GEOS 663

Climate and Environmental Change

Global and regional climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time. In its evolution, the science of climate change has employed a great diversity of techniques to unravel the Earth's climate history on multiple time scales. To this end there now exists a considerable body of knowledge as to the magnitudes and rates of climate and environmental change. However, while the physical basis of the global climate system and its variation are well resolved, there is debate as to the nature of human intervention in the global climate system and consequences of climate change on the natural and human-made environment. As time moves forward toward issues connected to all facets of climate change will become increasingly important particularly in terms of human occupancy and the sustainability of the planet. What is currently missing from debates connected to climate change is an agreed upon understanding the linkages between the physical basis of the global climate system and its connection to human affairs. This deficiency is consequential as the debate has how moved squarely into the public consciousness as a political, economic and social agenda the outcome of which will have a profound effect upon climate policy

Units: 3.0