Climate change is projected to alter the physical environment in ways that will affect human health globally, regionally and locally. The choices that society makes to respond to climate change also have health implications. The course will explore the scientific evidence to date of the health impacts associated with a changing climate. We will begin with a brief overview of climate science and will learn about the variety of epidemiological, risk assessment, and statistical methods used to evaluate the impacts of climate change on health locally, regionally, and globally. The public health implications, positive and negative, of efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change will also be elaborated, including discussions of ethical, political, and economic aspects of these efforts.
The course will consist of a variety of lectures, student-led and professor-led discussions. Students will also have the opportunity to investigate an area within the climate change and health literature of their own particular interest. As the field of climate change and health is inherently interdisciplinary, this course will benefit from a diversity of perspectives and students of physical sciences, natural sciences, social sciences and engineering are encouraged to enroll.