“Discere Docendo” – Learn Through Teaching
CLIMATE
Trace atmospheric “greenhouse” gasses – primarily carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor – keep our planet warm by trapping a fraction of energy which would be radiated directly to space. Through this greenhouse effect, the atmospheric CO2 concentration has played a dominant role in controlling the earth’s surface temperature through geologic history and at present. CO2 levels above 350 ppm are not compatible with sustaining the conditions in which civilization has developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, according to NASA scientists (The Open Atmospheric Science Journal, 2008, 2, 217-231.) as well as a consensus of the world climate science community. The Keeling curve (shown at left) has been exceeding 400 ppm during summer months since 2014. (http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/)
TEACHING
For the past couple of years I have been devoting much of my time to learning and teaching about the earth and its climate. It the fall of 2014 I designed and taught a course entitled “Earth Science and Climate Change”, for students interested in learning about the science of climate change. The course focusses on the basic science underlying the climate system, its history of past changes, what is projected to happen going forward and options for the future. The course has been offered through the Concord-Carlisle Continuing Education program. For more information on the course offering or to request a copy of the class notes, please contact me.
The course syllabus can found here.
I am currently designing a new course entitled Our Energy Future – Technology, Economics and Climate Change, to be offered at Concord-Carlisle Community Ed in Fall, 2015. For more information, see here or contact me.
SUSTAINABILITY
Building a sustainable society is a 21st century imperative. Our town of Concord, MA has a strong commitment to sustainability, having adopted a set of sustainability principles for town governance. Concord is the only town in the nation to have banned plastic bottles (single serving), and recently also thin film plastic check-out bags. ConcordCAN! (The Concord Climate Action Network) is an organization I am proud to be a member of, currently serving as treasurer. We work on local sustainability issues (agriculture, energy, divestment from fossil fuel investments among them) and education. This year I have joined the Comprehensive Sustainable Energy Committee (CSEC), a town committee dedicated to promoting sustainable energy and reducing energy use in the town.