Our Earth’s Future

“Prediction is difficult, especially about the future”

– Niels Bohr*

The free, online version of Our Earth’s Future is available on Coursera.

Here are some resources to help you understand our earth’s future. This page is designed for participants in Our Earth’s Future at the American Museum of Natural History, but it’s available for anyone interested in the future of our home.

The course I teach covers a variety of topics that you may want to explore in greater depth:

Climate Science – it’s really useful to understand how the climate works before trying to understand how it’s changing.

Impacts of Climate – why should you care that climate is changing?

Past Climate – this class is about the future, but it can help to look at the past as a guide.

Updates April 2017:

• Explore how sea level rise will affect different parts of the world with NOAA’s interactive viewer.
• Want to know more about ENSO? This FAQ covers just about everything.
• Almost-real-time data from the tropical Pacific are available via NOAA.
• An article on what happens when “all the ice goes”.
• Learn more from the NAS Arctic Matters booklet – specifically, the “Into the Future: Managing Change” section
• ReadThe 5 Degree Arctic in a 2 Degree World briefing.
• Climate Science – it’s really useful to understand how the climate works before trying to understand how it’s changing.
• Impacts of Climate – why should you care that climate is changing?
• Past Climate – this class is about the future, but it can help to look at the past as a guide.

*The authenticity of this quote is disputed. As it turns out, the past is pretty difficult as well.