Class 1: An introduction to a little bit of everything

• Quick questionnaire
• Introductions
• Masterfile: a brief intro
• Syllabus
• BREAK
• Download R
• Basic programming
• BREAK
• Climate 101
• Slack intro

• 2011: IU Alum - Environmental Science
• Moved to NYC
• 2013: Climate science masters
• Early career: climate science, communications and international development
• 2018: Journalism school
• 2021: Moved back to Indiana
• Now: Data journalist @ American Public Media
• Now: Visiting Roy W. Howard Journalist-in-Residence

1. Name
2. Major
3. Briefly describe your journalism experience to date (e.g. taken lots of classes, some classes, worked for a student pub or other newsroom, freelance experience, etc.)
4. How would you rate your own proficiency and comfort with producing a piece of journalism, with 1 being no experience and 10 being highly proficient?
5. Briefly describe your experience with science, math and data (e.g. college-level classes, relevant work experience, hobbies, etc.).
6. How would you rate your own proficiency and comfort in working with numbers, with 1 being no experience and 10 being highly proficient?
7. Is there anyone in the class you know you would work well with on a team?
8. Is there anyone in the class you know you would not work so well with on a team?
9. Do you have any specific expectations for this class? What do you hope to get out of it? (it’s okay if you’re not sure!)
10. Any other comments or answers you’d like to elaborate on?

• A relatively stable climate slowly shapes how we:
  • Grow food
  • Access water
  • Where we live and move (or migrate)
  • Where we build cities
  • Adapt to diseases
  • What we wear
  • How we spend time outside
  • What technologies we develop
  • Animals we eat
  • Transport goods and ourselves
  • Anticipate and prepare for disasters
  • Negotiate treaties, other geopolitical implications
  • Set up financial risk management

As this force changes more quickly and chaotically, all of these systems are affected.

• Forecasts - from two weeks to decades
  • Seasonal: using sea surface temperatures (El Niño)
  • Decades: models that incorporate past trends + principles of physics
  • (Less than two weeks is weather)
• With predictions of temperature and precipitation patterns, we can in turn try to predict how agriculture is affected, when Miami will be unlivable, where the next disease outbreak might be
• But we weren’t really adapted to the climate we’ve had (still plenty of disasters + human development in risky places)

• Can be about anything that has an intersection with climate
• Some possible topics to get you thinking:
  • Ag and food, health, insurance industry, geopolitics, migration, national security, water access, energy, risk to business, politics, tech, transportation, sea level rise
• AMS program - a lot of this is very wonky/scientific, but there are some conferences within this conference that are more applicable, such as about climate’s intersections with health and water. Scientists often present work at conferences before they publish it, so it’s a good place to see the latest stuff that experts are working on. Conference listings are helpful for just finding potential experts too.