First-Year Seminars 110VE - The Inevitable Element: Why Carbon Is At The Root of Our Climate Change Crisis

Have you ever wondered why we are so concerned with our carbon footprint? Why don't we worry about our oxygen footprint? Or silicon? What makes carbon so special? This first-year seminar will delve into the reasons that carbon, and uniquely carbon, is central to climate change. We will discuss the properties of carbon and why those properties have resulted in a fossil fuel-based economy. We will cover nucleosynthesis of elements, the formation of earth and the solar system, the origin of life and information flow in living organisms, how time and heat resulted in reserves of energy-rich petroleum buried in the earth, why these fossil fuels have made a convenient foundation for our modern economy, and the resulting impact carbon emissions have on the atmosphere. Finally, we will discuss how carbon capture can be used to mitigate the impact of climate change.

Mount Holyoke first-year students only, by placement.