Climate Change, a topic that includes Global Warming, refers to the relatively abrupt shift in weather patterns that has occurred during the last few decades. In this course, we present the scientific data on the earth’s climate in the short and long term and we examine the potential impacts of further climate change. We encourage students to use data to draw their own conclusions and we explore the variability in climate predictions. Students will interact directly with other students through scheduled interactive online discussions. Students will display their understanding of topics through assignments, essays, and online presentations. Topics include:
· natural and anthropogenic factors responsible for climate change
· biological and sociological consequences of climate change
· possible engineering, economic, and legal solutions to avoid more extreme climate perturbations