Food Security, Plant Biology, Climate Ch

As human populations continue to expand, concurrent increases in energy and food will be required. Consequently, fossil fuel burning and deforestation will continue to be human-derived sources of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). The current annual rate of CO2 increase (~0.5%) is expected to continue with global atmospheric concentrations exceeding 600 parts per million (ppm) by the end of the current century. The increase in carbon dioxide, in turn, has ramifications for both climate change but also for plant biology. In this course, our focus will be on how CO2 and climate change alter plant biology and the subsequent consequences for human health.

Overall, the course will have three main components. We begin with an overview of interactions between the plant kingdom and human health, from food supply and nutrition to toxicology, contact dermatitis, aero-biology, inter alia. In the second section, we segue to an overview of rising CO2 and climate change, and how those impacts in turn, will influence all of the interactions related to plant biology and health with a merited focus on food security. Finally, for the remainder of the course, our emphasis will be on evaluating preventative strategies related to mitigation and adaptation to climate change impacts specific to potential transformations of plant biology’s traditional role in human society.

The course is appropriate for students who are interested in global climate change and who wish to expand their general knowledge as to likely outcomes related to plant biology, from food security to nutrition, from pollen allergens to ethnopharmacology.