• Weather versus climate (where is the temperature changing?)
• Global warming--average global increase in temperature
• Greenhouse effect and greenhouse gases (sources and sinks, climate vs weather), the atmosphere
• Glaciation (Valdez Glacier in Alaska, the Wallowas, a moulin in Greenland), cycles (precession, tilt, Eccentricity)
• Shots from the plane (ice sheet, ice sheet, glaciers, glaciers, fjord, coastline)
• Laws of thermodynamics
  • First, energy can be neither created nor destroyed--it's just transformed.
  • Second, transformation as suggested is usually from a 'higher' to 'lower' quality of energy (entropy). For instance, hydroelectricity is used to turn on a light bulb, which gives off heat--as well as light. The heat is often unusable, a 'waste product.' Where does it go??
• Some effects
  • rise in sea levels (how would this affect human settlements?) Maldives image -- ever heard of a moulin? Ice bridge? Been to Greenland lately? Arctic ice melt
  • severe weather (what's happening where?)
  • coral bleaching (shot of the Great Barrier Reef off Australian coast)
  • Acidification of oceans, possible changes in ocean currents
  • Loss of soil moisture
  • Altered climates (what will this to do plant and animal habitats, life?)
  • Spread of diseases
• Key questions
• Is warming actually occurring? At what pace? Where? How fast?
• Is it caused by humans (CO2 concentrations and the famous Keeling Curve)?
• Is it a social problem (what are some trends?)
• What are some anthropogenic causes?
• What groups are harmed (human and non-human species)?
• Who benefits from the status quo? (fossil fuel industries, automotive industry, utilities, petrochemicals/oil and gas, transportation, advertising, American consumers (and others in industrial countries), media, etc.
• 'Framing' global warming as a social problem
  • Astroturf and corporate front groups (CEI ads), ExxonMobil's funding of the counter campaign, other 'skeptic organizations')
  • Hiring scientists to discredit scientific consensus (Tim Ball, Fred Singer, Stephen Milloy's 'junk science' website)
  • Language--global warming and climate change
  • Scientific Community -- Union of Concerned Scientists, AAAS, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
  • Advertising's important contributions
  • News media
  • Al Gore's three misconceptions: 1) that there is no scientific consensus; 2) societies have to choose between the environment and the economy, and; 3) If the earth is warming, and humans are a major contributor, maybe it's too big for us to tackle ('supply' and 'demand' side issues--'post-carbon' energy sources, conservation)
  • The effects of persuasion attempts
  • Counter arguments
  • Greg Craven's video

What can be done, and who should do it?

To seek solutions, identify the problems

• Claiming ownership. Carrying the debate. Why do public opinions matter? Why might there be a sense of urgency? Who has the access to the media to get across their viewpoint(s)?
• Social movements -- there are groups of scientists, (e.g., UCSUSA), groups of activists (a small sample), and industry groups posing as grassroots movements (see some of the 'astroturf empire' created by opponents of action on global warming), and attempts to discredit global warming science as 'junk science.' As well as critics questioning the policy options.
• Technologies
  • cleaner fuels, transportation changes
  • Stabilization wedges -- what can uindividuals do, what requires structural changes?
  • energy conservation as source of energy supply (versus supply side policy and more oil and gas drilling-what's the difference?)
  • Supply-side versus demand-side policies--new fuels, or conservation?
    • New sources of energy (for instance new power plants) pollute more than conservation, which 'saves' energy and reduces the need for new plants
  • Geoengineering -- technical means of addressing symptoms
• Changing behavior
  • Human exemptionalism (the notion that humans are somehow exempt from natural laws)
  • Personal changes (carpooling, conservation, etc.--'reuse, reduce, and recycle')
  • If you're going to shop . . .
  • Cultural changes (in schools, etc.)-'ecological literacy'
  • Institutional changes - mass transit, economics, energy policy, 'smart growth'
  • International issues-multilateral bodies, cooperation, enforcement of treaties (e.g., the Kyoto Protocols, which the Bush White House backed out of after taking office)
  • Political behavior--voting??
  • Market- versus government-based solutions--pricing/taxing goods and services to change behavior. Who benefits? Who pays?
    • Carbon tax--this would be a more market-based solution to the problem (more conservative, versus a liberal approach that would entail more government regulation)
    • Cap and trade--the goal is overall reductions (does it help communities near heavy polluters?) How to enforce?
    • Ever heard of an ecotax?
    • The Apollo Alliance is an effort to find common ground between business, government, and citizens