Webster took part in an early discussion on global warming

Climate change piqued Noah Webster's curiosity. He noticed alterations brought on by human activity after careful monitoring of weather patterns. He obtained data showing that extensive agricultural production directly contributed to climate change in the United States. Large expanses of woodland were being cleared by farmers to make room for farms during his time. Webster and Thomas Jefferson engaged in public discussions on climate change. In a lecture to the newly founded Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1799, Webster refuted the "popular assumption that the temperature of the winter season, in northern latitudes, has undergone a considerable shift."

He made the discussion remarks available to the public and wrote the authoritative booklet Are our Winters Getting Warmer (1810). A few years later, Webster gave a follow-up speech on the subject. The two speeches Webster gave on the subject of the weather were collected in his book, which was also titled On the Supposed Change of in the Temperature of Winter. After carefully examining the available data, Webster concluded that agricultural activities in the US (such as clearing forests and expanding farmland) had resulted in several modest climatic changes.