In this activity, you will analyze how natural causes and human activities influence climate change variability.   

Step 1: Select one natural and one human-related factor related to climate change, drawing from your initial readings in the course, previous knowledge, or other sources that have expanded your knowledge.

Step 2: Reflect on how these factors are related to climate change, whether directly or indirectly, and detail the direction of the relationship between your chosen factor and climate change. Consider any other interaction relevant to the topic these factors may have.

Step 3: Prepare a 250 - 500 word piece of writing to summarize your reflections on these two factors and climate change.

Step 4: To share your work, click on the “Reply” button under this post and paste your work in the “message” box. Make sure to reference others’ intellectual property when necessary. All references should follow 7th Edition APA formatting. For further instructions, see the resource on the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library: APA citation resource (N.B. references are excluded from word counts).

Step 5: To complete the activity, you will need to reply to at least two posts made by your peers in a respectful and professional manner. Be sure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “post to forum.”

OPTIONAL Step 6: Interact (10 minutes)

If you would like to, you can reply to your peers' posts in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to forum.”

In this activity, you will analyze the evidence of abnormal climate change by presenting scientific evidence.

Step 1: Select one of the four discussion threads presented below regarding myths on climate change.

Step 2: Reflect on the selected topic drawing from your initial readings in the course, previous knowledge, or other sources that have expanded your knowledge. Remember to reference all your arguments about the topic.

Step 3: Prepare a 250 - 500 word piece of writing to summarize your reflections and argue your chosen climate change myth.

Step 4: To share your work, click on the “Reply” button under this post and paste your work in the “message” box. Make sure to reference others’ intellectual property when necessary. All references should follow 7th Edition APA formatting. For further instructions, see the resource on the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library: APA citation resource (N.B. references are excluded from word counts).

OPTIONAL Step 5: Interact (10 minutes)

If you would like to, you can reply to your peers' posts in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback, and then click on “Post to forum.”

In this activity, you will analyze the health benefits and the limitations of working with climate change prediction models.     

Step 1: Review the following figure from the IPCC's Mitigation for Climate Change: Summary for Policymakers. The proposal is to drastically reduce the CO2 atmospheric concentrations to below 430ppm by 2100. This could/would revert the temperature to below 1.5°C (high confidence). In order to achieve this goal, it would be necessary to immediately start mitigation action and upscale the portfolio of mitigation technologies and development along a low-energy demand trajectory.

Step 2: Reflect on the following questions: 

• What limitations could affect the accuracy of these predictions?

• Which benefits would be attained by following the IPCC’s proposition of reducing CO2 atmospheric concentrations to below 430ppm by 2100? 

• What are the potential limitations to implementing policies to achieve that objective? 

Step 3: Prepare a 250 - 500 word piece of writing to summarize your reflections on the IPCC’s proposition.

Step 4: To share your work, click on the “Reply” button under this post and paste your work in the “message” box. Make sure to reference others’ intellectual property when necessary. All references should follow 7th Edition APA formatting. For further instructions, see the resource on the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library: APA citation resource (N.B. references are excluded from word counts).

Step 5: To complete the activity, you will need to reply to at least two posts made by your peers in a respectful and professional manner. Be sure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “post to forum.”

OPTIONAL Step 6: Interact (10 minutes)

If you would like to, you can reply to your peers' posts in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to forum.”

In this activity, you will create an essay evaluating the “Hurricane Harvey Response” vector control program by the Texas Department of State Health Services (480 min.)

Step 1: Click here and read the content under the heading “Vector Control” on pages 29-32 to assess the implementation of vector control as a primary health care response and evaluate its successful aspects and weaknesses.

Step 2: Prepare a 500 - 900 word reflective piece of writing to summarize your reasoning on the chosen topic. You should respond to the following questions and any others you may have:

• What sectors may benefit from the outcomes resulting from the implementation of this primary health care response?

• What are the health implications of the implementation of this primary health care response?

• How can local or national programs contribute to developing better responses to climate change adversities with the identified areas for improvement of this institutional program?

Step 3: Before you submit, engage in an introspective self-analysis by systematically reviewing each component of your work. Reflect on what aspects of your work were executed well and what could be enhanced. Proceed to refine these elements in your work.

Step 4: To submit your work, click on the “Reply” button under this post and paste your work in the “message” box. Make sure to reference others’ intellectual property when necessary. All references should follow 7th Edition APA formatting. For further instructions, see the resource on the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library: APA citation resource (N.B. references are excluded from word counts).

OPTIONAL Step 5: Interact (10 minutes)

If you would like to, you can reply to your peers' posts in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to forum.”

In this activity, you will analyze the role of public health professionals in the development of mitigation and adaptation strategies, and the impact of these strategies on existing and emerging health threats. 

Step 1: Read and reflect on the paper regarding Climate change mitigation and health effects of varied dietary patterns in real-life settings throughout North America.

Step 2: Prepare a 250 - 500 word piece of writing to summarize your reflections. You should respond to the following questions and any others you may have.

• Changes in dietary patterns can be a long-term adaptation strategy. In which one of the five approaches explored in the module (adaptation pathways method, ecosystem-based adaptation, community-based adaptation, livelihood diversification, and risk-based approach) do you think it fits best, and why?

• How did the involvement of public health professionals contribute to developing this specific mitigation strategy? 

• Which health threats could be reduced by implementing the suggested mitigation strategy?

Step 3: To share your work, click on the “Reply” button under this post and paste your work in the “message” box. Make sure to reference others’ intellectual property when necessary. All references should follow 7th Edition APA formatting. For further instructions, see the resource on the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library: APA citation resource (N.B. references are excluded from word counts).

Step 4: To complete the activity, you will need to reply to at least two posts made by your peers in a respectful and professional manner. Be sure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “post to forum.”

OPTIONAL Step 5: Interact (10 minutes)

If you would like to, you can reply to your peers' posts in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to forum.”

In this activity, you will evaluate the implementation of the City of Austin Climate Action Plan, reviewing its strengths, health implications, and economic limitations.

Step 1: Click here and read the content under the heading “City of Austin Climate Action Plan” on pages 24-32 to assess the implementation of the plan and evaluate its effectiveness and limitations. 

Step 2: Prepare a 600 - 1000 word reflective piece of writing to summarize your reasoning on the chosen topic. You should respond to the following questions and any others you may have:

• What are the strengths of this program in implementing sustainable strategies to reduce the negative impacts of global warming on the living environment of the Austin City population?

• How can you collaborate in the implementation of the three different activities (transportation and land use, zero-waste, and energy plans) in your workplace? 

• What sectors may benefit from the implementation of this program?

• What are the health implications of the implementation of this program?

• What are the economic limitations for the implementation of this program?

Step 3: Before you submit, engage in an introspective self-analysis by systematically reviewing each component of your work. Reflect on what aspects of your work were executed well and what could be enhanced. Proceed to refine these elements in your work.

Step 4: To submit your work, click on the “Reply” button under this post and paste your work in the “message” box. Make sure to reference others’ intellectual property when necessary. All references should follow 7th Edition APA formatting. For further instructions, see the resource on the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library: APA citation resource (N.B. references are excluded from word counts).

OPTIONAL Step 5: Interact (10 minutes)

If you would like to, you can reply to your peers' posts in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to forum.”