
Our goal this week is to explore the latest scientific consensus on the causes of global climate change and its social, economic, and environmental impacts. This week's materials will provide a broad overview of the current state of knowledge on these issues, and also bring together many of the topics from the semester - including biodiversity, environmental justice, and natural resource extraction - to consider possible ways forward to a sustainable future.
Assignments due during Week 11:
- Take the Week 11 Quiz by Tuesday at 11:59 pm Eastern Time.
- Submit your weekly Questions & Reactions by Tuesday at 11:59 pm Eastern Time.
- Respond to your classmates' Q&R's by Thursday at 11:59 pm Eastern Time.
- Continue to make progress on your Final Essay paper (it's due Thursday after week 12).
Materials for Week 11:
- FILM: IPCC Working Group I 2013: The Physical Science Basis
- FILM: IPCC Working Group II 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability
- Vandana Shiva: Soil not Oil (reading posted in CANVAS)
Week 11 Objectives:
At the end of this week, you should be able to:
- explain the human causes of global climate change and describe the resulting environmental changes.
- explain the social impacts of climate change and describe how geography and economic inequality shape the vulnerability of different populations.
- discuss several possible adaptation strategies including who will experience the costs and benefits.
- analyze the drawbacks and benefits of a biodiverse "carbon democracy" as a climate change mitigation and adaptation strategy.
Let's dive in!