Goals and Objectives

Goals

• Recognize the natural and human-driven systems and processes that produce energy and affect the environment
• Explain scientific concepts in language non-scientists can understand

Learning Objectives

The basic physics of global warming are very well understood, but by themselves don’t mean much to most people. More interesting is how the physics leads to things that do matter to people.  After completing this module, student will be able to:

• Summarize how the Earth’s history confirms the warming influence of carbon dioxide
• Recognize that past climate changes have greatly affected plants and animals, usually in unpleasant ways
• Recall that future rise in CO₂, and therefore surface temperature, is likely to be much worse than what we have experienced in the past 100 years
• Explain how small amounts of climate change are worse for poor people, and larger amounts are bad for everyone
• Assess what you have learned in Unit 1