One of the common gripes among critics of climate change has been the lack of climate information readily available to the public.  This has become an especially sensitive issue in cases like the UK's Climate Research Unit, where researchers have been accused of falsifying data to make warming look worse than it is.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has announced some major news that should be welcomed by global warming proponents and skeptics alike.  The U.S. research organization is launching a new website called the NOAA Climate Portal, which will serve as a one-stop site for the NOAA's wealth of climate data, as well as the organization's services.

The site is geared primarily towards delivering data in the friendliest form possible to everyone from policy leaders in the government to scientists, and even to the general public.  Commerce Secretary Gary Locke writes in a statement, "By providing critical planning information that our businesses and our communities need, NOAA Climate Service will help tackle head-on the challenges of mitigating and adapting to climate change. In the process, we'll discover new technologies, build new businesses and create new jobs."

The services encompassed by the site are almost entirely preexisting, but the site should simplify access.  That's a sensible proposition given that the NOAA already fields millions of requests for data yearly from a diverse set of interests.  

Jane Lubchenco, undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator praised the new portal, describing, "Working closely with federal, regional, academic, and other state and local government and private sector partners, the new NOAA Climate Service will build on our success transforming science into usable climate services. NOAA is committed to scientific integrity and transparency; we seek to advance science and strengthen product development and delivery through user engagement."

"More and more individuals—community planners, farmers, public health officials and small business owners—are seeking reliable, user-friendly climate data and information. We envision this climate portal as the first step toward making the wealth of climate information at NOAA available in one easy-to-use resource.""

One fun part of the site for amateur climatologists is the interactive climate dashboard, which features real-time data from the NOAA's weather stations tracking temperature, carbon dioxide concentration and sea level over adjustable time scales.  Another interesting offering is the new ClimateWatch magazine, which discusses the latest happenings in the field of climate change research and climatology.

In short, for even the most hardened climate skeptic, the NOAA's new Portal should provide an interesting and informative diversion.