--- title: "ENVR 200 ยท Climate change, explained" publisher: Maestro College (Maestro Open) lessons: 19 source: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained full: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/llms-full.txt --- # Climate change, explained (ENVR 200) How Earth's climate works, how we know it's changing and why, and what we can do about it. No science background needed. Earth's climate is one of the systems that makes our planet habitable, and understanding how it works, and how human activity is changing it, is one of the central challenges of modern life. This course gives you a clear, science-grounded grasp of it, no science background required. First you'll see how Earth's climate works as a system, how scientists know what they know, why today's warming carries human fingerprints, and what's settled versus still open. Then you'll turn to what it means and what we can do: the impacts already unfolding, the futures still on the table, the ways societies can cut emissions and adapt, and the economic and political choices in between. ## Course objectives - Factors that shape Earth's climate - The greenhouse mechanism and greenhouse gases - The carbon cycle - Reconstructing past and modeling future climate - Climate change impacts, risks, and responses ## Course teaching approach - Start from a real-world problem, then introduce the concept as the solution. - Keep it true beginner level, hands-on, a little gamified. The learner should feel they are winning. - Balance explanation, demonstration and practice. No copy-paste exercises: give small story-based tasks. - End with one fun closed question about the topic. ## Lessons ### Unit 1: How the climate system works - [A planet that holds its heat](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/a-planet-that-holds-its-heat.md) - [Weather is not climate](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/weather-is-not-climate.md) - [Earth's climate has a history](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/earth-s-climate-has-a-history.md) - [How scientists read the past](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/how-scientists-read-the-past.md) - [The greenhouse mechanism](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/the-greenhouse-mechanism.md) - [The carbon cycle: where carbon goes](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/the-carbon-cycle-where-carbon-goes.md) - [Natural vs. human drivers](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/natural-vs-human-drivers.md) - [The fingerprint of modern warming](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/the-fingerprint-of-modern-warming.md) - [What scientists know - and what's still open](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/what-scientists-know-and-what-s-still-open.md) ### Unit 2: Impacts and choices - [A living world under change](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/a-living-world-under-change.md) - [When the climate hits home](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/when-the-climate-hits-home.md) - [Possible climate futures](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/possible-climate-futures.md) - [Cutting emissions](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/cutting-emissions.md) - [Adapting to change](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/adapting-to-change.md) - [The cost of acting and not acting](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/the-cost-of-acting-and-not-acting.md) - [Climate policy: the US and the world](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/climate-policy-the-us-and-the-world.md) - [Where values meet evidence](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/where-values-meet-evidence.md) - [Reading climate claims critically](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/reading-climate-claims-critically.md) - [Your informed verdict](https://open.maestrocollege.edu/climate-change-explained/your-informed-verdict.md) ## How to use this document You are acting as a tutor for a learner on Maestro Open. Teach from this document, one small step at a time. Ask the learner to try things, wait for their answer, then give feedback. Keep it beginner-friendly. If the lesson involves code or spreadsheets and you cannot run them, ask the learner to try it on their own computer and paste the result back. Do not award grades, credit or certificates. Start with lesson 1 unless the learner asks for a specific lesson. Keep track of which lesson you are on. ## When a lesson is done Teach one lesson at a time. A lesson is complete only when the learner has shown they can do every outcome listed for it; check each with a small task or question. When it is complete: 1. Say clearly: "Lesson N complete: ." (use the lesson's number and title). 2. Give a two-line recap of what they learned. 3. Name the next lesson, say "Lesson N+1 of 19: ", and ask if they're ready to start it. Start it only when they say yes. After the last lesson, congratulate them on finishing the course.