What Should You Get Out of College?  Read these interesting viewpoints from various perspectives (from The New York Times 8-4-02)

NATS 101-GC COURSE GOALS

Learning outcomes we hope students will achieve in this class:

• You will develop an appreciation for the complexity of the scientific endeavor, how it is evaluated  by peers and how it is communicated to the public
• You will gain experience in using the tools of science: observation; data analysis, presentation, and interpretation; quantitative and symbolic representation of nature, including modeling; hypothesis testing and critical reasoning.
• You will gain facility in writing precisely and critically about scientific topics in both short, impromptu writing and more formal analytical writing.
• You will learn to work effectively in a "working group" environment.
• You will build on your understanding of key underlying physical science concepts (i.e., matter, electromagnetism, energy & thermodynamics, force & motion) and you will be able to articulate the role played by these physical concepts in specific global change processes.
• You will gain an understanding of the essential components of the Earth system (atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere) that are involved in global change processes and the feedbacks that link these components.
• You will be able to explain and discuss the scientific principles underlying global environmental change problems and issues, (e.g., climatic variability, global warming due to an enhanced greenhouse effect, ozone depletion, deforestation); and you will be able  to critically evaluate the logic and evidence that underlie various theories about the nature of global change, especially global warming.
• You will develop a global awareness of how human beings affect -- and are affected by -- many of the processes linked to global environmental change
• You will be able to apply knowledge obtained in the course to make informed, scientifically based, decisions about your personal role and responsibilities as a human being who influences -- and is influenced by -- a globally changing world.