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.
Class #4 (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
Class #5 (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 #6 (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 #7 (In-Class Internet/Web Workshop):
[come to class prepared to participate in
workshop]
Class #8 (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.
Class #9 (A Tempest in a Greenhouse: Have Hurricanes Become
More Frequent or Intense?):
Readings:
DP: 56-57
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 (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 #13 ("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
Class #14 ("The
Day After Tomorrow": A Possible Scenario?):
(continued)
Class #15 (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 #16 (How Sensitive is the Climate?)
Readings:
DP: 78-85
[CONTACT INSTRUCTOR WITH SUGGESTED TOPIC FOR COURSE-END
MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATION]
Class #17 (In-Class Writing Workshop):
[come to class prepared to participate in
workshop; bring a copy of your latest essay from lesson #10]
Class #18 (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 #19 (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
Class #20 (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
[ONE PARAGRAPH BLURB
ON PRESENTATION TOPIC DUE]
Class #21 (Projections of Future Climate Change: Melting
Ice, Rising Sea Level, Extreme Weather)
Readings:
DP: 77; 94-99
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 #22 (Media Workshop):
[come to call prepared to participate in
hands-on computer lab]
Class #23 (The Science in ‘An Inconvenient Truth’)
Readings:
Class #24 (The Science in ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, continued)