Since the end of World War II, the development of a global economy spread the European and American standard of living, thereby dramatically increasing the environmental consequences of industrial society. The impacts of using fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) along with surging world population and the use of manufactured chemicals like plastics and fertilizer grew at astounding rates, making scientists aware of changes in the atmosphere and oceans that were heating up the Earth.  Since the year 2000, historians and scientists have been calling the period since 1945 "The Great Acceleration" because the many human-generated components that are heating the climate have been going up at an increasing rate of speed and have not yet begun to moderate.

The class will learn the causes of climate change and how accelerating change is being seen in a variety of weather events that are teaching us new terms like "rain bomb" and "atmospheric river." NOAA studies on future impacts of climate change will be discussed.

Main points of content will be on a slide show that will be given to students at the end of the class.