Welcome to the Freshman Seminar Introduction to the Science of Climate Change! This seminar will give you a quick and broad outline of the principal scientific issues that are relevant for the intense political debate that is shaping up on global warming, which is likely to be a dominant theme in world politics of the 21st century. The objective of the seminar is that students will develop an understanding of the science sufficient to form their own opinion on the policies that we need in relation to greenhouse emissions.

Textbook

Thomas E. Graedel and Paul J. Crutzen, Atmosphere, Climate, and Change (Scientific American Library, 1997)

Other complementary books:

• "Earth's Climate: Past and Future", William F. Ruddiman (W. H. Freeman and Co.)
  
• "Energy and the Environment", R. A. Ristinen and J. J. Kraushaar
  
• "Energy at the Crossroads: Global Perspectives and Uncertainties", Vaclav Smil (MIT Press)
  
• "Power to the People", Vijay. V. Vaitheeswaran (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
  

• "Advanced Technology Paths to Global Climate Stability: Energy for a Greenhouse Planet", M. I. Hoffert et al., Science, 298, 981.
  
• "The Challenge of Long-Term Climate Change", K. Hasselmann et al., Science, 302, 1923.
• "Climate Change: The Political Situation", R. T. Watson, Science, 302, 1925.
• "Can we Defuse the Global Warming Time Bomb?", J. Hansen, report from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies found at this webpage . You can also find in this webpage a shorter version of the article published in Scientific American.

Grades

Your grade in this course will be determined by:
(a) A quantitative homework where you will confirm by yourself how the human emissions resulting from fossil fuel burning are increasing the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. The homework will provide you with any necessary guidelines you need to go through simple mathematical operations. This homework will be due on February 6th.

(b) A qualitative take-home exam on questions about the material taught in lectures. This will be handed out on March 5th and will be due on the last day of class, March 12th.

(c) A paper you will write among various subjects you can choose, which will be due on March 9th. Click here for the detailed instructions for the paper .

The final grade of the course will be determined as:

• Homework: 20%
• Take-home exam: 40%
• Paper: 40%
• Homework:
  Homework 1 (due February 6) .

  Office Hours

  Since this is a 1-hour credit course with a small number of students, I will have no official office hours and instead you can send me email or ask me in class to request for a meeting time that is convenient, at any point during the course when you have any questions or difficulties.

  Syllabus

  I will be writing brief lecture notes for every one of the lectures in the first nine weeks. The textbook for the course is a nice book accessible to the public. The lectures will not follow the chapters of the book, so the book is a complementary tool to the course lectures. I will also be distributing additional articles in classes, and provide links to various websites where you can find additional information if desired.

  Lecture 1 (January 9): What determines the temperature of the Earth?

  Lecture 2 (January 16): The atmosphere of the Earth and the greenhouse effect.

  Read chapters 1 and 2.

  Lecture 3 (January 23): The anthropogenic greenhouse effect: radiative forcings.

  Lecture 4 (January 30): The Present Carbon Cycle.

  Read chapters 4 and 5.

  Lecture 5 (February 6): Recent History of the Earth climate.

  Homework due.

  Lecture 6 (February 13): Earlier History of the Earth.

  Lecture 7 (February 20): The recent global temperature change.

  Read chapter 6.

  Lecture 8 (February 27): Climate models for predicting the future.

  Read chapter 8.

  Lecture 9 (March 5): Solutions to global warming.

  Paper will be due on March 9th.

  Lecture 10 (March 12) : Student presentations and general discussion.

  Take-home exam due.

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  Links to useful websites

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Here you will find the reports by the IPCC, with detailed information about the scientific basis of climate change, and the opportunities for mitigation of human impacts and adaptation to the changes.
  • The Hadley Centre and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies are two institutions dedicated to the study of Earth's climate, with nice informing websites.
  • Greenhouse Gas Online is a place to find all the news related to global warming, and also a nice summary of many scientific aspects.
  • Real Climate is a website dedicated to discussion of recent news related to climate change, where actual scientists provide reliable information.
  • The American Geophysical Union is the major US association of Earth scientists. Read their recently adopted Statement on Human Impacts on Climate .
  • The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change explains the political process being attempted to try to stabilize greenhouse gas atmospheric concentrations so as to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system. You can read also about the Kyoto Protocol .
  • The Union of Concerned Scientists and Environmental Defense are two environmental organizations that are science-based and provide useful information on global warming and the possible solutions.
  • The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is a very informative site on renewable energy technologies.
  • The World Health Organization has issued a report on the global health impacts of climate change . Read the summary here .
  • You can read about the points of view sponsored by industries having financial interests opposed to cuts in greenhouse emissions, for example, in these sites: the American Petroleum Institute , the Competitive Enterprise Institute , the Heartland Institute , and the Center for Global Food Issues .

  Freshman Seminar, Winter Quarter 2004
  F 9:30-10:18 McPherson Room 1015

  Where to find me:

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  Jordi Miralda-Escudé

  To my main homepage