GEOG 340 - Climate Change

Units: 3 ; Breadth Area: GE-UDB; Sustainability
Pre-modern and modern variations in climate with emphasis on geological, geomorphological, and biological records. Causes (natural and anthropogenic) and consequences (natural and cultural) of climate change. Factors determining vulnerability to climate change impacts and strategies for adaptation and mitigation.

Strongly Recommended Preparation: Upper division status (greater than 60 earned semester units) and completion of lower division Areas B1-B3; and GEOG 200.
Prerequisites: Completion of GE Areas A1, A2, A3 and B4 with grade C- (CR) or better.
Equivalent Quarter Course: GEOG 3120.
Possible Instructional Methods: Entirely On-ground.
Grading: A-F or CR/NC (student choice).
Breadth Area(s) Satisfied: GE-UDB - Upper Division Science Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning, Overlay - Sustainability
Cross-listed: ENVT 340
Course Typically Offered: Fall & Spring

Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

identify, describe and explain the dynamics of the global climate system including the important regulatory feedback mechanisms and fluxes;
describe and explain the consequences, risks, and uncertainties of climate change;
interpret and critically evaluate scientific data related to global climate change;
describe biases/misconceptions about climate change science, the reasons these misconceptions exist, and strategies for overcoming them;
describe and explain the nature of and intended goals of implemented policies and strategies to address climate change and its impacts;
identify and characterize climate change vulnerability at different scales and describe and explain mitigation and adaptation interventions at multiple levels and for different actors;
effectively engage in a conversation about climate change.

UD-B. Upper-division Science Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning Learning Outcomes

demonstrate advanced and/or focused science or quantitative content knowledge in a specific scientific field, using appropriate vocabulary and referencing appropriate concepts (such as models, uncertainties, hypotheses, theories, and technologies);
apply advanced quantitative skills (such as statistics, algebraic solutions, interpretation of graphical data) to scientific problems and evaluate scientific claims;
demonstrate understanding of the nature of science and scientific inquiry and the experimental and empirical methodologies used in science to investigate a scientific question or issue; and
apply science content knowledge to contemporary scientific issues (e.g., global warming) and technologies (e.g., cloning), where appropriate.

Sustainability Overlay Learning Outcomes

identify the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability, either in general or in relation to a specific problem;
analyze interactions between human activities and natural systems;
describe key threats to environmental sustainability; and
explain how individual and societal choices affect prospects for sustainability at the local, regional, and/or global levels.