Researching Climate Change: Trends in US Government Publications Distributed By the Government Printing Office

The U.S. government is a major sponsor and publisher of scientific data and interpretative research. This study looks at government publications on climate change distributed by the Government Printing Office's (GPO) Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) between 1970 and 2007. These publications were grouped according to their issuing agency, author, and date of publication, and then evaluated on how they addressed the topic of climate change. An unusually large percentage of these publications are of Congressional origin. Regardless of their source, the publications examined imply a greater awareness of climate change in the 1990s, decreasing at the turn of the century and increasing again in recent years. Publications were analyzed by agency, author, and publishing dates. Additionally, publications were evaluated based on how the issue of climate change was addressed. Areas covered included the causes of or solutions for climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]