The first component of Earth Portal being launched in Fall 2006, is the Encyclopedia of Earth. The Encyclopedia is a free, fully searchable collection of articles written by expert authors in non-technical language for a general audience. Articles are independently reviewed by other expert topic editors. The scope of the Encyclopedia of Earth is the environment broadly defined, with particular emphasis on the interaction between society and the natural spheres of the Earth. Authors and topic editors are experts in their fields as judged by their peers and by their track record of distinguished research, teaching, writing, training, and public outreach. This community of scholars create and maintain the Encyclopedia of Earth via a specially adapted "wiki" - an online tool that allows experts to collectively add and edit web content. Unlike other, well-known wikis, such as Wikipedia, access is restricted to approved experts, and all content is reviewed and approved by topic editors prior to being published from the wiki to the Encyclopedia of Earth.

In addition, the NCSE provides free public access to the environmental reports of the Congressional Research Service (CRS).