Atmospheric observations have provided important constraints on the global carbon cycle in broad latitudinal zones. Other approaches, notably surface seawater data as well as inventories and models of terrestrial ecosystems appear to offer conflicting evidence for net carbon sources/sinks in the same broad latitude zones. The North American Carbon Program (NACP) is an interdisciplinary, inter-agency effort to resolve some of these questions and come up with a carbon budget for North America that is solidly science- based. A brief overview of the NACP will be given.