Description
In an age characterized by a rapidly changing environment, in which emerging and reemerging diseases continue to confront us, how can we predict the next major threats to human health? Are we in fact aiding the spread of disease by destroying the barriers that keep us from it? In his seven-part series Medical Ecology: Environmental Disturbance and Disease, Dickson Despommier, professor of public health and microbiology at Columbia, illuminates the connections between the disruption of ecosystems and eruptions of human disease. In this third seminar, Atmosphere: Stratospheric Problems, Professor Despommier probes into one of Earth's great zones—the upper atmosphere. As he describes the basic constituents of the atmosphere and the ecosystem services it provides, Professor Despommier also explores how industry is destroying the atmospheric system, exposing humans and animals on Earth below to severe health threats.

Minimal prior knowledge of science, including basic concepts of atoms, molecules, and cells, is required for this course.