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

Course Syllabus for Fall 2013

Instructor: Michael E. Mann, Department of Meteorology, 514 Walker Building, mann@psu.edu

Teaching Assistant: Timothy E. Johnston, tej5030@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/EMSC100SFALL13

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 homework 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, and students are expected to participate in the World In Conversation exercise, which will take place outside of class sometime during October (this will count as one homework assignment). 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 27	Introduction
2	R Aug 29	Introduction (cont);
3	T Sep 3	Greenhouse Gases on the Rise
4	R Sep 5	The Greenhouse Effect
5	T Sep 10	The "Greenhouse Effect (cont)
6	R Sep 12	Observations of Modern Climate Change
7	T Sep 17	Internet/Web Workshop w/ EMS info. tech. expert Tim Robinson (143 STUCKEMAN BUILDING
8	R Sep 19	Observations of Modern Climate Change (cont) (Guest Lecture by Prof. Ray Najjar)
9	T Sep 24	A Tempest in a Greenhouse: Have Hurricanes Become More Frequent or Intense?
10	R Sep 26	Humans vs. Nature
11	T Oct 1	Academic Integrity Workshop w/ EMS writer-in-residence Kimberly Del Bright
12	R Oct 3	The Paleoclimate Perspective (Guest Lecture by Byron Steinman)
13	T Oct 8	The Day After Tomorrow: A Possible Scenario?
14	R Oct 10	The Day After Tomorrow: A Possible Scenario? (cont)
15	T Oct 15	Climate Modeling; Can't We Explain Climate Trends by Natural Factors Alone?
16	R Oct 17	How Sensitive is the Climate? (Guest Lecture by Prof. Chris Forest)
17	T Oct 22	Writing Workshop w/ EMS writer-in-residence Kimberly Del Bright
18	R Oct 24	Scientific Uncertainty
19	T Oct 29	Projections of Future Climate Change: Emissions Scenarios (Guest Lecture by Prof Martin Tingley)
20	R Oct 31	Projections of Future Climate Change: Surface Warming
21	T Nov 5	Projections of Future Climate Change: Melting Ice, Rising Sea Level, Extreme Weather
22	R Nov 7	Media Workshop w/ Lauren Rishe (W140 PATTEE)
23	T Nov 12	The science in An Inconvenient Truth
24	R Nov 14	The science in An Inconvenient Truth (cont)
25	T Nov 19	Online Publishing Workshop w/ EMS info. tech. expert Tim Robinson (143 STUCKEMAN BUILDING)
26	R Nov 21	In class Media Lab w/ Lauren Rishe (W140 PATTEE)
	T Nov 26	No Class [Thanksgiving break]
	R Nov 28	No Class [Thanksgiving break]
27	T Dec 3	Impacts/Adaptations /Vulnerability/Solutions [student presentations]
28	R Dec 5	Impacts/Adaptations /Vulnerability/Solutions [student presentations]