Climate and Culture

Catalog description

Climate change is one of the most important issues facing humans today, but its nature and causes are debated. Interpreting and projecting past, present, and future changes in climate, pinpointing their causes, and understanding their effects on ecosystems and human societies, is extremely challenging. This course acquaints students with the intricacies of climate change debates by 1) Explaining natural causes of climate change; 2) Examining past interactions between climate and human land use; 3) Probing evidence for recent anthropogenic climate change and effects on different populations around the world; and 4) Exploring different viewpoints about climate change today.