February 28, 2007
GCRIO Program Overview
Our extensive collection of documents.
Archives of the
Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999
The Global Climate Change Digest is an interdisciplinary guide to general and technical information related to climate change resulting from human
activities, particularly global warming by greenhouse gases and stratospheric ozone
depletion. It was published
monthly from July 1988 through June 1999 by the Center for
Environmental Information, Inc (CEI, in Rochester, NY) a private, nonprofit
organization providing information through its publications, educational programs,
conferences and library.
The archives include all Digest
editions. Access to the Archives is free, thanks to financial support from the US Global Change Research Information Office (see press release).
consists mostly of literature citations accompanied by brief abstracts. The citations are
broadly organized according to type of publication ("Professional Publications,"
"Reports," etc). Within those categories are subcategories based on content
("Climate Change Science," "Mitigation," etc). Each edition of the Digest
also includes "News" and "Calendar" sections.
The Digest is written for a diverse audience: policy makers, researchers,
executives and administrators, librarians, students of various levels, and interested
citizens. Entries of general appeal are designated, and the rest are grouped under
specific topics so readers can quickly find the most interesting topics. The summary for
each entry gives the reader enough information to decide whether to obtain the original.
Each summary is generally much shorter and more readily scanned than the abstract or
summary given in the original document (which is usually reproduced in full in
conventional literature databases). Each entry gives complete information for obtaining
the item listed.
The format of the Digest evolved over the years. With the later issues,
sections "Professional Publications," "News," and (normally)
"Reports," appeared in every issue. The "Books and Proceedings" and
"Periodicals" sections appeared several times a year. The Digest's sections
are described below:
- Professional Publications: This is the largest section of the Digest
because virtually all the citations have undergone peer review prior to publication. It
contains primarily referenced articles from professional journals, aimed at other
professionals. The section emphasizes items of general or interdisciplinary interest and
those relevant to policy development, but also contains more specific technical material
than is found in the other sections.
- Reports: Includes reports issued by national and state/provincial level
governments, international and national working groups, research institutes, universities,
and various interest groups. While multi- authored reports of wide interest are
emphasized, also included are examples of the 'gray literature' papers circulated
informally which occasionally command considerable attention.
- Books and Proceedings: Includes books aimed at general as well as professional
readers. Most are available from commercial publishers; some are published directly by
institutes, academic units, professional societies etc. For conference proceedings, the
section emphasizes those containing substantial (often edited and reviewed) papers. The
section lists major book reviews.
- Periodicals: Includes magazine articles aimed at general readers as well as
(generally unreferenced) survey articles for both general and professional readers.
- News: Unlike newsletters, the Digest gives only highlights of major news,
together with sources of more detailed information for those who need it. International
developments are emphasized, as are national developments of international interest or
significance, and in some cases state/provincial developments of wider interest. Entries
may describe recent trends (such as attempts to include environmental costs in utility
planning), as well as specific events (such as modifications to the Montreal Protocol for
Protection of the Ozone Layer). Emerging controversies are delineated, but no judgments
are made. Research developments with potential implications for policy or with substantial
impact for their immediate field are noted, usually in connection with a paper or report
listed in another section.
Users can approach the Digest in two general ways. A user may employ our search
software to search the site. Alternatively, users may look
through the categories listed in each issue's table of contents. We list the tables of
contents in two forms:
- All issues listed chronologically in a single large file
- Individual issues broken up into separate monthly files.
Copy policy. The Center for Environmental Information allows limited copying of
portions of the text for purposes consistent with its aims of furthering communication,
education and research. No permission is necessary for limited copying (mainly for
individual, non-commercial use) under conditions specified by the fair use doctrine of US
copyright law. Permission does not extend to other kinds of copying such as routine
copying of entire issues, copying for resale, or creating new collective works.