Research Guides: Global Leadership And Sustainability: Environmental / Ecological Resources

Recommended Websites

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
A multilateral treaty, the CBD has three main goals including: the conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); the sustainable use of its components; and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.
Department of Agriculture - Climate Change
The Climate Change Program Office coordinates USDA’s responses to climate change, focusing on implications of climate change on agriculture, forests, grazing lands, and rural communities.
Environmental Protection Agency - Climate Change
"EPA research improves knowledge of the health and environment effects of climate change and provides sustainable solutions for communities to effectively manage and reduce the impacts of a changing climate."
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
IPCC is the United Nations body for assessing
the science related to climate change.
International Energy Agency (IEA)
IEA is an autonomous organization which works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 30 member countries and beyond.
NOAA Climate.gov - Teaching Climate
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Climate.gov's Teaching Climate offers learning activities and curriculum materials, multi-media resources, and professional development opportunities for formal and informal educators who want to incorporate climate science into their work.
U.S. DOE-Office of Scientific & Technical Information
Search OSTI for science, technology, and engineering research information from the U.S. Department of Energy.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Endangered Species
Find lists of endangered species by state or county.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
"UNEP is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment."
USDA National Invasive Species Information Center
"The gateway to invasive species information; covering federal, state, local and international sources."
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
"The world’s leading conservation organization, WWF works in 100 countries and is supported by 1.2 million members."

Searching Tip: Refine Your Topic

You will often begin with an idea such as Sustainability, but you should then develop a more focused interest in an aspect of something related to that idea, which can lead to questions/hypothesis about the topic. It is always recommend to start with a topic that you are passionate/interested about since you will be spending a lot of time searching and reading about it. Your question/hypothesis might change as you uncover information along the way, making it more specific.

Example:

Main Idea = Sustainable Purchases
Initial Inquiry/Question = How does sustainable purchases help the environment?
Focused Research Question = What policy/standards changes are needed to prevent a new wave of greenwashing and help consumers make truly sustainable purchases?

HPU Library Databases

These are recommended databases for searching environmental and/or ecology topics.

Agricola (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
This database contains bibliographic records from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Library. Coverage for AGRICOLA dates back to 1970 and includes more than 4.8 million citations. The citations are comprised of journal articles, monographs, theses, patents, software, audiovisual materials, and technical reports related to agriculture.
GreenFILE (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
GreenFILE offers well-researched information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more.
Science Reference Center (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Science Reference Center is a comprehensive research database that provides easy access to a multitude of full text science-oriented content. This database contains full text for nearly 640 science encyclopedias, reference books, periodicals, etc.