NOAA's National Environmental Watch Service communicates, in
a format that is easy to understand, important aspects of 
problem-specific, NOAA-sponsored research and analysis.  A copy of
NOAA National Environmental Watch 1994 is available via ftp.  This
publication summarizes some of the NOAA-sponsored research that has
relevance to societal issues.  The latest hypertext technology is
utilized in this electronic publication.

     Short articles and graphics which address a variety of
environmental topics are presented.  The articles are hyperlinked,
meaning the reader can jump among and between articles that address
specific problems.  Each article begins with an abstract of the
research.  The next part explains the relevance of the research to
societal issues of concern, i.e., why the research is important in
benefiting mankind.  Additional sections describe the research in
more detail, provide illustrations of results, and give references
to related scientific articles.  Finally, names, addresses and phone
numbers are provided for more information about the research.

     The NOAA National Environmental Watch program is designed to
run with Windows 3.1.  Minimum system requirements are an IBM 386
or compatible, 4 mb RAM, and 9 mb of disk space. VGA graphics (256
colors recommended), and a Windows 3.1 compatible mouse. 
  
     The electronic publication is now available in two forms for ftp. 
First, the entire file (new94.zip) is available.  This file is 5.5
mb in size.  After downloading, the file should be unzipped into a
separate subdirectory on your hard drive.  Running "setup" from
this subdirectory will create an icon from which you can start the
program.  Second, a diskette (3.5 inch) version is available. 
There are six files (new_dsk1.zip, ..., new_disk6.zip) to download. 
Once downloaded, unzip each file onto a separate diskette, and
label each diskette (DISK 1, ..., DISK 6).  Running "setup" on the
first diskette will install the program on your hard drive and
create an icon from which you can start the program.  If you do not
have the unzipping software, it is also available for downloading
(pkz204.exe).  This text file (readme.txt) may be downloaded after
setting the mode to text (ascii).

     To ftp the files, access your ftp software and open our
computer (ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov).  The following sequence of
instructions will allow you to download the files:

     user name: anonymous
     password: <your e-mail address>
     change directory: cd pub/noaanews
     set binary mode: binary
     download file: get <file name>
	
     The files that are now available for ftp are being put on diskettes
and CDROMs.  They will be available in the next few weeks. 

     The program is a prototype of an information delivery system.   Any
comments or questions you have on NOAA National Environmental Watch are
welcome.   Please tell us what you like and dislike about the program, 
contents, etc.  Also, please tell us if more comprehensive information
would be of value to you.  Would you like to see information, similar to
what is in this prototype, about NOAA's research in fisheries, coastal
ecosystems, water resources, atmosphere, oceans, etc.; would you like to
see summarizations of all of NOAA's Climate and Global Change research efforts; 
or would you like to see background articles that are summarized in the
IPCC Report?  What other kinds of information would you like to see in an
electronic hypertext form?  Please send your comments to:

     Ned Guttman
     National Climatic Data Center
     Federal Bldg.
     Asheville, NC 28801
     fax: 704-271-4328
     e-mail: nguttman@ncdc.noaa.gov