WORLDWIDE CLIMATE AND JUSTICE EDUCATION WEEK, APRIL 1-8 | Make Climate a Class

Take responsibility for educating yourself about climate change during Make Climate a Class @ Dickinson week. Attend one of the classes on climate change that will be open to visitors, watch a video, read about climate change, or listen to a podcast. Ten Dickinson faculty members are making climate change a focus of one of their classes that week, several of whom are opening their climate-focused class to visitors.

Make Climate a Class @ Dickinson is part of the Worldwide Climate and Justice Education Week, an event that will engage thousands of students worldwide in a focused week of learning at scores of colleges, universities, and k-12 schools in 50+ countries.

Attend a class: See the schedule of courses below. Note that not all of them are open to visitors.

Register in advance to attend one of the classes

Can’t make it to any of the open classes? Find links at the bottom of this page for links to videos, readings, and podcasts that you can use to educate yourself.

Schedule for Make Climate A Class

Tuesday, April 2

9:00 – 10:15
Introduction to Arctic Studies, GEOS 250
Professor Ben Edwards
Althouse 106

Changing Arctic: evidence for modern and future change. We will review evidence for the changes to climate that people in the Arctic are experiencing today as a beginning to longer conversations about how those changes will impact the Arctic in the future.

Visitors are welcome; please register in advance.

1:30 – 4:00
The Physics of Global Warming and Renewable Energies, PHYS 114
Professor Hans Pfister
Tome 103

We will investigate Photovoltaic Panels and start by taking a closer look at the Photovoltaic Effect. In a hands-on activity students will then determine the Current-Voltage Characteristic of an actual PV panel by measuring the PV panel's current as a function of the output voltage. We will also determine how to put PV panels in series and in parallel to create a photovoltaic array. Finally, we will explore the principle of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) and calculate how much more power one can obtain from an existing PV installation by using an MPPT charge controller.

Visitors are welcome; please register in advance.

1:30 – 2:45
Introduction to Health Studies, HEST 201
Professor David Sarcone
Althouse 110

We will examine and discuss how climate change can impact human health, social and economic factors that shape the ways in which populations and communities are vulnerable and resilient to climate stresses, and strategies for adapting and building resilience to protect human health in a hotter and wetter climate. Particular attention will be given to health and climate change in Cumberland County, PA. Guest speaker: Dr. Neil Leary, Director, Center for Sustainability Education.

Visitors are welcome; please register in advance.

3:00 – 4:15
Global Economy, INST 200/ECON 226
Professor Shamma Alam

We will have a discussion on how different countries in the world are affected by climate change, like India, China, Indonesia, and Kiribati. Then we will talk about what developed countries are doing about it. We will also discuss the issue of carbon tax to address this challenge.

Wednesday, April 3

11:30 – 12:20
American Environmental History, HIST 206
Professor Emily Pawley
Denny Hall 311

On April 3rd I’ll be teaching a class about the emergence of high-energy consumption in the U.S. We’ll focus on how electricity companies created their own markets by subsidizing the mass production of houses that were lacking older technologies of heating and cooling like eaves and attics and so required more electric heat and air conditioning. We’ll use this conversation to move past a simplistic way of thinking about consumption that blames high-emitting “consumption” choices on “consumers.” We’ll think about what kinds of structural changes could promote lower levels of consumption. We’ll also talk about what we can learn from older technologies of indoor climate control.

Visitors are welcome; please register in advance.

1:30 – 4:30
Ear to the Earth, MUAC 357
Professor Ellen Gray

This class session is part of a unit on climate change, the Arctic, and expressive culture (with a special focus on sound and music). Professor Chie Sakakibara (Syracuse University) will be speaking to our class about her recent book Whale Snow: Iñupiat, Climate Change, and Multispecies Resilience in Arctic Alaska, published by University of Arizona Press (2020).

Thursday, April 4

1:30 – 2:45
African Government and Politics, POSC 252/AFST 220
Professor Ed Webb
Denny 203

Climate Change and Migration in the Sahel and Libya. We will discuss the main drivers of migration in the Sahel region, with a particular focus on why and how people move from countries like Niger and Mali into Libya, most with hopes of moving on to Europe. We will assess how important climate change is in driving these processes, including by directly affecting economic and food security, and indirectly by exacerbating violent conflict. We will also consider the ways climate change makes migrants more vulnerable en route.

Visitors are welcome; please register in advance.

Friday, April 5

8:30 – 9:20
General Chemistry II, CHEM 132
Professor Kathryn Barker
Stafford Auditorium, Rector Science Complex

This class session will review the trapping of heat by carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, focusing on the types of molecular motion that accompany the process. Then, we'll consider the gas-producing chemical reactions of iron and steel production, with emphasis on methods used in the 19th-century iron furnaces of central Pennsylvania.

Visitors are welcome; please register in advance.

11:30 – 12:20
The Middle East Since 1750, HIST/MEST 122
Professor David Commins
Denny 304

The class will cover the ways that climate change is affecting water scarcity, extreme weather (heat), ecological degradation, and dislocation in North Africa and the Middle East. Students will work in small groups to give presentations on specific challenges in different countries.

Visitors are welcome; please register in advance.

Saturday, April 6

8am – 5pm
Oceanography, GEOS 221 Field Trip
Professor Jorden Hayes

As a part of a three-day field trip in Oceanography, we will visit ghost forests in coastal Delaware to understand the impacts of climate change and sea level rise on coastal systems. Students will measure groundwater in an estuary to understand saltwater intrusion and subsurface hydrology. We will discuss the impacts of sea-level rise to ecosystems and the built environment. Discussion will include mitigation and adaptation efforts.

Monday, April 8

1:30 – 2:45
Gastronomy and Health in the Basque Country, SPAN 231
Professor Asuncion Arnedo
Bosler 318

Climate change has an impact in rural areas. Basque government analyzes the situation with different environmental agencies to create measures in the agriculture and animal production. We will learn and discuss some of the proposed measures: water uses, changes in organic crops, etc. This class will be in Spanish.

Visitors are welcome; please register in advance.

Resources to Educate Yourself

Watch a video: Watch a video recording of one of the sessions of the International Climate Change Symposium that was hosted by Dickinson in October 2022. These high-quality sessions feature numerous scientists and other experts who are authors of the most recent reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Access the video recordings here: Science-Based Choices for Climate Action, Insights from the IPCC 6th Assessment Report.

Read about climate change: Whether you want an accessible introduction to climate change or a deep dive into climate science, climate change risks to people, communities, and the environment, climate justice, climate policies, technology solutions, business solutions or other facet of climate change, there are lots of materials out there. Here are some places to look:

For accessible, introductory materials:

For a deeper dive:

Listen to a podcast: There are lots of great podcasts on climate change, energy, and related topics. Here’s a collection to get you started: Foresight’s favorite podcasts.