Richard Wolfson

This course focuses on the scientific basis of climate change. We will explore three main questions: (1) What’s the evidence that Earth’s climate is changing? (2) What’s the cause of present-day climate change? (3) What does our climate future have in store, and how can we influence that future? Specific topics include the greenhouse effect, energy flows between Sun, Earth, and atmosphere, past climates, carbon emissions and other human influence on climate, climate models and their projections of future climate. Readings will be from reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other sources that will be made available. Students will work with primary data including global and regional temperature records, carbon emissions, and ice-core data on ancient climates. Each class will include a brief introduction to the day’s topic, followed by data analysis and other activities. Class topics will be followed in greater depth through readings and pre-recorded presentations.