EMS First Year Seminar: Climate Change and Potential Societal Impacts (EM SC 100S, 3 Credits)

Course Syllabus for Fall 2012

Instructor: Michael E. Mann, Department of Meteorology, 523 Walker Building, mann@psu.edu

Teaching Assistant: Michael Page, michael.page@psu.edu

Meeting Time/Place: T R 2:30 – 3:45 PM (10 DEIKE)

Office Hours: You are welcome to visit my office for questions during scheduled office hours (Wed, 1-2:15 PM), or by appointment. You may also email for questions (please use "mann@psu.edu"). Responses may be delayed.

Motivation:

How certain are we that human activity is altering Earth's climate? How much more warming might we expect over the next century? What will the impacts be on severe weather events such as hurricanes, tornados, floods and drought? How might climate change impact water availability in arid and semi-arid regions already stressed for water resources? What is the threat to coastal regions? How might climate change impact natural ecosystems? Are there winners and losers? This course will explore the scientific evidence underlying each of these questions, reviewing the most recent international assessments of the science.

Webpage

We will regularly draw upon the course homepage as a resource for the course:

http://www.meteo.psu.edu/~mann/Mann/courses/EMSC100SFALL12

Aside from links to the course syllabus, there will be links to the readings, slides from the lectures, and other course-related materials.

Lectures

Attendance of all lectures is expected. You are strongly encouraged to ask questions and participate constructively in class. Copies of slides from the lectures will usually be made available electronically through the course website (see above) the morning prior to the lecture. The assignments given for a particular class meeting are due before that class begins (i.e. at the beginning of that class meeting).

Textbook

The course textbook is: "Dire Predictions: Understanding Global Warming" by Mann and Kump. It is available in the Penn State bookstore.

In addition, you are expected to read various other selected materials provided through the course webpage. The readings should be completed in advance of our covering the material in class. Readings for each week will typically be posted on the course website by the end of the previous week.

You are welcome (and indeed encouraged) to make use of supplementary sources of information that you may find. You should be sure, however, to assess the reliability of any supplementary sources used in assignments, with respect to the qualifications and expertise of the source, and any biases or conflicts of interest that may compromise its objectivity.

Course Requirements and Grades

Students will be expected to complete written assignments based on the readings, in advance of our covering the material in class (assignments will be collected at the end of class). Students are expected to participate in in-class discussion and debates. Students will take turns leading discussions over the course of the term, and will prepare and present to the class at the end of the semester a multimedia presentation on a topic to be determined (projects will be selected in consultation with the instructor mid-way through the term).

Course Schedule (subject to change)

# DATE TOPIC

1	T Aug 28	Introduction
2	R Aug 30	Introduction (cont);
3	T Sep 4	Greenhouse Gases on the Rise
4	R Sep 6	Internet/Web Workshop w/ EMS info. tech. expert Tim Robinson (143 STUCKEMAN BUILDING
5	T Sep 11	The "Greenhouse Effect"
6	R Sep 13	The "Greenhouse Effect" (cont)
7	T Sep 18	Observations of Modern Climate Change
8	R Sep 20	Library Instruction Session w/ Earth Science Librarian Robert Tolliver (EMS Library)
9	T Sep 25	Observations of Modern Climate Change (cont) (Guest Lecture by Byron Steinman)
10	R Sep 27	Humans vs. Nature
11	T Oct 2	Academic Integrity Workshop w/ EMS writer-in-residence Kimberly Del Bright
12	R Oct 4	Writing Workshop w/ EMS writer-in-residence Kimberly Del Bright
13	T Oct 9	The Paleoclimate Perspective (Guest Lecture by Byron Steinman)
14	R Oct 11	A Tempest in a Greenhouse: Have Hurricanes Become More Frequent or Intense? (Guest Lecture by Byron Steinman)
15	T Oct 16	The Day After Tomorrow: A Possible Scenario?
16	R Oct 18	The Day After Tomorrow: A Possible Scenario? (continued)
17	T Oct 23	Climate Modeling; Can't We Explain Climate Trends by Natural Factors Alone?
18	R Oct 25	How Sensitive is the Climate?
19	T Oct 30	Scientific Uncertainty
20	R Nov 1	Projections of Future Climate Change: Emissions Scenarios
21	T Nov 6	Media Workshop w/ Lauren Rishe & Tim Robinson (W140 PATTEE)
22	R Nov 8	Projections of Future Climate Change: Surface Warming (Guest Lecture by Byron Steinman)
23	T Nov 13	Projections of Future Climate Change: Melting Ice, Rising Sea Level, Extreme Weather
24	R Nov 15	Projections of Future Climate Change: wrapup
	T Nov 20	No Class [Thanksgiving break]
	R Nov 22	No Class [Thanksgiving break]
25	T Nov 27	The science in An Inconvenient Truth
26	R Nov 29	The science in An Inconvenient Truth (continued)
27	T Dec 4	In class Media Lab w/ Lauren Rishe & Tim Robinson (W140 PATTEE)
28	R Dec 6	Online Publishing Workshop w/ EMS info. tech. expert Tim Robinson (143 STUCKEMAN BUILDING)
29	T Dec 11	Impacts/Adaptations /Vulnerability/Solutions [student presentations]
30	R Dec 13	Impacts/Adaptations /Vulnerability/Solutions [student presentations]