Roy drafted the following several years ago as a very rough proposal:
Notes on possible “Climate Action and Research” course
Objectives
Promote greater knowledge of and concern about climate change (aka climate disruption, global warming)
Enable students to contribute to actions on- and off-campus to mitigate and adapt to climate change
Serve as another model for increasing student integration into university life and involvement with the community
Design approach/issues
Taught both fall and spring with enrollment target of 100 or more
Team-taught, with rotating core faculty drawn from GES, Physics/JCET, Engineering, Social Sciences, and Humanities
Guest speakers from UMBC faculty on their climate research
Guest speakers from outside the university on relevant current issues
(e.g., solar/wind entrepreneurs; utilities; regulators; mass transit)
After first two weeks of topic introduction, one class hour per week devoted to breakout sections for climate action projects
Action projects: UMBC, local area, and state-level practical actions to reduce GHG footprint; partially formulated prior to semester; connected to student and off-campus groups
Projects supported by graduate assistants, eco-ambassadors/interns; Student Life
Comparable to I-series courses at UMCP or other models?
Transferable to other broad topics? e.g., “justice”
Workload issues for faculty/contributing departments?
Funding for GAs/project expenses?
Fit with transfer student constraints?
Topics to be covered
basic science:
climate definition
climate models
climate projections
anthropogenic causes
uncertainties and deniers
impacts of climate change:
on environment
on societies, economies, and political systems
environmental justice/most vulnerable
mitigation and adaptation efforts:
international negotiations
federal actions
Maryland state and local actions
business and personal actions
what to do:
technological advances
regulations and other policy changes
behavioral changes
Notes on possible “Climate Action and Research” course
Objectives
Promote greater knowledge of and concern about climate change (aka climate disruption, global warming)
Enable students to contribute to actions on- and off-campus to mitigate and adapt to climate change
Serve as another model for increasing student integration into university life and involvement with the community
Design approach/issues
Taught both fall and spring with enrollment target of 100 or more
Team-taught, with rotating core faculty drawn from GES, Physics/JCET, Engineering, Social Sciences, and Humanities
Guest speakers from UMBC faculty on their climate research
Guest speakers from outside the university on relevant current issues
(e.g., solar/wind entrepreneurs; utilities; regulators; mass transit)
After first two weeks of topic introduction, one class hour per week devoted to breakout sections for climate action projects
Action projects: UMBC, local area, and state-level practical actions to reduce GHG footprint; partially formulated prior to semester; connected to student and off-campus groups
Projects supported by graduate assistants, eco-ambassadors/interns; Student Life
Comparable to I-series courses at UMCP or other models?
Transferable to other broad topics? e.g., “justice”
Workload issues for faculty/contributing departments?
Funding for GAs/project expenses?
Fit with transfer student constraints?
Topics to be covered
basic science:
climate definition
climate models
climate projections
anthropogenic causes
uncertainties and deniers
impacts of climate change:
on environment
on societies, economies, and political systems
environmental justice/most vulnerable
mitigation and adaptation efforts:
international negotiations
federal actions
Maryland state and local actions
business and personal actions
what to do:
technological advances
regulations and other policy changes
behavioral changes