I ask this because I've a session coming up on our PGCE course with climate change as its focus. One answer, of course, is to keep an eye on what the IPCC is itself saying – as opposed, perhaps, to what is being said about it by others. Their Google search engine gets you access to the wealth of its detail and reports. For example, if you wanted data on glaciers and which are melting (and which not), and the effects this might have on fresh water availability, you might find your way to this page. Here, you'd read:
Glaciers in the Himayala are receding faster than in any other part of the world ... if the present rate continues, the likelihood of them (sic) disappearing by the year 2035 and perhaps sooner is very high if the Earth keeps warming at the current rate ... (WWF, 2005).
You might wonder, of course, what WWF knows about glaciers, but you'd probably not pursue this because the whole point of the IPCC is (isn't it?) that only kosha research gets through its processes and scrutiny by experts.
Well, apparently not. The Times has a story today which did chase up the WWF reference – and found it wanting. Oh Dear! More to worry about than just what to teach – but I think I knew that.
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