The methods for exchange of information are changing rapidly. The expanding use of the Internet for dissemination of information is particularly apparent in the atmospheric sciences. Up-to-the-minute weather and climate information can be received on the instructors desk-top computer, displayed directly on wide-screen projection devices in the classroom, or viewed by the student in a computer laboratory or on a home computer. The subjects of global warming and ozone depletion are uniquely suited to exploit this developing technology. Since they are subjects of considerable interest to scientists, policy makers, and the general public, there is a vast amount of information available on them. Government agencies provide daily images of the ozone hole over Antarctica while environmental organizations provide forums for discussions of policy issues.
The availability of this information via the Internet simplifies the requirements for graphics and information presented in the text. The black-and-white figures in the text are comparatively few relative to the total number of figures usually presented in introductory texts, many of which are often costly color images. This is possible because the instructor or student can obtain hundreds of relevant figures on their own in color over the Internet. Plus, other media forms, such as video clips, can be accessed and integrated into presentations.
Rather than answering only why the Internet Companion is available as a supplement to the text, it is equally relevant to ask why the text is necessary, if so much information is available already via the Internet. Searching for information on the Internet can be an absorbing and daunting task. Many analogies exist for the present state of the Internet. One of our favorites is to view the sources of information on it as every book in a major university library thrown in a heap onto the university's football field. How would you find the information that you want and how do you place the information that you find in context? While there are many ways to help organize information on the Internet, this text and the accompanying Internet Companion are means to explore the subjects of global warming and ozone depletion in a constructive and stimulating manner for both instructors and students.
The Internet Companion is part of a World Wide Web server located in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Utah. For those already familiar with the jargon used on the Web, the Internet Companion is located at the following Uniform Resource Locator (URL): http://www.met.utah.edu/climate.html. If this terminology is unfamiliar to you, it is explained further in Appendix A.5. The Companion consists of several types of information:
The Internet Companion can be used independently to browse for information related to climate change. However, to be able to place the information in context requires relying on the accompanying text. At the end of each chapter of the book, suggested locations in the Internet Companion for additonal information are presented. This replaces the bibliography section frequently used in introductory texts. The locations in some cases may point to a single figure, but most often will contain interactive access to in-depth information.
The user of the Internet Companion must become familiar with the restrictions on the access, use, and dissemination of electronic information subject to copyright restrictions. For example, the color copies of the figures used in this text are accessible to everyone for personal use, in the same manner that anyone can look at a book at the library. However, they can not be reproduced or distributed without the permission of the publisher. Most sites on the Internet place similar restrictions on their information.