Course-Related
Readings & Assignments (due before indicated class meeting)
Class #1 (Introduction):
Readings:
DP: 6-17
Class #2 (Introduction, continued):
Readings:
DP: 32-35
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) Fourth Assessment ("AR4") Working Group 1 ("WG1")
Report, Summary
For Policy Makers, pages 2-3
Class #3 (Greenhouse Gases on The Rise):
Readings:
Assignment:
Write a short (1-2 paragraph) critique of
this
article by climate change skeptic Dr. Roy Spencer, based on your readings
and any possible supplementary sources of information you wish to use (though note the instructions regarding
use of supplementary sources of information in the course
syllabus). Come
to class prepared to participate in a discussion.
[First Opportunity (week #2) to attend 90 minute "World
in Conversation" evening workshop]
Class #4 (In-Class Internet/Web Workshop):
[come to class
prepared to participate in workshop]
Class #5 (The Greenhouse Effect):
Readings:
DP: 22--31
IPCC AR4 WG1 Report, Frequently
Asked Questions,
Question #1.3 "What is the Greenhouse
Effect", pages 6-7
[Second Opportunity (week #3) to attend 90 minute
"World in Conversation" evening workshop]
Class #6 (The Greenhouse Effect, continued):
Readings:
"The Discovery of Global
Warming" by Spencer Weart (American Institute of Physics) The Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse
Effect
Assignment:
Use this online calculator
from the University of Massachusetts Geosciences Department to investigate the
impact of the
Greenhouse Effect (you can ignore
the list of questions). In this simple model, the greenhouse effect is represented by a single
parameter, the fraction of the longwave radiation emitted from the Earth that
is radiated back down towards the surface rather than escaping to space (due to
the "greenhouse effect"). The current greenhouse effect is
approximated by assuming that this fraction is 0.40 (i.e. 40%).
Do the following calculations. Convert all answers from
Kelvin to Fahrenheit.
1. The default fraction of the online
calculator is 0.397. Change this to 0.40 to estimate the current average
surface temperature of the Earth.
2. What would the average temperature of
the Earth be if there were no greenhouse effect at all? What
are the implications of your answer?
3. Assume that doubling of CO2
concentrations relative to their pre-industrial levels will increase the back
radiation from 40% to 41%
(at the low end of the range that has been calculated by
scientists). How much warming will
be expected?
4. Assume that instead, this doubling
increases the back radiation from 40% to 44% (at the upper end of the calculated range). Now how much
warming would be expected in this case?
Class #7 (Observations of Modern Climate Change):
Readings:
DP: 36-39; 44-45
IPCC AR4 WG1 Report Frequently
Asked Questions, Question
#3.1 "How are
temperatures changing?", pages11-12
RealClimate article: The
Global Cooling Myth
Assignment:
Perform a google news search on "global
cooling" to determine how many news articles in the past month (among
those listed by google), refer to the claim that scientists were predicting
global cooling in the 1970s. Be prepared to participate in an in-class discussion.
Class #8 (In-Class Library Instruction Session):
[come to class
prepared to participate in instruction session]
Class #9 (Observations of Modern Climate Change, continued):
Readings:
48-55
IPCC AR4 WG1 Report Frequently Asked
Questions, Question
#3.2 "How is
precipitation changing?", pages 13-14
IPCC AR4 WG1 Report Frequently Asked
Questions, Question
#3.3 "Has there been a
Change in Extreme Events?", pages 15-16
IPCC AR4 WG1 Report Frequently Asked
Questions, Question
#9.1 "Can Extreme
Events be explained by Global Warming?", page 27
Assignment:
Read this Newsweek piece from November 2010, "Is
Global Warming Responsible for Wild Weather?";
and this ABC
News piece from just this past July, "It's
Simple: Global Warming Is Causing the Extreme Weather". You might
also read this op-ed that your instructor wrote about the topic this past
August: "Ignore
Climate Cassandra at our peril". Prepare a short (1 to 2 paragraph)
summary to turn in. Discuss any changes you think these pieces might reflect in
the prevailing thinking about the linkage between climate change and extreme
weather events.
*** #2 Turn in your "World In
Conversation" essay (1-2 pages). ***
Class #10 (Humans vs. Nature: The Competing Impacts of
Humans and Nature on Climate):
Readings:
DP: 18-19
IPCC AR4 WG1 Report Frequently
Asked Questions, Question
#2.1 "How do Human Activities Compare with Natural
Influences", pages 8-10 of document
IPCC AR4 WG1 Report Frequently
Asked Questions, Question #6.1 "What caused...climate
changes...before the industrial era?", pages
20-21 of document
Write a short essay (roughly1 page,
single-spaced), in your own words, about the relative role of natural and human
factors in climate change. Be sure to include some specific examples. Keep a
copy of your essay, to bring with you to the writing workshop
which takes place in class #12.
Class #11 (In-Class Academic Integrity Workshop):
[come to class
prepared to participate in workshop]
Class #12 (In-Class Writing Workshop):
[come to class prepared
to participate in workshop; bring a copy of your essay from lesson #10]
Class #13 (The Paleoclimate Perspective):
Readings:
DP: 40-43; 46-47; 58-59; 62-63
IPCC AR4 WG1 Report Frequently
Asked Questions, Question
#6.2 "Is the Current
Climate Change Unusual?", page 22
Assignment:
Come to class ready to participate in a
discussion of how studying past climate can inform our understanding of
human-caused climate change.
Class #14 (A Tempest in a Greenhouse: Have Hurricanes Become
More Frequent or Intense?):
Readings:
DP: 56-57
Assignment:
Write a 1 or 2 paragraph summary discussing
the main point of scientific contention regarding the influences of global
warming on Hurricanes. Come to class prepared to participate in a debate.
Class #15
("The Day After Tomorrow": A Possible Scenario?):
Readings:
DP: 60-61
IPCC AR4 WG1 Report Frequently
Asked Questions, Question #10.2
"How likely are..Abrupt Climate Changes?", pages 31-32
[CONTACT INSTRUCTOR WITH SUGGESTED TOPIC FOR COURSE-END
MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATION]
Class #16
("The Day After Tomorrow": A Possible Scenario?):
(continued)
Class #17 (Climate Modeling; Can't we Explain Past Trends by
Natural Factors Alone?):
Readings:
DP: 64-75
IPCC AR4 WG1 Report Frequently
Asked Questions, Question
#1.1 "What Factors
Determine Earth's Climate?", pages 2-3
IPCC AR4 WG1 Report Frequently
Asked Questions, Question
#1.2 "What is the
Relationship Between Climate and Weather?", pages
4-5
IPCC AR4 WG1 Report Frequently
Asked Questions, Question
#8.1 "How Reliable Are
the Models?", pages 25-26
IPCC AR4 WG1 Report
Assignment:
Perform a google news search using
appropriate key words to determine how many news articles in the past month
suggest that the warming of the past century is likely to have been due to
natural, rather than human, influences. Briefly summarize your findings. Come to class
prepared to discuss some of the examples you found.
Class #18 (How Sensitive is the Climate?)
Readings:
DP: 78-85
Class #19 (Scientific Uncertainty):
Readings:
DP: 20-21
IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, WG1 Summary
For Policy Makers, table on page 8
Assignment:
Read the news article The
Truth About Denial from the August 13 2007 issue of Newsweek magazine. Come to class
prepared to participate in a group discussion.
Class #20 (Projections of Future Climate Change; Emissions
Scenarios)
Readings:
DP: 86-87; 104-105
IPCC AR4 WG1 Report Frequently
Asked Questions, Question
#10.3 "If Emissions
are Reduced, How Quickly do Concentrations Decrease?",
pages 33-34
Assignment:
[ONE PARAGRAPH BLURB ON PRESENTATION TOPIC DUE]
Class #21 (EMS Media Commons Lab):
[come to the
MEDIA COMMONS CENTER to participate in hands-on computer lab]
Class #22 (Projections of Future Climate Change: Surface
Warming)
Readings:
DP: 77; 88-97
IPCC AR4 WG1 Report Frequently
Asked Questions, Question
#11.1 "Do Projected
Changes...Vary from Region to Region?", page 3
Class #23 (Projections of Future Climate Change: Melting Ice
and Rising Sea Level)
Readings:
DP: 77; 94-99
Class #24 (Extreme Weather)
Readings:
IPCC AR4 WG1 Report Frequently
Asked Questions, Question
#11.1 "Do Projected
Changes...Vary from Region to Region?", page 3
IPCC AR4 WG1 Report Frequently
Asked Questions, Question
#10.1 "Are Extreme
Events...Expected to Change?", page 30
Assignment:
Perform a google news search to find
recent news articles discussing climate change impacts on extreme weather
events, including hurricane Sandy. Assess the reliability of your sources.
Summarize your findings in one or two paragraphs. Come to class prepared to discuss your
examples.
Class #25 (The Science in ‘An Inconvenient Truth’)
Readings:
Class #26 (The Science in ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, continued)