Talks and Workshops

While scientists debate the details, there is general consensus that in the next 100-200 years the planet will experience profound socio-ecological change. Predictions of global temperature increases vary, but various modeling scenarios run for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests a range of global warming of between 2.5–10.4°F by 2100. The recent United Nations World Water Development Report states that by the middle of this century, at worst 7 billion people in sixty countries will be water-scarce. (United Nations, 2003). Entire ecosystems and habitats will likely become extinct.

In general, the public is unaware and unprepared for these profound changes, as was revealed in a recent National Science Foundation survey taken of adults in the United States regarding their attitudes towards science and technology. While 88 percent of the public has heard of global warming and 86 percent feel the issue should be treated as a serious or very serious problem, barely half of those surveyed knew how long it takes the Earth to orbit the sun, and 70 percent lack an understanding of basic scientific processes.

This short course will provide an overview of the “big picture” of climate change and its human dimension, and point towards a variety of resources, including the Climate TimeLine Information Tool (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/ctl) and programs designed to make environmental data more accessible and meaningful to non-technical users. The primary focus of the short course will be to help demystify climate change and discuss ways to promote environmental literacy.