1-1: Overview of Global Change

"Today the scale of our interventions in nature is increasing and the physical effects of our decisions spill across national frontiers. The growth in economic interaction between nations amplifies the wider consequences of national decisions. Economics and ecology bind us in ever tightening networks. Today many regions face risks of irreversible damage to the human environment that threaten the basis for human progress."

Our Common Future The World Commission on Environment and Development 1987

Unit Objectives

• To understand the importance of global environmental change.
• To identify the general areas of our environment that are changing and explore the potential consequences of these changes.

Preparation for Online and Class Discussion

There is no pre-class preparation for Overview of Global Change. Welcome to the course!!!

1. Read the summary information.

   Class images

2. Print for offline review

3. Take the summary information quiz. Quizzes are available from your portfolio.

4. Additional Related Reading. Although you are not ultimately responsible for content listed in this section, we encourage you to fully explore the links in order to provide a better scope on the upcoming class discussion.

   	Subcategories of Global Change.
   	USGCRP Scope

Online and Class Discussion

• Social Comments
• Knowledge-building Comments
• Ethical Comments

• Unit Problem to Ponder
• Unit exam questions from previous years
• Unit discussions from previous years

Unit Wrap-up Materials

• Group Discussion Summary:

• Recommended Reading Materials

  	Bloom, David E., 1995: International Public Opinion on The Environment. Science 269, 354-358.
  	Houghton, J. T., L. G. Meira Filho, B. A. Callander, N. Harris, A. Kattenberg, and K. Maskell, 1996: Climate Change 1995. The Science of Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, 55-57.
  	The United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP).

• References

  	Peterson, A., 2001: Night lights. American Scientist, 89, 24-25.
  	GECOU, Global Environmental Change at the Open University.
  	Global Change Course Earthreview - Links on the current state of the planet.
  	Global Change Glossary (J through L)
  	Global Climate Change Acronyms and Glossaries
  	Global Change Scholarships and Fellowships
  	Global Warming and Climate Change Brochure. From the U.S. Global Change Research Information Office.
  	Glossary of Climate Change Terms.
  	The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Homepage
  	Bruce, J., H. Lee, and E. Haites, 1996: Climate Change 1995: Economic and Social Dimensions of Climate Change, (IPCC Working Group I Report) Cambridge University Press.
  	Houghton, J. T. et al., eds., 1996: Climate Change 1995: The Science of Climate Change, (IPCC Working Group I Report). Cambridge University Press .
  	Lubchenco, Jane, 1998: Entering the century of the environment: A new social contract for science. Science 279, 491-497.
  	Watson, R.T., M. C. Zinyowera, and R. H. Moss, 1996: Climate Change 1995: Impacts, Adaptations and Mitigation of Climate Change, (IPCC Working Group I Report). Cambridge University Press.