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 protect 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 fourth of seven e-seminars, Atmosphere: Problems at Ground Level, Despommier investigates the atmosphere at Earth's surface and the consequences of polluting the air around us. From acid deposition to industrial emissions, polluted air threatens the health of humans and ecosystems alike. Despommier elucidates this concept using text, reading materials, data, and state-of-the-art animation and imagery.

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