This program identifies the following criteria of interest: scientific or technical quality; relevance to reducing uncertainties and improving decision support tools; track record of consistently good past performance and identified metrics for evaluating future progress; and cost and value.

This lecture script examines the nature and role of standards for the emerging 21st century library. Given the dynamic character of the networked environment, when are standards appropriate and how can they be developed in a manner consistent with the volatility of information technologies and changing library services? What are the roles and responsibilities of standards developing organizations, technology vendors, content creators, and librarians for standards? Do local practices of libraries threaten standards-based resource sharing and resource access technologies? Can local needs be balanced with broader library community responsibilities, and how do standards affect this balance? The speaker's assumption is that adherence to standards has never been more critical, yet his implementation experience with Z39.50 and MARC suggests that the commitment to national and international standards by librarians, technology vendors, and content creators are often an example of good intentions rather than actual practice. This standards disconnect threatens the emerging 21st century library's ability to deliver fundamental services in appropriate ways to their users.

This document provides a summary of a study by NOAA researchers and National Institute for Space Research in the Netherlands. According to the study, one of the atmosphere's most potent greenhouse gases, methane, may now have leveled off. Scientists aren't sure yet if this "leveling off" is just a temporary pause in two centuries of increase or a new state of equilibrium.

Large fires can be blamed for some polluted air. In addition to ash and smoke, fires release carbon monoxide into the atmosphere as they burn. This false-color image shows the atmospheric column of carbon monoxide, with yellow and red indicating high levels of pollution. (The gray areas show where no data were taken, likely due to cloud cover.) The data were taken by the Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite for the period October 26-31, 2003.

This document contains positions papers of a policy forum for weather and highways developed by the Atmospheric Policy Program American Meteorological Society in coordination with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) with additional support from the National Science Foundation (NSF). In this document (Panel 3), panelists discuss policy issues affecting the use of weather information in managing the U.S. Highway System.

This document contains positions papers of a policy forum for weather and highways developed by the Atmospheric Policy Program American Meteorological Society in coordination with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) with additional support from the National Science Foundation (NSF). In this document (Panel 2), panelists discuss strategies to respond to weather and climate information. There are many opportunities to improve the highway system through an inclusive approach, taking into account the strengths of the research community, the private sector and the state and federal practitioners. As a first step, the weather community must better understand the mission and expectations of the highway manager and the highway manager must be able to understand the limitations and near term improvements of the weather community.

This document is about hypoxia in aquatic ecosystems. Hypoxia is a depletion of oxygen caused by runoff, land cover change, and other factors associated with population growth and agriculture. The report discusses mitigation strategies and trends in managing this problem.

The purpose of this report is to compile and summarise the present knowledge on impacts of climate change as a basis for a consideration of what may constitute dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system under Article 2 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). An attempt will be made to associate projected global mean surface temperature and/or sea level changes with specific identified impacts and effects in order to assist a discussion on the operationalization of Article 2. The main emphasis will be on ecosystem effects, food production, water resources, and sustainable development.

This report assesses the financial consequences of climate change policy for 14 leading global power companies.

The Chair gave his opening address, outlining the issues faced by the Panel in preparing for the Fourth Assessment Report and highlighted the rigorous efforts undertaken thus far in scoping the structure and contents of the report. The Panel noted that the preparation of an AR4 SYR that would meet the expectations of most delegations would require extensive consultation and the early and full commitment of many of those who would also be involved in the preparation of the individual Working Group (WG) reports. It noted that the AR4 SYR could: Bring together the main messages from the individual WG reports: Synthesise cross-cutting information from the individual WG reports, including the AR4 cross-cutting themes: Provide a top-down perspective for decision makers on issues covered by the AR4: Produce an overview of the key conclusions of AR4 in non-technical and readily translatable language: Re-assess the policy relevant questions addressed in the TAR SYR.

Meeting the EU objective of limiting global average temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels requires a peak in global greenhouse gas emissions within the next two decades. This means that early participation of developing countries in global emission control is needed, even under a significant strengthening of the commitments of Annex I countries under the Kyoto Protocol. The study has shown that it is possible to design a set of consistent rules for the attribution of the long-term emission endowments of the different world regions. The gains from participating in global emission trading and from reduced air pollution damage and/or abatement costs does substantially enhance, from a developing country perspective, the attractiveness of an early participation in a regime based on greenhouse gas reduction pathways, provided that the level and the form of their commitment is well designed so as to minimise economic risks.

This report presents recommendations to change the NEPA implementation process, based on the review of an appointed task force.

An Act To Provide Leadership in Addressing the Threat of Climate Change.

This joint publication of the Facilitation Committee of the Global Mechanism for the UNCCD CoP-6, (25 Aug - 5 Sept 2003, Havana, Cuba), presents short briefs by Committee members highlighting their commitment to CCD process and its implementation. It provides some lessons learnt from collaboration between members through a matrix of successful collaborative efforts to date.

This publication is meant for Protected Areas Managers. It gives detailed information about assessing occurring and possible damage from climate change and fending off the damage - buying time for our protected areas while the world works out the only long-term solution - reducing CO2 emissions.

WWF is working harder than ever to establish a global network of ecologically representative and effectively managed land, freshwater, and marine protected areas. With 40 years experience, targeted conservation goals, and projects combining practical field implementation with highlevel policy work in over 100 countries, we are uniquely placed to lead protected area work into the 21st century.

This report examines the policies and measures needed to accelerate the use of those technologies and dramatically reduce U.S. heat-trapping gas emissions by 2020. The goal is to set the nation on the path to achieving zero-carbon electricity by mid-century.

This single page document is a declaration of the participants of the Earth Observation Summit held in Washington DC, adopted on July 31, 2003. An affirmation for the need for timely, quality, long-term, global information as a basis for sound decision making. Also establishes an ad hoc Group on Earth Observations aimed at developing a global observing strategy.

Remarks by NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe at the 2003 Earth Observation Summit in Washington, DC. The purpose of the summit was to promote the development of a comprehensive, coordinated, and sustained Earth observation system or systems among governments and the international community to understand and address global environmental and economic challenges, and also to begin a process to develop a conceptual framework and implementation plan for building this integrated Earth observation system. When the space age dawned it was clear that the ability to propel robotic spacecraft and humans beyond the gravity of our home planet would open up untold avenues of exploration and discovery throughout the Solar System and beyond. What was not understood at the time was how comprehensive observations of the Earth system from space would lead to a significant new field of scientific inquiry.

This document describes a research strategy for developing improved knowledge of climate variability and change and the potential impacts on the environment and on human lives. It also provides for the development of resources and tools that will empower policy-makers with the knowledge necessary for making decisions.

This paper considers the potential impacts of climate change on protected areas (PAs) and actions that can be taken to mitigate them. Recent research suggests that the types of environmental changes predicted in climatic models are now taking place. Studies of many animals and plants that show significant alterations in range or behaviour find that the most consistent explanation for these is climate change. These impacts may necessitate a fundamental rethinking in the approach to protection. Protected areas are rooted in the concept of permanence: protection works best as a conservation tool if the area remains protected for the foreseeable future. But under climate change, species for which a particular protected area was established may no longer survive there. Some protected areas - for instance in coastal, arctic and mountain regions - may disappear altogether in their current form.

The Strategic Plan for the Climate Change Science Program was released in July 2003. The document is the first comprehensive update of a national plan for climate and global change research since the original U.S. Global Change Research Program strategy was issued at the inception of the program in 1989.

This strategic plan has been prepared by the 13 federal agencies participating in the CCSP, with coordination by the CCSP staff under the leadership of Dr. Richard H. Moss. This strategic plan responds to the President's direction that climate change research activities be accelerated to provide the best possible scientific information to support public discussion and decision-making on climate-related issues.The plan also responds to Section 104 of the Global Change Research Act of 1990, which mandates the development and periodic updating of a long-term national global change research plan coordinated through the National Science and Technology Council.This is the first comprehensive update of a strategic plan for U.S. global change and climate change research since the original plan for the U.S. Global Change Research Program was adopted at the inception of the program in 1989.

The vision document provides an overview of the Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) long-term strategic plan to enhance scientific understanding of global climate change.This document is a companion to the comprehensive Strategic Plan for the Climate Change Science Program.