Not so very long ago, you would have to go to great lengths to find out what was going on with the Earth's climate. Big oil companies would slap a class action lawsuit (definition here) on any newspaper or blog that dared to suggest their products were changing the planet's climate. But today global warming is an accepted fact and news about it can no longer be suppressed. It appears in the TV news, in newspapers, online, and on the radio. You may not even realize how many stories have to do with climate change, as they never actually say the words. Here are some examples.

Storms

Storms are just a fact of life here on planet Earth. There were storms before climate change began, so how can they have anything to do with that topic? Because storms are becoming more and more powerful and happening out of season now that the greenhouse gases are changing the climate. So the next time that someone tells you about an extra powerful typhoon, hurricane, or forest fire, you're seeing violent evidence of the Earth's changing climate. Recent examples include the wildfire in Russia and hurricane Katrina.

Droughts

Droughts are more likely to be associated with climate change because everyone knows the Earth's average temperature is getting warmer, and more heat means less rain, especially in places that received limited rainfall already. People who hear about farmers giving up after losing their crops are probably seeing the results of climate change. Examples of some of the worst droughts can be seen in news from the already dry continent of Australia, which is suffering badly from climate change.

Floods

Hardly anyone associates increased wetness with climate change, but the fact that the average temperature is increasing as more used tires are burned means that its getting harder and harder for ice to stay solid. The result is flood conditions along many glacier fed rivers, such as the Ganges in India, the Indus in Pakistan, and the Yangteze in China. So the next time you read about rivers flooding their banks and people being forced to flee, like what happened in Pakistan two years ago, that's climate change at work.

Renewable Energy Initiatives

On the positive side, we're seeing a lot more new stories focusing on renewable energy initiatives by governments, businesses, and research scientists. When you see that a manufacturer has installed carbon capture technology, that a film crew has bought carbon credits to offset production, or that an elementary school is planting trees in their playground, these are all responses to climate change. Other efforts include increases in wind and solar energy, the popularization of Green products, and sustainable practices in forestry and water usage.