Global warming is a worldwide topic that affects us all. Pinpointing causes and researching the effects of global warming will lead the scientific community in the battle against climate change. Global warming solutions start with the individual, but can make their way up to your business as well.

Choose to be socially conscious and stay informed on global warming articles and updates. Work toward attainable global warming solutions within your place of business.

To find more global warming information:

1. Look at government resources on global warming.

2. Consider the work of the scientific community and privately funded programs against global warming.

3. Seek out vendors and business partners that practice green business-to-business solutions to combat the effects of global warming.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find government global warming statistics and information

Look to the US government for more information on global warming statistics and resources.

I recommend: Find Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) resources on global warming and climate change. Study National Climatic Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Look at images and research from NASA's Earth Observatory. Find out what is being done about global warming by our government leaders through the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

Find out about privately funded global warming research

Seek out more information from groups that take private donation to fund their global warming research.

I recommend: Look at the Environmental Defense Fund's approach to global warming. Check out the top news from the Green Coast Foundation. Evaluate the research and supplemental information available through the Cooler Heads Coalition. Look at a global warming overview and hot map from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Look for ways to reduce global warming

Find out how you can reduce global warming by changing your personal habits.

I recommend: Find out about climate change and global warming solutions from the Alliance for Climate Protection. Implement personal action steps and Earth Day pledges into your business as well your personal life at Global Warming Solutions. Donate to a number of Green projects through globalgiving.com. Check out GE's environmental solutions and products.

Bring global warming solutions into your business

Green up your business by working with other vendors who value and utilize information about global warming. Seek out green products for your day-to-day use in the office or for resale.

I recommend: Use the National Geographic's Buying Guide or EVO for purchasing green products for yourself or your business. Join the Co-op America green business network and expand your market through their National Green Pages. Look at the list of business-to-business options from ecomall.com. Look at business resources such as Starting a Green Business and Green Guide for New Businesses from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Going green and taking advantage of global warming solutions is a great source for positive public relations tools for your company.

Global warming is literally the warming of Earth, a trend in significantly higher temperatures that keep rising. Over the last 100 years, the Earth's average surface temperature has increased by 1.2 to 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit. While the difference of a degree or two might not seem like a lot, take this into consideration:

1. Most of the increase has occurred in the last 30 years.
2. Temperatures in the Arctic are almost twice as much as the global average.
3. The continuing trend will mean an increase of another 4-5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, by which time the Earth's population will be in a state of complete emergency.

Experts actually prefer the less-sinister sounding "climate change" when talking about global warming, because overall changes in addition to temperature increases are happening simultaneously. These changes include:

• Decrease in snow cover on the Earth
• Rise in sea level
• More frequent warm water currents (also known as El Nino)
  

Global warming is caused by greenhouse emissions (mostly catastrophic levels of C02). The increase in C02 is due to:

• The burning of fossil fuels (primarily coal and oil)
• Deforestation
  

This guide will explain global warming resources, global warming facts, the effects of global warming, as well as point to the best global warming articles. Businesses can use information on global warming in a variety of ways:

1. Utilize the information to implement a healthy environmental policy in the office.

2. Research more cost-effective and environmentally safe practices.

3. Become a pioneer for green business.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Global warming online resources

Get the global warming facts from reputable sources.

I recommend: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a crazy amount of information, but is not easily navigable. You have to know what you're looking for, because there are links to articles with tons of data. A good place to start is the link to Businesses, which has data that includes this unfortunate fact:

Industrial and commercial energy use accounts for nearly 30% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

The EPA recommends that businesses do things like use renewable energy, and educate customers and suppliers on the effects of global warming to engage other businesses to use more green practices.

Learn about the causes of global warming

What causes global warming? You do.

I recommend: Global warming causes, as mentioned earlier, are primarily the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that coal-burning power plants are the largest U.S. source of carbon dioxide pollution, with automobiles coming in second.

EcoBridge also has a great comprehensive site on the causes of global warming. The major causes, in order of percentage of C02 emitted:

• Carbon Dioxide from Power Plants
• Carbon Dioxide Emitted from Cars
• Carbon Dioxide from Airplanes
• Carbon Dioxide from Buildings
• Methane
• Deforestation
  
• City Gridlock

Other good resources on the causes of global warming and climate change are: TimeforChange and Time.com's interactive "The Effects of Global Warming."

Read global warming articles and refer to them for your business needs

A whole network of green business articles, green blogs and other related information on global warming has sprung up in the past few years. Here are some of the best global warming articles and resources.

I recommend: The National Geographic site has extensive coverage of global warming. ScienceDaily and Nasa's Earth Observatory Global Warming series are also great resources. A true gem, however, is the Global Warming Newspaper Archive, which has PDF files of old newspaper reports of global warming. An article in the Nebraska State Journal in 1949 has the ominous headline, "Man May Be Making Weather Warmer, Meteorologist Says." The article begins "The world may be headed for an indefinite stretch of good weather."

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Keep up to date on global warming by subscribing to newsletters and RSS feeds.