One goal is to rally support for a upcoming regulations to limit emissions from coal-fired plants, which are linked to global warming. The new site, which isn't operating fully yet, will use climate science data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Defense Department and NASA. The first data will focus on coastal flooding and the rise in sea levels. The government is asking researchers and private companies to create free software simulations illustrating the impact of higher oceans for every coastal ZIP Code, municipality, county and state.

White House officials hope that if city planners and homeowners see vivid projections of the impact of climate change in their areas, it could ease opposition to climate-related policies. In a related move, President Obama also plans to ask Congress for $1 billion in his 2015 budget to start finance research, preparation and construction to adapt to extreme weather driven by global warming.

President says: "Climate change is a fact. And when our children's children look us in the eye and ask if we did all we could to leave them a safer, more stable world, with new sources of energy, I want us to be able to say yes, we did." – State of the Union Address, 2014

Skeptical scientist says: "Dealing with climate change is not so much about identifying specific impacts at a specific time in the future." -- Christopher Field, Stanford University global ecology director

Utility industry says: "The administration's new climate change website will further bolster its fear-inducing vision of the future, which sounds more and more like a scene out of a Hollywood movie." -- Laura Sheehan, senior vice president at the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity