Overview

This course explores and critically analyzes historical and contemporary climate policies (e.g. Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement). Political issues pertaining to energy sources, such as nuclear energy, will be reviewed. The course will focus on understanding key climate principles and terms surrounding policy development, specifically for low-income or developing countries/communities. Further, this course explores up-to-date technologies that are used in climate analysis. This course can be taken for academic credit as part of CU Boulder’s Master of Science in Data Science (MS-DS) degree offered on the Coursera platform. The MS-DS is an interdisciplinary degree that brings together faculty from CU Boulder’s departments of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Science, and others. The degree offers targeted courses, short 8-week sessions, and pay-as-you-go tuition. Admission is based on performance in three preliminary courses, not academic history. CU degrees on Coursera are ideal for recent graduates or working professionals. Learn more: MS in Data Science: https://www.coursera.org/degrees/master-of-science-data-science-boulder

Syllabus

Global Energy Policies

In this module, you will delve into critical aspects of energy and environmental governance, starting with an exploration of global climate policies and their effectiveness. The focus then shifts to understanding the historical development and contemporary debates surrounding nuclear energy as an alternative to fossil fuels, examining its potential roles and challenges. The module concludes with an exploration of future energy landscapes, emphasizing renewable energy sources and their policy incentives in the United States.

Introduction to Nuclear Power

In this module, you will embark on an in-depth exploration of nuclear power, beginning with a foundational understanding of what nuclear power entails. Then, you will explore various perspectives of nuclear power as an alternative energy source before examining nuclear energy policies and technological advancements tailored for the 21st century, analyzing how regulations and innovations shape the nuclear energy landscape globally.

Natural Impact of a Warming Planet

This module centers on an exploration of climate change and its multifaceted impacts. You will begin by examining the fundamentals of climate change before delving into the intricate relationship between weather patterns and climate change, analyzing how global warming influences regional climates and exacerbates extreme weather events. The discussion then shifts to the phenomena of El Niño and La Niña, exploring their roles in altering weather patterns globally and their implications for climate variability. You will also investigate the alarming trend of mountain glacier recession, studying the environmental, social, and hydrological ramifications of diminishing glaciers worldwide.

Energy and Climate Governance: The Intermingling of Both

In this final module, you will explore future emission scenarios and mitigation strategies crucial for addressing climate change. First, you will examine emission scenarios, discussing how different projections influence climate models and policy decisions, and Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), analyzing these pathways as frameworks for quantifying greenhouse gas concentrations and their impacts on global climate. Then you will explore carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, focusing on their role in mitigating emissions by capturing CO2 from industrial processes and storing it underground.