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IB107 - Climate Change, Biofuels, Food
2 lectures plus 1 discussion session per week
Lectures 10:00 am - 10:50 am Tuesday and Thursday in 253 Mechanical Engineering Building
Discussion either 11:00 am - 11:50 am, 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm or 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm on Thursday in 316 Natural History Building
Instructor:
Andrew Leakey
Office: 1402 Institute for Genomic Biology
Tel: 244-0302
e-mail: leakey@uiuc.edu
Course text book: Climate Change: Biological and Human Aspects (2007) Jonathon Cowie, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-69619-7 (paperback).
Lecture schedule
Climate: past, present and future
Lecture 1 The history of climate and the human species.
Lecture 2 The evidence for contemporary climate change.
Lecture 3 What will the climate be like in 2050 and 2100?
Lecture 4 Catastrophic climate change – fact or fiction?
Will climate change reduce crop yields and food supply in 2050?
Lecture 5 Food supply/needs in the Midwest USA in 2050.
Lecture 6 Food supply/needs in Africa and Asia in 2050.
Lecture 7 Greater photosynthesis: the silver lining of climate change?
Lecture 8 Crops will be less thirsty in the future.
Lecture 9 Turning up the heat on plant growth.
Lecture 10 Heat waves and crop failure.
EXAM 1
How will climate change impact forest and grassland ecosystem health?
Lecture 11 What’s a bad air day if you’re a plant?
Lecture 12 Survivor challenge: life for a plant with too little water.
Lecture 13 Will the rain forests dry out and die in the future?
Lecture 14 Will floods kill our plants when droughts don’t?
Losing biodiversity because of climate change
Lecture 15 Boom or bust – why a little of everything is good for biodiversity.
Lecture 16 Which ecosystems could we lose to climate change?
Lecture 17 Keystone species – which organisms hold an ecosystem together?
Lecture 18 Changes in the timing of seasons could spell trouble.
Lecture 19 Moving toward the poles – how will species’ ranges change this century?
EXAM 2
Pests, pollinators, and diseases of plants in the future
Lecture 20 Rust and rot – when plants get athlete’s foot.
Lecture 21 Insect invasion: migration and evolution of insect pests.
Lecture 22 Will plants taste better to insects in 2050?
Lecture 23 Possible pollination problems – why are all the bees dying?
Using biofuels to alter the course of climate change
Lecture 24 Where does our energy come from and how much do we use?
Lecture 25 Thanksgiving Break
Lecture 26 Thanksgiving Break
Lecture 27 What biofuels do we currently produce?
Lecture 28 What would the perfect biofuel crop look like?
Lecture 29 How may human ingenuity overcome the challenges of climate change?
Exam period EXAM 3
Discussion schedule
Week 1 SoyFACE and Energy Biosciences Institute fieldtrip
Week 2 How much climate change do you cause?
Week 3 Weather forecast 2050: future climates across the globe.
Week 4 Feast or famine: will climate change cause food shortages?
Week 5 Elevated CO2: an all-you-can-eat buffet for plants?
Week 6 Hot as hell: do high temperatures inhibit plant activity?
Week 7 Don’t inhale: does ozone poison plants?
Week 8 Shriveled or drowned?: plants suffering with too little or too much water
Week 9 Will polar bears and poison arrow frogs exist only in zoos in 2050?
Week 10 Ecosystem extinction: will whole habitats disappear due to climate change?
Week 11 Seasons greetings: when will spring arrive with climate change?
Week 12 Alien invaders: will exotic pathogens migrate and become a menace?
Week 13 How does the media present science?
Week 14 Will use of biofuels reverse climate change?
Week 15 How may biofuels change the environment and economy of Illinois?
Requirements and Grade Components:
- Exam 1 (15%)
- Exam 2 (20%)
- Exam 3 (25%)
- Discussion sessions (20%)
- Homework (20%)
- Extra credit (5%)
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