Discussion section for APS111 - Engineering Strategies and Practices, 2012
Seminar leader:
Jim Prall
Systems Programmer,
The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Toronto
Email me via UTORmail jim dot prall at utoronto dot ca
Office: GB254-D
campus x65760 (416) 946-5760
Meeting times: 12:10 - 2pm, Nov. 12, 19, and 26
Location: Galbraith Bldg. room GB404
Below are the required readings for the Engineering Strategies and Practices
2012 seminar series "Responding to Climate Change," along with links to
additional resources for further reading. I've listed some keywords for each
session. You should be familiar with the definition and use of these terms.
try to get familiar with them before that week's seminar; any you can't
get at first, try to come to grips with during our discussion.
Articles are all links to online media - please read online without printing if possible to save trees.
Where needed, I've linked articles via the "my.access" service of the UofT libraries.
You just need to log in once with your UTORid and password - the same one you
use for UTORmail and Blackboard - and your browser should then have access to the other links as
well for the rest of that session.
You might also want to estimate your own "carbon footprint" via one of many
web-based calculators.
Here's an interesting one that looks at your overall quality of life,
as well as your ecological footprint. It has statistics on responses
from people all over the world, and makes for interesting comparisons.
(I am about as happy as the average for Panama, evidently.)
Happy Planet Index
Week 1 - Scope of the problem
How fast is climate change happening, and expected to happen?
How serious is this problem?
What solutions are being proposed? Are they adequate?
What if we fail to cut CO2 emissions, and climate change picks up speed?
Here's a great 16 minute TED Talk video by David Keith of Harvard U. on geo-engineering and the need for more reflection over how this might work, and how to decide. Please view this before our first meeting:
Please read these four brief articles for session 1:
[2 pages]
Parry, M. et al. 2008 "Squaring up to reality." Nature Reports Climate Change
Published online: 29 May 2008 | doi:10.1038/climate.2008.50
Full text on www.nature.com:
HTML - or view the
PDF version
to zoom in on the charts showing impacts. Key issue: understand the chart.
[2 pages]
Kerr, RA. 2007. Global Warming: How Urgent Is Climate Change? Science 23 November 2007:
Vol. 318. no. 5854, pp. 1230 - 1231 DOI: 10.1126/science.318.5854.1230
Kerr, RA. 2007 full text on www.sciencemag.org This link works off campus by redirecting to the UofT Library portal - just log in with your UTORid.
At the end of the first session, students will select from a list of options the topic for their in-class oral presentation (no PowerPoint - just talking.)
The theme will be "geo-engineering" - measures to alter the earth system to reduce global warming processes and impacts.
Further resources
If you have time to read more, and are suitably curious, alarmed, skeptical,
or energized to action by the required readings, here are several of my
favourite sources for background, news, discussion and debate on climate
science and policy. You may pick out a topic related to our discussion
from any of these sites to propose as your presentation topic. Bring a
brief note of the topic of interest with you to the first seminar.
IPCC The official website of the
International Panel on Climate Change, including full text of all four
Assessment Reports and supporting documentation, and background on the process
behind the reports. A massive amount of information. It's been called
"the largest exercise in peer review in history."
Climate Progress - blog by Joe Romm,
former director of the U.S. Dept. of Energy office on renewable energy technology
SkepticalScience website answering countless objections from climate 'skeptics'
The Discovery of Global Warming
by Spencer Weart.
This extensive site is a companion to his excellent book of the same
name (available in the UofT Library system). A history of the scienctific
understanding of the greenhouse effect, how humans are altering the carbon
cycle, and projecting what impacts this will have.
monbiot.com U.K. columnist George Monbiot,
author of Heat: His weekly column covers many subjects but frequently takes on
climate chage from a strongly activist position.
DeSmogBlog is a news and commentary
site addressing the role of the P.R. ("spin") industry in campaigns to cover
up or delay action on climate change.
PR Watch is another site devoted to
unmasking the workings of the P.R. industry in bending public opinion,
often diametrically opposed to what science is showing. Covers environmental
and health issues, including climate change and toxic pollution, election
fraud and campaign rhetoric, etc.