UPR Climate Changes Syllabus (3-5)

CCRE Course Syllabus Page 1 of 13

University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez Campus

College of Agricultural Sciences

Course Syllabus

Introduction to Climate Changes and Renewable Energy 1. General Information: Instructors:

• Dr. Terry Nipp • Dr. Eric Harmsen

Alpha-numeric codification: 3XXX Number of credits: 2 Contact Period: Two hours of lecture, weekly 2. Course Description:

This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of climate change, the connections between climate and energy use, and renewable energy options to meet energy needs while minimizing our impacts on the environment. Students will develop a science-based approach to understanding the possible impacts of climate change on ocean and terrestrial ecosystems, weather events, local communities and tourism, energy resources, and food, agriculture and forestry resources in the Caribbean and Puerto Rico. Students will be introduced to the policy-making processes that address climate change and energy use with discussions about international, national, regional policy and management strategies. Students will work together in teams to develop projects that may benefit Puerto Rico and other communities in the Caribbean respond to potential .impacts of climate change.

3. Pre/Co-requisites and other requirements: None 4. Course Objectives: Upon completing this course students will be able to:

1) Knowledge a) Articulate the fundamental concepts and tools used in climate science including atmospheric,

oceanic, and terrestrial systems. b) Demonstrate an understanding of the terminology and basis principles related to the “greenhouse

effect,” greenhouse gases, historical and recent trends in greenhouse gas accumulations and the process for correlating the presence of these gases with temperature and climatic patterns.

c) Analyze the process of science-based modeling, the status of current global climate change modelling, and the challenges of “downscaling” to regional and local scales.

d) Describe the range of potential impacts from climate change in the Caribbean region and Puerto Rico, including: possible impacts of climate change on island populations, the environment, energy, and food, agriculture and forestry. .

e) Describe the basic types of policy options that can be used to respond to climate change and identify the major international agreements, national and local policies that are currently in place.

2) Analytical Thinking a) Describe what the “scientific process” is and how “science-based” data differs from other sources

of information. b) Demonstrate an understanding of the differences between science and science-based modelling

and to be able to describe both the benefits and limitations of model projections. c) Analyze the components and relationships of simple models and how changes in certainty about

one component can impact the range of projected outcomes. d) Evaluate why there are differences in the projections about future climate change and why there is

uncertainty about the possible impacts of climate change.

SAGA 4991


3) Social and Communication Skills a) Articulate how individuals associate themselves with social and political groups and how that

influences how they think about complex issues. b) Present arguments thoughtfully for their point of view on a climate change issue, and then, to be

able to argue thoughtfully on the other side. c) Work within a group to evaluate the possible impacts of climate change on their respective

communities and to consider the costs and benefits of response options. 5. Instructional Strategies:

conference discussion computation laboratory

seminar with formal presentation seminar without formal presentation workshop

art workshop practice trip thesis special problems tutoring

research other, please specify:

This course is being offered as a “hybrid distance education online/in-classroom course.” Students will meet in a classroom twice a week, for lectures, presentations and class discussions. Both a host instructor will be present during class meeting times as well as an on-line course instructor and guest presenters from remote locations who will provide lectures and presentations online in “real-time”. The instructor and guests will provide lectures and presentations that will be projected in the classroom and will respond to student questions via two-way video teleconferencing. This approach makes it possible to provide students with presentations and a chance to interact with experts at diverse locations. The course materials will be offered through online Moodle software platform, where class assignments, class materials, and online discussions will be provided. Students must have access to a computer that is equipped with word processing software, video viewing software and a broadband internet connection. The student must be able to navigate to and around the Moodle web site. 6. Minimum or Required Resources Available: Class room and VTI 7. Course time frame and thematic outline

Sect Topics Contact Hours

1. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

What is the climate change? 1

The climate change and energy debates – what do Americans believe? 1 2

2. CLIMATE SCIENCE: How does it all work?

Earth sciences and physical foundations for climate 1

Atmospheric systems 1

Greenhouse gases and global warming 1

Ocean systems 1

Terrestrial systems 1 5

3. CLIMATE MODELING & PROJECTIONS: What can happen in the future?

Global climate modeling 1

Downscaling to regional scales 1

Projecting impacts 1 3

4. ENERGY AND CLIMATE: What’s the connection?

Energy consumption and demand and greenhouse gases 1


The nexus of food, energy, water and climate change 1

The Role of Renewable Energy 1

Renewable energy resources 1 4

5. CLIMATE AND ENERGY POLICY: What should be done?

International agreements and U.S. policies 1

Regional agreements and local policies 1

Class discussion with policy makers 1 3

6. IMPACTS AND MITIGATION: What could happen and what can be done in the Caribbean and Puerto Rico?

Assessment, Planning and Management 1

Ocean Systems 1

Terrestrial Systems 1

Dealing with Extreme Weather Events 1

Tourism 1

Energy Alternatives 1

Food, Agriculture and Forestry 1 7

7. COMMUNICATION SCIENCE

Developing effective approaches to talking about climate and energy issues 1

* ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

Online and in-class exams 3

Class projects 2 5

Total hours 30

8. Grading System

Quantifiable (letters) Not Quantifiable 9. Evaluation Strategies

Quantity Percent Exams 2 20 Final Exam 1 20 Short Online Quizzes

10 Oral and Online Participation * 20 Monographies

Portfolio

Projects 1 30 Journals

Other, specify:

At the beginning of the class the students will be asked to complete a survey to understand their initial attitudes towards climate and energy issues that will also assess their initial grasp of some fundamental science concepts regarding climate and energy resources. The survey will also assess where the students get their news in general and about climate and energy specifically. The same survey assessment will be conducted at the end of the class to see if there have been any shifts in attitudes and also to assess their understanding of core science-based concepts. Online quizzes (10%), two exams (20%) and a final exam (20%) will assess student comprehension of core concepts and retention of key facts. Active engagement by the students in an online discussion and in-class discussions will be factored into their grades (20%). Student projects will be developed throughout the course and will be presented


at the end of the course (30%). Students will be active participants in choosing and developing their projects. Examples cam include: development and implementation of surveys of on-campus student attitudes towards climate change, development of supporting materials or a report for a local government agency or local NGO, development of a social media resource, or development of a news article or online presentation. 10. Bibliography (including online references and resources) The course resources listed below include text books, reports, research articles, online websites and online videos. News articles are in italics and will be updated throughout the course. The materials below are organized into the sections of the thematic outline above. Within the topic sections, materials are organized at the international, national, regional and local levels. These materials will be used in lectures, as part of online assignments, and as resources for student projects. 1. Introduction and Overview of the Climate Change and Energy Debates

• What we Know: The Reality, Risks, and Response to Climate Change. AAAS Climate Science Panel. American Association for the Advancement of Science.

• Climate Change: Evidence & Causes. 2014. Overview from the National Academy of Sciences and Royal Society.

• Global Weirdness: Severe Storms, Deadly Heat Waves, Relentless Drought, Rising Seas and the Weather of the Future. 2012. Climate Central.

• IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, R.K. Pachauri and L.A. Meyer (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 151 pp

• Arthur J. Bloom. 2010. Global Change: Conversion of Disciplines. Sinauer Associates, Inc. • Climate Change in the Caribbean 2015: Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. November 17-18, 2015.

Inter American Law School, San Juan, Puerto Rico. • Polling and what American’s believe

o Polling the American People on Climate Change. 2016. Environment and Energy Studies Institute.

o Global Warming’s Six Americas and the Election, 2016. 2016. [Roser-Renouf, C., Maibach, E., Leiserowitz, A., & Rosenthal, S]. Yale University and George Mason University. New Haven, CT: Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

Online: • National Academy of Sciences. America’s Climate Choices

o Advancing the Science of Climate Change. o Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change. o Informing an Effective Response to Climate Change. o Limiting the Magnitude of Future Climate Change

• Believers and Deniers o Climate Change 101 With Bill Nye. Dec. 2, 2015. National Geographic. o Is Climate Change Just A Lot of Hot Air? June 15, 2015. Minute Earth o Global Warming is a Hoax By Lord Christopher Monckton . Sept. 3, 2015. Idea City. o Climate Realist Marc Morano Debates Bill Nye the Science Guy on Global Warming. Dec. 4,

2012. o The Truth About Global Warming - Science & Distortion - Stephen Schneider. Jan. 2, 2012.

Global Climate News. • Polling and Perceptions.

o Anthony Leiserowitz on global warming's "Six Americas." Oct. 18, 2010. Yale Climate Connections.

o Climate Change in the American Mind: Dr Anthony Leiserowitz. March 2015. Understanding Climate Change.

2. Climate Science

• IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on

Late assignments will be reduced by 10%; after 1 week 20%, after 2 weeks 30%, etc., up to a maximum reduction of 50%.


Climate Change [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

o OR - IPCC, 2013: Technical Summary. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

• What’s the Difference between Weather and Climate? Feb. 1, 2005, NASA. • Windows to the Universe: How do we investigate climates of the past? National Earth Science Teachers

Association. • Readings in Greenhouse Gases and the Greenhouse Effect. Stanford University. Online: • National Academy of Sciences. Climate Change: Lines of Evidence

o Chapter 1 . What is Climate? o Chapter 2. Is Earth Warming? o Chapter 3. Greenhouse Gases o Chapter 4. Increased Emissions o Chapter 5. How Much Warming? o Chapter 6. Solar Influence

• How Global Warming Works in Under 5 Minutes. Oct. 20, 2013. University of California. • Climate Science: What you need to know. Dec. 8, 2014. It’s Ok To Be Smart – PBS Digital Studios. • Natural Cycles - Mechanism of The Seasons. March 15, 2011. Kurdistan Planetarium. • The Sun and the Climate. May 13, 2013. Imperial College London. • Atmospheric Circulation. March 4, 2015. Earth Rocks – City College of San Francisco. • The Coriolis Effect. July 19, 2013. NOVA PBS Official. • The water cycle | Sustainability. Oct. 2, 2014. ACCIONA in association with National Geographic. • Earth's Water Cycle. August 3, 2012. NASA Goddard. • The Ocean: A Driving Force for Weather and Climate.. Aug. 3, 2012. NASA Goddard. • El Nino - What is it? Dec. 10, 2014. MET Office – UK National Weather Service. • El Niño and Why It's So Hard To Predict the Weather. Oct. 15, 2015. It’s OK to be Smart - PBS Digital

Studios. • Understanding La Niña. March 10, 2014. NOAA Climate.gov. • Extreme weather events. NOAA. • Time history of atmospheric carbon dioxide, by CIRES & NOAA. May 2, 2014. CIRES - Cooperative

Institute for Research In Environmental Sciences, NOAA and University of Colorado Boulder. • Oxygen Isotopes and the Paleoclimate Record. June 16, 2015. • Studying ice cores in Antarctica March 26, 2012. | Natural History Museum, London. • Dating The Earth – Dendrochronology. Jan. 29, 2012.

3. Climate Modeling and Projections

• Global o Climate Change: Global Temperature Projections. March 6, 2012. NOAA Climate.gov. o Future of Climate Change. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. o NASA releases detailed global climate change projections. June 9, 2015. NASA. o Climate models produce projections, not probabilities. Nov. 26, 2007. Bulletin of the Atomic

Scientists. o How Reliable Are the Models Used to Make Projections of Future Climate Change? - IPCC, 2007:

Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M.Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

• Regional, Caribbean and Puerto Rico


o USGS, 2014, Downscaled climate projections for the Southeast United States—Evaluation and use for ecological applications: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014–1190, 54 p., [Wootten, Adrienne, Smith, Kara, Boyles, Ryan, Terando, Adam, Stefanova, Lydia, Misra, Vasu, Smith, Tom, Blodgett, David, and Semazzi, Fredrick].

o Quantifying Key Drivers of Climate Variability and Change for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. April 28, 2013. Katharine Hayhoe, Texas Tech University.

o Explore the Effects of Climate Change on Puerto Rico and Other Caribbean Islands: New Statistically Downscaled Climate Projections for the period 1960-2099 available through the Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative Data Center.

o Climate Change Implications for Tropical Islands: Interpolating and Interpreting o Statistically Downscaled GCM Projections for Management and Planning. February 2016. Azad

H. Khalyani et al. American Meteorolgy Society, Volume: 55. Online: • Understanding Modeling

o National Academy of Sciences. Climate Modeling 101 § Webpage 1. Climate versus Weather § Webpage 2. Understanding Computer Models § Webpage 3. Constructing a Climate Model § Webpage 4. Validating Climate Models § Webpage 5. Users of Climate Models § Webpage 6. Developers of Climate Models

o What is a Climate Model? Nov. 7, 2014. Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions – University of Victoria.

o Climate modelling. April 15, 2015. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Australia.

• Making Projections o Dr. Michael Mann: The Hockey Stick and Climate Wars. March 7, 2012. Yale Climate

Connections. o The National Climate Assessment Explained in Less than 3 Minutes. May 6, 2014. White House. o AgMIP: Predicting climate's impact on food supply. May 22, 2013. Earth Institute, Columbia

University. Puerto Rico’s First Island-Wide Downscaled Climate Projections o Climate Webinar: Making Climate Change Data Relevant at a Local Level. June 5, 2013. Ohio

Sea Grant. o Meet the Challenges of a Changing Climate: Find a framework and tools to understand and

address climate issues that impact people and their communities. U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit o Caribbean and Puerto Rico

§ Puerto Rico's Future Climate. Ap. 6, 2016. Caribbean LLC. § Data Now Available! Oct. 20, 2014. Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative. § Caribbean Climate Talks. Status of Developing Multi-Model Ensemble Projections for

Ecologically Relevant Climate Variables in Puerto Rico & U.S. Virgin Islands. June 27, 2016. Caribbean LLC.

4. Energy and Climate

• Energy Consumption and Demand o OECD/IEA, 2015. Energy and Climate Change. World Energy Outlook Special Report.

International Energy Agency. o OECD/IEA, 2016. World Energy Outlook: Executive Summary. International Energy Agency. o Energy supply. In Climate Change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the

Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [B. Metz, O.R. Davidson, P.R. Bosch, R. Dave, L.A. Meyer (eds)], Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

o Climate Change and Energy Supply and Use. February 29, 2012. Technical Report to the U.S. Department of Energy in Support of the National Climate Assessment. Oak Ridge National Laboratory and U.S. DOE / Office of Science.

o Puerto Rico Territory Energy Profile. Updated March 17, 2016. U.S. Energy Information Administration.


o Online: § World Energy in 4 minutes. July 2, 2014. World Energy Council. § The Story of Energy - Where Does Our Power Come From? Set. 18, 2012. LifeSquared. § Energy Consumption. Dec. 3, 2015. Bozeman Science. § Global Energy Consumption Five Key Facts. Dec. 16, 2014. Euromonitor International. § ENERGY - The single most important challenge of the 21st century for Caribbean

nations. May 18, 2016. James Whittaker. TEDx Talks. • The Nexus of Food, Energy, Water and Climate Change

o The Water-Food-Energy-Climate Nexus. 2011. The World Economic Forum Water Initiative. Island Press, Washington.

o The Water-Energy-Food Nexus: A new approach in support of food security and sustainable agriculture. 2014. FAO, Rome.

o Online: § The Perfect Storm: Food, energy, water security and climate change. June 6, 2016.

Understanding Climate Change. Sir John Beddington, Oxford Martin School – University of Oxford.

§ Food, Energy & Water Security: Implications for U.S. National Security. Oct. 4, 2014. Stanford Woods Institute.

§ Climate Impacts on Energy. Webpage. EPA. § The energy challenge. Sept. 21, 2012. UK Department of Energy and Climate Change. § Steven Chu Presents "Energy and Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities." June

4, 2014. Stanford University School of Business. § Food, Energy & Water Security: Implications for U.S. National Security. Oct. 4, 2014.

Stanford Woods Institute. § How to Solve Global Warming: It's the Energy Supply: Carbon storage has to expand

rapidly, or coal burning has to cease, if the world is to avoid dangerous climate change. April 13, 2014. Scientific American.

• The Role of Renewable Energy o IPCC, 2011: Summary for Policymakers. In: IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources

and Climate Change Mitigation [O. Edenhofer, R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, K. Seyboth, P. Matschoss, S. Kadner, T. Zwickel, P. Eickemeier, G. Hansen, S. Schlemer, C. von Stechow (eds)], Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

§ OR - IPCC, 2011: Technical Summary. In IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation [O. Edenhofer, R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, K. Seyboth, P. Matschoss, S. Kadner, T. Zwickel, P. Eickemeier, G. Hansen, S. Schlemer, C. von Stechow (eds)], Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).

o Puerto Rico Energy Commission, In Challenging Utility’s Backward-Looking Plan, Sets A Much Wiser Course? September 30, 2016. Value Walk.

o Puerto Rico - Largest solar plant in the Caribbean starts producing power. Sept. 15, 2016. Renewable Energy Magazine.

o Online: § Climate Change Solutions : What you thought you knew is obsolete. Sept. 12, 2016. Joe

Romm. Colorado Renewable Energy Society. § Stanford Professor Mark Jacobson at Pathways to 100% Renewable Energy Conference.

Ap. 19, 2013. § The breakthrough in renewable energy. May 5, 2016. VPRO Documentary. § How do solar panels work? Jan. 5, 2016. RED Ed. Richard Komp. § Benefits of Renewable Energy Use. Union of Concerned Scientists. § CASH (Caribbean Affordable Solar House) University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras

Campus. April 10, 2009. Cashupr. § How do Wind Turbines work? July 28, 2015. Learn Engineering. § The Tech That Could Fix One of Wind Power's Biggest Problems. June 22, 2016. § Tidal Power 101. May 17, 2015. § Renewable Energy From the Deep Ocean (en Español). Ap. 26, 2007. Thomas Plocek. § Bioenergy: America’s Energy Future. August 19, 2014. U.S. Department of Energy.


§ Sustainability in Bioenergy: A Nation Connected. July 21, 2015. U.S. Department of Energy.

§ Replenish Energy 6 min (Algae). Oct. 31, 2009. Jorge Rodríguez. 5. Climate and Energy Policy

• How we make decisions – The roles of science, policy and politics o “The Politics of Climate.” Oct. 2016. Pew Research Center. o Predictors of trust in the general science and climate science research of US federal agencies.

Public Understanding of Science. March 8, 2016. [Teresa A. Myers, John Kotcher, Neil Stenhouse, Ashley A. Anderson, Edward Maibach, Lindsey Beall, and Anthony Leiserowitz.].

o Science confirms it: Denial of climate change is all about the politics. Feb. 22, 2016. Washington Post.

o Science, Policy, and Decision Making. Mar 28, 2015. Stephen Cohen, Columbia University Earth Institute. Huffington Post.

o Online: § Why we should trust scientists. May 2014. Naomi Oreskes, Department of the History

of Science, Harvard University. TED Salon NY. § How it All Ends: Risk Management. October 10, 2007. WonderingMind42.

• International o UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and Negotiations Timeline. United Nations. o IPCC, 2014: Summary for policymakers. In: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and

Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Field, C.B., V.R. Barros, D.J. Dokken, K.J. Mach, M.D. Mastrandrea, T.E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K.L. Ebi, Y.O. Estrada, R.C. Genova, B. Girma, E.S. Kissel, A.N. Levy, S. MacCracken, P.R. Mastrandrea, and L.L. White (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 1-32.

§ OR - IPCC, 2014: Technical summary. In: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Field, C.B., V.R. Barros, D.J. Dokken, K.J. Mach, M.D. Mastrandrea, T.E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K.L. Ebi, Y.O. Estrada, R.C. Genova, B. Girma, E.S. Kissel, A.N. Levy, S. MacCracken, P.R. Mastrandrea, and L.L. White (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 35-94.

o IPCC, 2014: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

§ OR - IPCC, 2014: Technical Summary. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlemer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J. C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

o Susan Fletcher. July 21, 2005. Global Climate Change: The Kyoto Protocol. Congressional Research Service, RL30692.

o Climate Change 2014 Synthesis Report: Summary for Policy Makers. Nov. 1, 2014. Interagency Panel on Climate Change.

o United States Climate Action Report 2014. First Biennial Report of the United States of America Submitted Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

o U.S. Leadership and the Historic Paris Agreement to Combat Climate Change. Dec. 12, 2015. White House.

o Online:


§ The History of Climate Change Negotiations in 83 seconds. Nov 19, 2012. CICERO Center for International Climate and Environmental Research – Oslo.

§ Marshallese Poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner speaking at the 2014 UN Climate Summit. § Understanding the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. United

Nations. § What Is COP21? The 2 Minute Guide. Oct. 15, 2015. GreenTV. § Two Weeks of COP 21 in 10 Minutes. Dec. 15, 2015. UN Climate Change Newsroom. § COP 21: Obama's full speech at Paris conference. Nov. 30, 2015. Euronews. § Carlos Fuller of Caricom Climate Change Centre on Cop 21 Outcomes. Dec/ 17. 2015.

• National o Robert Meltz. August 28, 2013. Climate Change and Existing Law: A Survey of Legal Issues

Past, Present, and Future. Congressional Research Service, 7-5700. o A Historic Commitment to Protecting the Environment and Reversing Climate Change. Press

Release, White House. o Fact Sheet: President Obama to Announce Historic Carbon Pollution Standards for Power Plants –

Fact Sheet. Aug. 3, 2015. White House. o President Obama’s Plan to Win the Future by Making American Businesses More Energy

Efficient through the “Better Buildings Initiative.” Feb. 3, 2011. White House. o New U.S. Leadership, Next Steps on Climate Change. Cross-Sector Insights and

Recommendations to Guide a New Administration from The Climate Implementation Project at Stanford University. October 2016. Convened by David J. Hayes. Stanford University: Woods Institute for the Environment; Law School; Precourt Institute for Energy; School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences; Center for Innovation in Global Health.

o Finding Climate Solutions. Stanford University: School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences; Woods Institute for the Environment; Precourt Institute for Energy.

o Politics and global warming. Spring 2016. [Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Roser-Renouf, C., Feinberg, G., & Rosenthal, S. ]. Yale University and George Mason University. New Haven, CT: Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

o Global Warming and the U.S. Presidential Election. [Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Roser-Renouf, C., Feinberg, G., & Rosenthal, S.]. Yale University and George Mason University. New Haven, CT: Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

o Online § President Obama Speaks on Climate Change. June 25, 2013. White House. § Renewable Energy Policies. March 12, 2011. Yale Courses. § Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz on U.S. Energy Policy. October 6, 2014. Council on

Foreign Relations. § Reducing Carbon Pollution in Our Power Plants. May 31, 2014. White House. § President Obama on America's Clean Power Plan. August 2, 2015. White House. § President Obama Announces the Clean Power Plan. August 3, 2015. White House. § President Obama Climate change Speech - Obama unveils plan speaks about Clean

Power Plan. August 3, 2015. XpressNews. § Donald Trump on climate change policy. Dec. 13, 2015. Fox News. § Policy Forum: New U S Leadership, Next Steps on Climate Change . Sept. 21, 2006.

Stanford Woods Institute. • Regional, Caribbean and Puerto Rico

o Turning Uncertainty into Useful Information for Conservation Decisions. SE CSC FACT SHEET 2016-02. Department of Interior / SE Climate Science Center.

o DOI Climate Science Centers— Regional Science To Address Management Priorities. April 2012. Fact Sheet 2012–3048. USGS.

o Online § Puerto Rico Renewable Energy Legislation Passes. Dec. 7, 2010. Ben Lack. § Puerto Ricans Oppose Natural Gas Pipeline, Support Renewable Energy. Aug. 9, 2011.

Climate Progress. § The Caribbean needs a 1.5 C binding outcome at COP21. Dec. 7, 2015. Caribbean

Development Bank. § EU + African, Caribbean and Pacific joint announcement at COP21 Dec. 9, 2015. EU


Climate Action. 6. Impacts and Mitigation: Caribbean and Puerto Rico

• Assessment, Planning and Management o Regional and Caribbean

§ Climate Risks in the Caribbean. Fact Sheet. USDA Regional Climate Hubs: Managing your risk in a changing climate. USDA.

§ Climate Change Comes to the Caribbean: Climate change is already wreaking havoc on the Caribbean's vital fishing, tourism, and agriculture industries. Ap. 22, 2014. Foreign Policy in Focus.

§ Regional Climate Change—Science in the Southeast – Factsheet. USGS Science Program Officer, Southeast Area. USGS.

§ The Caribbean and Climate Change: The Costs of Inaction. May 2008. Tufts University. § NOAA in the Caribbean Initiative: 1st Annual Meeting Report - Connecting NOAA and

Partner’s Across the Caribbean. May 15-16, 2012. NOAA. § National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Caribbean Strategy. June 23, 2014.

NOAA. § What Climate Change Means for Puerto Rico: Fact Sheet. August 2016. EPA. § UN Conference on Small Island Developing States. 9/2014. Partnerships Briefs for

Small Island Developing States: Climate Change & Disaster Risk Management . § Climate Change and the Caribbean: A Regional Framework For Achieving Development

Resilient to Climate Change (2009-2015). July 2009. Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre.

§ Delivering Transformational Change 2011-21: Implementing the CARICOM ‘Regional Framework for Achieving Development Resilient to Climate Change. March 2012. Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre.

§ Caribbean Regional Climate Hub Assessment of Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies. Sept. 15, 2015. Caribbean Climate Hub.

§ Caribbean Hub Workshop on Greenhouse Gas Mitigation & Climate Adaptation: o Puerto Rico

§ Puerto Rico Climate Change Council (PRCCC). 2013. Puerto Rico’s State of the Climate 2010-2013: Assessing Puerto Rico’s Social-Ecological Vulnerabilities in a Changing Climate. Puerto Rico Coastal Zone Management Program, Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management. San Juan, PR.

§ Puerto Rico's 2016 Disaster Plan Update: Hard to Predict, But We See Positive Signs. January 22, 2016. NRDC.

§ Human adaptation strategies to abrupt climate change in Puerto Rico ca. 3.5 ka. Isabel Rivera-Collazo, Amos Winter, Denis Scholz, Augusto Mangini, Thomas Miller, Yochanan Kushnir and David Black. Jan. 2015. The Holocene.

§ Climate Change Effects in El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean Region. May 2014. USDA Forest Service.

§ Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for San Juan Bay, Puerto Rico. August 28, 2015. EPA.

§ Puerto Rico is dangerously vulnerable to effects of climate change: scientists. CTV News. § Puerto Rico’s Other Threat: Climate Change. Oct. 28, 2015. City and State. § Report: Puerto Rico unprepared for climate change. August 24, 2013. Pys.org. § An Emblem for Puerto Rico’s Climate Fight. February 28, 2013. Green. § Conference on Climate Change in the Caribbean Under Way in Puerto Rico. Nov. 17,

2016. St. Croix Source. § Federal Agencies, PR and USVI Hosting Major Conference on Climate Change in the

Caribbean. Nov. 18, 2015. The Virgin Islands Consortium. o Online

§ Climate Impacts in the U.S. Islands. EPA. § Climate Change in the Caribbean. Oct. 10, 2016. Connect4Climate. § Climate Change Could be Catastrophic for Caribbean. Dec. 5, 2015. teleSUR English.


§ Climate change research heats up tropical rainforest in Puerto Rico. Dec. 5, 2015. Al Jazeera America News.

• Ocean Systems: Acidification, Seal Level, Inundation and Salt Water Intrusion o Sea-Level Rise in Small Island Nations to Cost US$ Trillions: Shift to Green Policies and

Investment Critical. United Nations. o Keeping Pace: A Short Guide to Navigating Sea-Level Rise Model Selection. Department of

Interior / SE Climate Science Center. o Online

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Academy of Sciences. 11. According to Law 51 Students will identify themselves with the Institution and the instructor of the course for purposes of assessment (exams) accommodations. For more information please call the Student with Disabilities Office which is part of the Dean of Students office (Chemistry Building, room 019) at (787)265-3862 or (787)832-4040 extensions 3250 or 3258.

Documents

UPR Climate Changes Syllabus (3-5)