We're Doomed! Now What? Global Warming — Causes & Cures
Certainly, one of the catchphrases of our time is "global warming" and the more general and less inflammatory term "climate change". In this course we will look at the causes of climate change, both "natural" and "human caused". We will describe the "greenhouse effect" and "greenhouse gases" and their role in making our planet habitable or possibly uninhabitable. There are many components to the causes of and cures for global warming, some easy to identify such as energy use or modes of transportation, and some less obvious or even hidden such as our food choices or our building materials. What does it mean to "reduce one's carbon footprint"? What is it about carbon dioxide that makes its increasing atmospheric concentration a danger, and can that concentration be reduced? These are questions of the highest importance if we are to continue our existence on our planet.
Professor Richard Monson received his B.S. from UCLA and his Ph.D. in Chemistry at U.C. Berkeley. From 1964 to 2000, he was Professor of Chemistry at California State University, East Bay. He has published numerous articles in scientific journals describing his research in organic chemistry, as well as two textbooks in chemistry. Professor Monson’s interests in the sciences range over several fields. He has presented courses at the Fromm Institute on energy and global warming, detection of art forgeries, the periodic table, mirrors and mirror images, alcohol and its uses, and most recently wine and winemaking.