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

Course Syllabus for Spr 2011

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

Teaching Assistant: Christine McEnrue, cmm5359@psu.edu

Meeting Time/Place: T R 11:15 AM – 12:30 PM (8 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/EMSC100SSPR11

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.

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 give short presentations on a selected topic (both written and oral) towards the end of the term.

Course Schedule (subject to change)

# DATE TOPIC

1	T Jan 11	Introduction
2	R Jan 13	Academic Integrity Workshop w/ EMS writer-in-residence Kimberly Del Bright
3	T Jan 18	Greenhouse Gases on the Rise
4	R Jan 20	Greenhouse Gases on the Rise (cont)
5	T Jan 25	The “Greenhouse Effect”
6	R Jan 27	The “Greenhouse Effect” (cont)
7	T Feb 1	Humans vs. Nature
8	R Feb 3	Scientific Uncertainty
9	T Feb 8	Observations of Modern Climate Change
10	R Feb 10	Observations of Modern Climate Change (continued)
11	T Feb 15	Observations of Modern Climate Change (continued)
12	R Feb 17	Internet/Web Workshop w/ EMS info. tech. expert Tim Robinson
13	T Feb 22	Observations of Modern Climate Change (continued)
14	R Feb 24	A Tempest in a Greenhouse: Have Hurricanes Become More Frequent or Intense?
	T Mar 1	No Class
15	R Mar 3	The Paleoclimate Perspective
	T Mar 8	No Class [Spring break]
	R Mar 10	No Class [Spring break]
16	T Mar 15	Writing Workshop w/ EMS writer-in-residence Kimberly Del Bright
17	R Mar 17	‘The Day After Tomorrow’: A Possible Scenario?
18	T Mar 22	The Day After Tomorrow’: A Possible Scenario? (continued)
19	R Mar 24	Climate Modeling; Can’t We Explain Climate Trends by Natural Factors Alone?
20	T Mar 29	How Sensitive is the Climate?
21	R Mar 31	Projections of Future Climate Change: Emissions Scenarios
22	T Apr 5	Projections of Future Climate Change: Surface Warming
23	R Apr 7	Library Instruction Session w/ Earth Science Librarian Robert Tolliver
24	T Apr 12	Projections of Future Climate Change: Melting Ice, Rising Sea Level, Extreme Weather
25	R Apr 14	The science in ‘An Inconvenient Truth’
26	T Apr 19	The science in ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ (continued)
27	R Apr 21	Online Publishing Workshop w/ EMS info. tech. expert Tim Robinson
28	T Apr 26	Impacts/Adaptations /Vulnerability/Solutions [student oral presentations]
29	R Apr 28	Impacts/Adaptations /Vulnerability/Solutions [student oral presentations]