Wicked Problems, Wolfpack Solutions 2021: Global Change considered the history, causes, and consequences of global change. Incoming students learned directly from NC State University faculty and other experts who are contributing to a variety of solutions around the world. Ancient life, mass extinction, modern ecologies, and climate justice were just a few of the topics covered by this course.
Melissa Ramirez, Ph.D. and Jason Flores, Ph.D. provide an introduction to the topic of Global Change and to the course Wicked Problems, Wolfpack Solutions: Global Change.
Humans have, over the past 12,000 years, accelerated in population growth rates and ecological consequences, ushering in a new geological era, the anthropocene.
Archaeology is a discipline that is well-positioned to study the 6000 years of urban living, and ancient cities can provide insight into some of the wicked problems of modern urbanism.
In this video (Part 2 of 2) research ecologist Adam Terando, Ph.D. discusses the evolution and present realities of cities, and how choices we have made to prioritize development of automobile-centered suburbs have contributed to impacts on the environment and the climate.
Jorge Mari, Ph.D. argues in this video that futuristic sci-fi movies are more than simple forms of entertainment, but expressions of the times and societies that made them.
Like science, science fiction tends to look at human beings from distant perspectives of time and space, but because it is fiction, it grounds its observations in the lives of individual people, showing how large environmental and social forces affect particular characters ...
In this podcast, we hear from author Kim Stanley Robinson as he shares insights from writing the book Ministry for the Future and about the science behind events in the novel.
North Carolina’s climate is changing. The state is warming, precipitation events are becoming more extreme, and the ocean is rising. This is a different state than it was 30 years ago, and in the future it will be a different state than it is today.
In this podcast, Ethan Hyland, Ph.D. discusses what coal is made of, where it came from, and why it is a non-renewable resource. He also discusses how burning coal impacts Earth’s climate.
A stunning variety of bees help plants reproduce and bear fruit in North Carolina. In this podcast “Why We Need Bees,” Elsa Youngsteadt, Ph.D. gives an overview of what pollination is, and how diverse bee species can do a better job of it than one species alone.
Given the plight of all pollinators, including honey bees, David Tarpy, Ph.D. highlights our need to work toward a more sustainable apiculture system to promote all of agriculture.
What are extremophiles? What can we learn from them that is relevant in our warming climate? Carols Goller, Ph.D. introduces you to these resilient microbes, and discusses how we can apply what we learn from them as we face current challenges.
¿Qué son los extremófilos? ¿Qué podemos aprender de ellos que que sea relevante al cambio climático? El profesor Goller se presenta estos microbios resilientes y discuten cómo podemos aplicar lo que aprendemos de ellos al enfrentar los retos actuales.
Are trees always good? Is fire always bad? Are reforestation efforts in the tropics the best way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere? What value is there in other ecosystems, like savannahs and grasslands?
Dr. Ryan Emanuel discusses the inequities of climate change in terms of who is impacted. He introduces how "seven generations thinking" is one way to reduce inequities and environmental harm.
Dr. Chris Hawn talks about finding ways to combine their passion for ecology, health and community through a public science initiative designed to measure air pollutants.
To take more control over your own decisions (what to do, what to believe, how to think critically), it helps to understand the deep secrets of learning (Part 1/2).
To take more control over your own decisions (what to do, what to believe, how to think critically), it helps to understand the deep secrets of learning (Part 2/2).
In this video (Part 1 of 2) Marsha Gordon, Ph.D. explores the way documentary films tried to help us comprehend what failure to prevent catastrophic climate change might mean.
In this video (Part 2 of 2) Marsha Gordon, Ph.D. explores the way documentary films tried to help us comprehend what failure to prevent catastrophic climate change might mean.
Christina Koch, Ph.D. talks about her time on the International Space Station. Learn about the strategy she used to achieve her own goals, and what words of wisdom she has to offer to the next great class of NC State students.
Unit 4: Radical Change: Achieving Hopeful Scenarios
Kathryn Stevenson, Ph.D. discusses her decade of research trying to learn more about how young people think and learn about climate change and how youth-led conversations may have something important to offer.
In this video, Frank Harmon shares the “inherent wisdom” he learned from North Carolina barns, why he thinks building sustainably is really just “common sense,” and how building sustainably can help one feel more “at home” in their houses.
Deaja Sanders and Mara Cuebas-Irizarry discuss the microbes in our clothes and how we might use these and various other microbes to help combat clothing and plastic waste pollution.
Fred Gould, Ph.D. challenges students to think more deeply about genetic engineering and discusses opportunities for students at NC State to delve into the social and biological aspects of this methodology.
Jessica Yinka Thomas introduces a growing business model movement called B Corp, which supports businesses that want to focus on sustainability as well as profits.
Roger von Haefen, Ph.D. discusses how investments in game-changing technologies can transform our energy sector, reduce the energy intensity of our cars, phones, homes and food, and make our economy more resilient to climate change.
Sonja Salmon, Ph.D. explores how a super-fast enzyme called carbonic anhydrase could help pick CO2 molecules out of thin air and what the implications may be.
Unit 5: Adapting to Global Change: What Can You Do?
How citizen science is transforming scientific discovery, including the Citizen Science Campus program, Crowd the Tap (a NC State project about safe drinking water), and three other ways students can make a difference.
Dr. Paige argues that "music can help us imagine distant futures" and that "soundscapes invite us to attend to both who and what is creating certain sounds ... as well as how our reactions to environmental sounds can drive us toward certain kinds of behaviors."
Roland Kays, Ph.D. describes how new technologies can help provide the information we need to conserve animal populations and help them adapt to change.
Incorporating nature into urban landscapes is crucial for the wellbeing of people and wildlife in cities. Deja Perkins discusses special considerations for using crowd-sourced datasets to achieve biodiversity in urban environments.
Andy Fox and David Hill provide an overview of the Coastal Dynamics Design Lab in NC State University’s College of Design. The lab leads trans-disciplinary research and design teams to address critical ecological and community development challenges.
How will climate change affect international migration? Angel Cruz, Ph.D. and Nora Haenn, Ph.D. look at climate change and migration from the standpoint of smallholder farmers in Mexico and, especially, El Salvador.
Will agricultural smallholders respond to climate change by migrating internationally? Angel Cruz, Ph.D. and Nora Haenn, Ph.D. continue their look at climate change and migration from the standpoint of smallholder farmers in Mexico and El Salvador.
Kofi Boone explains how the design of landscapes has the ability to harm, or to heal. He reflects on the environment in which he grew up in Detroit, and shares the work he and his students have done in Ghana.
