Privacy Policy
Institute of Climate Studies USA is committed to protecting your privacy and personal information. This policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your data.
🏢 Organization Information
Institute of Climate Studies USA
Legal Status: Nonprofit Organization (Pending 501(c)(3) Status)
Founded: 2008
Director: Raymond N. Johnson, Ph.D.
Address: P.O. Box 329, Chazy, New York 12921
Contact: info@icsusa.org
Website: icsusa.org and instituteofclimatestudies.org
📋 Information We Collect
🔍 Information You Provide
- Contact Information: Name, email address, phone number, mailing address
- Communication: Messages sent through contact forms, email correspondence
- Educational Inquiries: Information about your organization, educational needs
- Newsletter Subscriptions: Email address and preferences
- Event Registration: Registration details for presentations and workshops
📊 Information Automatically Collected
- Website Analytics: IP address, browser type, pages visited, time spent
- Cookies: Session cookies, preference cookies, analytics cookies
- Log Files: Server logs for security and performance monitoring
- Device Information: Operating system, screen resolution, referral sources
- Location Data: General geographic location (city/state level only)
🎯 How We Use Your Information
Educational Outreach
To provide climate science education, respond to inquiries about presentations, workshops, and educational programs, and to schedule speaking engagements.
Communication
To send newsletters, updates about climate research, publication announcements, and educational opportunities. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Research and Publications
To improve our educational content, understand visitor interests, and develop relevant climate science materials and resources.
Website Improvement
To analyze website usage, improve user experience, ensure security, and optimize our educational resources and accessibility.
Legal Compliance
To comply with applicable laws, respond to legal requests, protect our rights, and ensure the security of our educational mission.
🤝 Information Sharing
We Do NOT Sell Your Personal Information
ICSUSA does not sell, rent, or lease your personal information to third parties for commercial purposes.
We may share information with schools, universities, and educational organizations when arranging presentations or collaborations.
Limited sharing with email services, web hosting providers, and analytics tools that help us operate our website.
When required by law, court order, or to protect our rights and the safety of others.
With your explicit consent for specific purposes, such as collaborative research or joint educational initiatives.
🍪 Cookies and Tracking
🔧 Essential Cookies
Purpose: Required for basic website functionality
- Session management
- Security features
- Contact form functionality
Control: These cannot be disabled without affecting site functionality.
📈 Analytics Cookies
Purpose: Help us understand how visitors use our site
- Google Analytics
- Page view statistics
- User behavior patterns
Control: You can opt-out through your browser settings or Google’s opt-out tools.
⚙️ Preference Cookies
Purpose: Remember your preferences and settings
- Language preferences
- Display settings
- Newsletter preferences
Control: You can manage these through your browser settings.
🔐 Data Security
🛡️ Data Protection Measures
- Secure Hosting: Our website is hosted on secure servers with regular security updates
- Limited Access: Only authorized personnel have access to personal information
- Regular Backups: Data is regularly backed up to prevent loss
- Incident Response: We have procedures in place to respond to any security incidents
- Vendor Screening: All third-party services are evaluated for security standards
👤 Your Rights
Request a copy of the personal information we have about you
Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
Request deletion of your personal information (with certain exceptions)
Request your data in a portable format
Unsubscribe from communications at any time
How to Exercise Your Rights
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@icsusa.org or write to us at our mailing address. We will respond to your request within 30 days.
👶 Children’s Privacy
🏫 Educational Context
ICSUSA provides educational services to schools and may interact with students under 18 in supervised educational settings. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without parental consent.
- School Presentations: Any student interaction occurs under school supervision with appropriate permissions
- Educational Materials: We may provide educational resources to schools for student use
- Parental Rights: Parents have the right to review, modify, or delete their child’s information
- COPPA Compliance: We comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act
🌍 International Considerations
🇺🇸 United States
ICSUSA is based in New York, USA. We comply with applicable federal and state privacy laws, including:
- COPPA (Children’s privacy)
- CAN-SPAM Act (Email communications)
- New York privacy regulations
🇪🇺 European Union
For EU visitors, we respect GDPR principles:
- Lawful basis for data processing
- Data minimization
- Right to be forgotten
- Data portability
🌎 Other Jurisdictions
We respect privacy rights globally and will:
- Honor reasonable privacy requests
- Comply with applicable local laws
- Provide transparent communication
📅 Data Retention
Contact Information
Retention Period: 3 years from last contact or until you request deletion
Purpose: Maintain relationships for ongoing educational opportunities
Website Analytics
Retention Period: 26 months (Google Analytics default)
Purpose: Understand long-term trends and improve our educational resources
Email Communications
Retention Period: Until unsubscribed or 2 years of inactivity
Purpose: Provide updates on climate science and educational opportunities
Legal Records
Retention Period: 7 years or as required by law
Purpose: Compliance with nonprofit organization requirements
🔄 Policy Updates
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this privacy policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify you of significant changes by:
- Posting the updated policy on our website
- Sending email notification to our mailing list
- Including a notice in our newsletter
Continued use of our website after changes indicates acceptance of the updated policy.
📞 Privacy Contact Information
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this privacy policy or your personal information, please contact us:
Privacy Officer: info@icsusa.org
General Inquiries: info@icsusa.org
📮 Mailing Address
Institute of Climate Studies USA
Attn: Privacy Officer
P.O. Box 329
Chazy, New York 12921
⏱️ Response Time
We will respond to privacy-related inquiries within 30 days of receipt.
For urgent matters, please call and leave a detailed message.
Effective Date: April 15, 2009 |
Last Reviewed: June 15, 2025 |
Next Review: June 15, 2026