Energy and Earth's Climate

Catalog description

Energy and Earth's Climate examines the immense value we get from energy, where we get most of our energy, why the energy system must change eventually, and why a faster change would help us. Our ancestors burned trees and whales far faster than nature produced more, gaining good from the energy but causing big problems. Our use of fossil fuels allows us to live well, and to let the whales and trees grow back. But highly confident science shows that fossil-fuel-sourced carbon dioxide promises even bigger problems in a warming future, if we don¿t change course. This course is based on the widely viewed PBS series Earth: The Operators' Manual. In the series, Dr. Richard Alley's (Evan Pugh University Professor of Geosciences) presents an objective, accessible assessment of the Earth¿s problems and possibilities. Through this course, successful students will be able to: - Recognize the natural and human-driven systems and processes that produce energy and affect the environment - Explain scientific concepts in language non-scientists can understand - Find reliable sources of information on the internet - Use numerical tools and publicly available scientific data to demonstrate important concepts about the Earth, its climate, and resources