TOPICS: A COMP OVERVIEW OF THE CLIMATE AND ENVIRNMTL CRISES in Summer 2025 (CM5091-3WK1)

The underlying premise of this course is that, in today’s world, a solid understanding of the climate and environmental crises has become essential for a career in media and communications. Humanity’s troubled relationship to the planet, alas, affects everything. This comprehensive overview – 12 three-hour sessions spread over three weeks – will be evenly divided between lecture/discussion, on the one hand, and practical exercises, on the other. Topics covered will include basic climate science, including impacts; the geopolitics of climate change, past and present; the economic framing of the climate crisis and its policy implications; trends and challenges in the transition to a carbon-neutral economy; the promise and peril of different categories of climate solutions; how individuals can impact climate outcomes; climate via the prism of social justice and human rights. Practical exercises will focus on how to decode press releases, which remain a major vector of relaying information to the news media; the art and science of pitching a story; how to detect and decode climate and environmental greenwashing; how to make sense of a scientific study (even if one is scientifically illiterate). Grades will be based on class participation, a couple of quizzes, a pitch assignment, and a more substantial piece of writing (TBD). Reading assignments will be kept to a minimum but are mandatory. Please take note: this class is not for the faint of heart, in part because it is dense and will cover a lot of material, but also because it will reveal a problem whose scope may extend beyond what you had imagined. Don’t let that discourage you – it’s a journey worth embarking on!