's home page.
URL: http://www.wmo.ch/
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
WMO is a U.N. specialized agency, founded in 1950. The organization
features nine major programs: Applications of Meteorology Programme (AMP),
Atmospheric Research and Environment Programme (AREP), Education and Training
Programme (ETR), Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), Hydrology and
Water Resources Programme (HWR), Technical Cooperation Programme (TCO),
World Climate Programme (WCP), World Climate Research Programme (WCRP),
and World Weather Watch (WWW). All nine programs provide vital information
relating to the topics of this book. WMO's programs are frequently cosponsored
with other organizations, especially in regard to climate research, thereby
providing natural links to other websites of this collection.
URL: http://neonet.nlr.nl/ceos-idn/campaigns/IGBP.html
International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP)
IGBP is an interdisciplinary scientific activity established and sponsored
by the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) since 1986. The
IGBP secretariat was established at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
in 1987. The program is focused on acquiring basic scientific knowledge
and on the interactive processes of the biology and chemistry of the earth
as they relate to global change. IGBP's 11 program elements are organized
in 8 broadly discipline-oriented core projects, covering such topics as
atmospheric science, terrestrial ecology, oceanography, hydrology, and
links between the natural and social sciences. The site is an umbrella
for detailed sites on the 11 program elements, each of which features selective
links to specifically pertinent sites within the program. The following
sites have been selected from the 11 program elements.
URL: http://neonet.nlr.nl/ceos-idn/datacenters/LUCC.html
Land Use and Land Cover Change (LUCC), IGBP
LUCC is a central program element and core project of IGBP, cosponsored
by the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU), the International
Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP), and the
International Social Science Council (ISSC). LUCC is an interdisciplinary
program aimed at improving understanding of land use and land cover change
dynamics and their relationships with global environmental change. One
LUCC project is in southeast Asia, with teams in Malaysia, the Philippines,
Indonesia, and Thailand. Research assistance is provided by IGBP and START
(see below). The main objective of this project is to gain better understanding
of the driving forces underlying forest conversions in the region, which
will link to an overall scheme on climatic change. Enlargement of the project's
scope in the future will include investigation of how land cover changes
affect human activities. The site is often accessed more easily via http://www.start.or.th/LUCC/.
URL: http://neonet.nlr.nl/ceos-idn/campaigns/START.html
Global Change System for Analysis, Research and Training, IGBP (START)
START is a joint project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program
(IGBP), the International Human Dimensions Program (IHDP), and the World
Climate Research Program (WCRP), a U.N. affiliate, developing the concept
of a global system of regional networks of institutions. START's mission
is
- to develop a system of regional networks of collaborating scientists and institutions,
- to conduct research on regional aspects of global change,
- to assess the causes and effects of global regional change, and
- to provide relevant information to policymakers and governments.
START has established Regional Research Networks (RRN) with affiliated
Regional Research Sites (RRS) and at least one Regional Research Center
(RRC).
URL: http://neonet.nlr.nl/ceos-idn/campaigns/IHDP.html
International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change
(IHDP)
IHDP is an international, interdisciplinary, nongovernmental, social
science program dedicated to promoting and coordinating research aimed
at describing, analyzing, and understanding the human dimensions of global
change. IHDP links researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders by identifying
new research priorities and facilitating the dissemination of research
results. IHDP emphasizes four primary projects: land use and land-cover
change, global environment and human security, institutional dimensions
of global change, and industrial transformation. It is involved in other
IGBP core projects. The site also provides access to online working papers,
program updates, upcoming conferences, and other links.
Focus on Linkages
URL: http://www.igbp.kva.se/intergov.html
Intergovernmental Organizations
This site is part of the IGBP address. It lists well-developed links
between IGBP and U.N. bodies on global change issues. The U.S. Global Change
Research Information Office is listed with the notation of "offering many
links to related web pages."
URL: http://www.gcrio.org/
U.S. Global Change Research Information Office (GCRIO)
GCRIO provides access to data and information on global change research,
adaptation/mitigation strategies and technologies, and global change related
educational resources on behalf of the U.S. Global Change Research Program
(USGCRP). GCRIO's global change resources include the "Compendium of Global
Change Information Resources."
URL: http://www.usgcrp.gov/usgcrp/GCRPINFO.html
U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)
The USGCRP was formalized in 1990 by the Global Change Research Act
of 1990. Its mission and goals focus on the scientific study and comprehensive
investigation of Earth system processes and their interactions, with the
participation of an extensive community of international scientists from
a wide range of scientific disciplines. USGCRP research is organized around
a framework of observing, documenting, understanding, and predicting global
change, and its activities are coordinated with other related national
and international research programs. Included in the program is the development
of tools and capabilities to conduct integrated assessments to synthesize
and communicate the findings of this research.
URL: http://www.gcdis.usgcrp.gov/
Gateway to Global Change Data
This site is one of the tools developed by the U.S. Global Change Research
Program (USGCRP) and Global Change Data and Information System (GCDIS)
to communicate global change data. The site is linked to pertinent programs
and research conducted in other U.S. agencies and disseminates the latest
data and abstracts on new publications.
Reinforcement of Interdisciplinary Perspectives
URL: http://sdgateway.net/noframe/events/en_21980.htm
SD Gateway
SD Gateway integrates the online information developed by members of
the Sustainable Development Communications Network (see IISD under "Directories,"
below). Information is indexed alphabetically and by concept. Its services
include the "SD Primer," with more than 1,600 links, listings of mailing
lists, sustainable development news sites, library collections, and the
calendar of events. The latter features past and future events from May
1997 through the year 2000, thus providing an excellent overview of current
scientific information addressing sustainable development. Future services
will include collaborative work on sustainable livelihoods, environmental
law, public participation, sustainable cities, and water.
URL: http://www.fni.no/
The Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI)
FNI is an independent foundation engaged in applied social science
research on international issues concerning energy, resource management,
and the environment. The academic approach is multidisciplinary and collaborative
with other research institutions in Norway and abroad. FNI carries out
its research within several programs and activities, on which the "Yearbook
of International Co-operation on Environment and Development" provides
extensive information. It combines independent, high-quality analysis and
updated reference material. The "Country Profiles" section of the yearbook,
especially, features comprehensive data on environmental research.
URL: http://www.iiasa.ac.at/
The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
IIASA is a nongovernmental research organization located in Austria
and is sponsored by scientific "national member organizations" in nations
of Europe, North America, and Asia. The institute conducts interdisciplinary
scientific studies on environmental, economic, technological, and social
issues in the context of human dimensions of global change. It has been
the site of successful international scientific collaboration addressing
such areas of concern as energy, water, environment, risk management, and
human settlement. In addition to the research plans, the institute offers
the Young Scientists Summer Program and the Young Postdoctoral Fellows
Program.
URL: http://www.ncar.ucar.edu/
The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
NCAR carries out important research activities in several scientific
divisions and programs--working with member universities on a broad range
of investigations to better understand our earth's climate systems. Among
the nine programs, the Environmental and Societal Impacts Group (ESIG)
is mostly concerned with environmental change and the effects associated
with the complex relationship of the atmosphere, environment, and society.
ESIG is singled out for separate annotation below.
URL: http://www.esig.ucar.edu/
The Environmental and Societal Impacts Group (ESIG)
ESIG provides extensive information and links to related sites in its
quest to document various effects of environmental change. One of its outstanding
services is the listing of publications. ESIG offers a comprehensive bibliography
of its staff publications by year, selected publication abstracts, and
online newsletters, journals, and web-only publications.
Topically Arranged Websites
The following addresses are samples of smaller sites with a stronger
focus on a particular theme or regional and local concerns. The updating
of these sites might not always be dependable, but they will serve as excellent
information sources for research inquiries, providing specifics for cross-cutting
analyses. A list of the chapters in this book that include URL references
is added for easier access in topically designed research.
Atmospheric Changes--Climate
URL: http://www.pik-potsdam.de/
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)
URL: http://www.igc.apc.org/climate/Eco.html
The Climate Action Network Newsletter
URL: http://www.me3.org/issues/climate/reports.html
Sustainable Minnesota's Climate Change
Land Use--Agriculture
URL: http://www.mluri.sari.ac.uk/
Macauly Land Use Research Institute
URL: http://www.crle.uoguelph.ca/iale/
The International Association for Landscape Ecology
URL: http://www.ecostudies.org/
The Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Water
URL: http://www.den.doi.gov/wwprac/
Western Water Policy Review Advisory Commission
URL: http://www.hydroweb.com/iaeh.html
International Association for Environmental Hydrology
URL: http://www.irn.org/
International Rivers Network
Population--Urbanization-Migration
URL: http://www.cnie.org/pop/urban.htm
The National Library for the Environment
URL: http://www.state.gov/www/global/prm/
U.S. State Department-Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
URL: http://opr.princeton.edu/
Office of Population Research-Princeton University
Environmental Policies
URL: http://www.ifc.org/enviro/
IFC Environment Division
URL: http://www.econ.ag.gov/briefing/con_env/
Domestic Conservation and Environmental Policies Briefing Room
URL: http://www.heartland.org/
The Heartland Institute
Chapters Listing URLs
Chapter 1: Information on Issues of Global Change
Chapter 2: Epidemiological Study Designs
Chapter 3: Geographic Information Systems
Chapter 4: The Science/Policy Interface
Chapter 5: Integrated Assessment
Chapter 6: Human Populations in the Shared Environment
Chapter 7: The Changing Chemistry of Earth's Atmosphere
Chapter 8: An Earth Science Perspective on Global Change
Chapter 9: Water Resources Management
Chapter 12: Malaria and Global Ecosystem Change
Chapter 13: Global Climate Change and Air Pollution: Interactions and
Their Effects on Human Health
Chapter 14: Too Little, Too Much: How the Quantity of Water Affects Human Health
Online Directories and Library Services
The main criteria for listing an information source as a directory
are the volume and comprehensiveness of the information and the presentational
format, that is, compilations of lists and information in digest form leading
to full texts and cross-references. Annotations will give both directories
and library services more specific qualifications for the user.
Directories
URL: http://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov
Global Change Master Directory
A comprehensive, always updated directory of information about earth
science data, including broad coverage of the oceans, atmosphere, hydrosphere,
solid earth, biosphere, and human dimensions of global change.
URL: http://neonet.nlr.nl/directory/index.html
NEONET directory
- Atmosphere: Atmospheric institutes and meteorological information. Special topic: Atmospheric chemistry.
- Land: Agriculture, land use, forestry, solid Earth (geodesy).
- People: Who is in remote sensing?
- Water: Water management, coastal zones, research on oceans and climate change.
- Education and Training: Universities and courses on remote sensing.
- Library: Online periodicals and publications, access to remote sensing libraries.
- Organizations: Related remote sensing organizations, European projects (Committee on Earth Observation Satellites--CEOS) and space agencies.
- Providers: Links to NEONET providers of information on remote sensing.
- Technology: About sensors and platforms.
URL: http://neonet.nlr.nl/ceos-idn/
Committee on Earth Observation Satellites International Directory Network
(CEOS-IDN)
This is the Dutch operating node of the CEOS-IDN. For further information
refer to the European Coordinating Node at the European Space Agency's
Earth Observation Informatics Services (ESA/ESRIN) or to NASA's Global
Change Master Directory. CEOS-IDN contains metadata references to datasets,
datacenters, sensors, projects, and satellites. The IDN can be searched
by performing a keyword search, by browsing through the page lists, or
by browsing through the index tree.
Page lists
- Campaigns (121 entries, 105 new or modified in last update)
- Datacenters (150 entries, 148 new or modified in last update)
- Datasets (7,803 entries, 7803 new or modified in last update)
- Sensors (114 entries, 30 new or modified in last update)
- Sources (183 entries, 13 new or modified in last update)
URL: http://www.globalchange.org/
Global Change--Electronic Edition
"Global Change" is published by the Pacific Institute for Studies in
Development, Environment, and Security. The electronic edition provides
extensive current listings of global change information, links to other
online resources, and access to Global Change Archives and the Global Change
Digest Archives. Although the primary focus is on climate and ozone depletion,
this source presents a wide spectrum of information on forces contributing
to global change.
URL: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/
National Climatic Data Center (NCDC)
NCDC is the world's largest active archive of weather data with multiple
feed-in sources. It is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s National Environmental
Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS). NCDC's mission is global
in nature and promotes global environmental stewardship by describing,
monitoring, and assessing the climate and supporting efforts to predict
changes in the earth's environment.
URL: http://iisd.ca/
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
IISD is located in Canada. IISDnet, the home page of IISD, is a state-of-the-art
Internet information server. Users will find the most up-to-date and extensive
resource information on sustainable development, research, new trends,
global activities, and contacts. It features several information sites
(directories) within the institute and is linked to sustainable development
research centers around the world. Two IISD directories are annotated below.
URL: http://www.iisd.ca/linkages/
Linkages
Linkages is a multimedia resource for environment and development policymakers. It includes up-to-date information on past, present, and upcoming U.N.
negotiations pertaining to sustainable development, hypertext index to
all issues of the "Earth Negotiations Bulletin," links to the official
U.N. documents supporting each of the negotiations, and full text versions
of selected interventions and background documents.
URL: http://iisd1.iisd.ca/ic/
A list of key international sustainable development organizations and
institutes
This list and other information sources from the IISD Sourcebook and
Publication Catalogue can also be accessed through the IISD home page by
clicking "Information Centre."
URL: http://gssd.mit.edu/GSSD/gssden.nsf
The Global System for Sustainable Development at MIT--Knowledge Meta-Networking
for Decision & Strategy (GSSD)
GSSD is a project of the Global Accords Consortium for Sustainable
Development housed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
It consists of an evolving, quality-controlled, and highly cross-referenced
index to some of the best resources and materials on sustainability to
be found on the Internet. A set of knowledge management, search, and navigation
tools allows users to customize their own site inputs into the system or
tailor specific retrieval queries over the GSSD knowledge base, which consists
of more than 2,500 abstracted, indexed, and cross-referenced sites. These
sites are drawn from more than 250 institutions worldwide. Users accessing
the GSSD knowledge base are assisted by a guide to research outlines of
14 core concepts and a sophisticated threefold search mechanism.
URL: http://www.cnie.org/
The National Council for Science and the Environment (CNIE)
The CNIE introduces its services as "The National Library for the Environment."
However, CNIE's information dissemination includes topics beyond library
services and takes on the broader scope of a major directory. A major asset
is the inclusion of all Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports on
environmental issues, as well as reference resources generated by CRS.
Library Services
URL: http://www.nap.edu/
National Academy Press
This online reading room enables users to read more than 1,500 books
online. Titles can be accessed via a category browser.
URL: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/
National Library of Medicine (NLM)
NLM has the world's largest selection of medical literature and documents.
Access through the main address offers overviews to health information
and library services, including specialized services (SIS) and research
programs, as well as a link to MEDLINE.
URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/
PubMed
PubMed is NLM's search service to access the nine million citations
in MEDLINE and Pre-MEDLINE (with links to participating journals) and in
other related databases.
URL: http://www.idealibrary.com
International Digital Electronic Access Library (IDEAL)
IDEAL is an online library, specializing in professional journals.
It currently offers full-text electronic access to nearly 250 Academic
Press, W. B. Saunders, and Churchill Livingstone journals.
All listed entries were checked for currency and accessibility during
January and February 2000.
copyright 2001 The Johns Hopkins University Press
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