I would highly recommend this class! I took this class online during covid, but the workload was fairly light. The class never really felt particularly stressful, and Professor Lawrence is really nice. The work consists of reading the textbook, watching lecture videos, attending a once-weekly discussion section, writing a blog post, and studying for the 3 exams over the semester. The exams were fairly easy, but the questions were somewhat specific/detail-oriented, however they were open-book so it wasn't that bad. The final isn't cumulative, which was very nice, as we only had to study the last few chapters of the textbook again. Overall, great class.

seemed to be have been easier online during COVID but in person the tests could be somewhat difficult. not a bad class but not a great class because of the assignments. I loved the topics which were all so interesting and crucial, grew my love for EVSC. but assignments could have been better #tCF2020

Professor Lawrence is really sweet and definitely knows her stuff. I thought everything in the class was useful information about climate change and interesting.
The work in this class is reading the textbook, weekly quizzes, a discussion section (once a week with camera on), three exams (no cumulative final), watching videos on collab with participation questions, and writing a blog post as well as reading/commenting on others.

Quizzes: 14% (if you average 66% over the whole semester -- getting 3/5 and 4/5 scores on the quizzes -- you will get all 14%)
Discussion sections (including watching posted lectures and answering the participation questions): 20% (just show up, nothing scary)
Exam 1: 17%
Exam 2: 17%
Exam 3: 17% (taken during finals week but not cumulative)
Blog writing: 10% (split up into 2 points for choosing topic, 2 points for choosing sources, 25 points for final submission - usually there is a first draft of the blog but that was cancelled for election week)
Blog reading: 3% (completion just read 12 blogs that are under 250 words each)
Commenting on blogs: 2% (write a thoughtful comment on someone's blog)

The blogs part are not scary for this class! Really not hard and you could knock out writing your blog in a couple hours one afternoon if you so choose. The exams are fair usually being 70%-80% multiple choice and the rest free response. The first two tests involve some minimal math, but it really is not hard. The textbook is interested and the professor is nice, take this class if it works for your schedule!!

As a foreign affairs major, I took this class to fulfill the science pre req, and I am so glad I did. I would knock out all of the work for this class in two days, never look at the material until two days before the exams, and still did well. The lectures were very direct, which you have to watch in order to get participation points. Three exams that were pretty straightforward, and as a person who struggles with science, they were pretty easy. She gives out practice exams before, which are extremely helpful. Quizzes every week, but they are graded for completion (100% if you get over 66% on all of them at the end of the semester). One blog post on an article of your choosing. You have to read a chapter from the textbook every week, but it is not hard or long at all. Not only was the class pretty easy, but the information itself was also surprisingly interesting to me. Climate change and its effects is something everyone should learn about, and I am confident I am leaving this class knowing a lot more than I did before. Overall, if you're looking to fulfill that pre req and you do not like science (like me), I highly recommend this course. #tCF2020

I'm taking this class online during Covid, and it's the most organized and well-structured class I have this semester. She reliably pre-records and uploads lectures for you to watch on your own time each week, and the length is typically shorter than what it would be for the in-person class. There is a small in-person discussion about lecture concepts that takes 25 min, but it's just laidback participation. The textbook is super easy to read. There's weekly quizzes, but they're short and straightforward, and they're also low-pressure because you only need to answer 66% of the questions correctly to get a 100%. Tests are all open-book & open-note (YMMV, that's probably just for the online version of the class). Non-cumulative final. The professor is super knowledgeable and has found a good balance between getting into the actual science behind climate change vs. not going too far into complicated physics/chemistry that would be beyond an intro EVSC course. I'm able to stay focused for the entirety of the lectures, and feel like I'm able to get a good handle on the material despite the online format. I'm a bio major just taking this class for fun, and I'd definitely recommend it.

BEST CLASS I HAVE EVER TAKEN. I may be biased because I came in interested in studying envi sci, but Professor Lawrence was the factor that really cemented that interest so that I declared the major. If you like envi sci, definitely take this course BUT I also would highly recommend that anyone, regardless of interest or ability in science, to take this course because of the practical applications of the knowledge. Especially for first years exploring their interests and learning more about life through fulfilling gen ed requirements, this is a great course that is not too hard and teaches useful knowledge for all people to use in life. Being able to understand basic climate science and environmental issues is crucial in this day and age. Learning catalytics mean that at least some attendance is required but I genuinely enjoyed coming to class every single day because Professor Lawrence's personality. She so intelligent and decorated as an environmental scientist but she is very humble and only brings up her experiences in relation to class material, such as her time studying in Borneo or working for the State department. I only learned that she was a Fulbright scholar who went to Harvard and is part of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and more after I looked her up out of curiosity. Her vast experience means that she is very knowledgeable but she also is good at teaching climate science in basic terms so it's easy for the inexperienced undergraduate to understand. She is very kind and sweet and jokes during her lectures. The exams were a little hard at times, but they were very doable and there was barely any homework at all. I loved this class and it is my go to recommendation for others based on how useful and enjoyable it is for anyone to take.

Thought it would be an easy A but a lot of my friends ended up getting A-/B. Overall though an easy course with hardly any homework. You basically just have to go to lecture (for learning catalytics questions) and study for the tests and you'll be fine. There's also a blog post which is like 10% of the grade but takes 10 minutes

Great course!! I suck at science and hate it but this course was SUPER interesting. Tests can be difficult and detail oriented so you have to study A LOT but its not hard to do well. I got an 84 on one of the tests and still ended with an A because of all the other assignments. Attendance is mandatory bc of learning catalytics but she posts slides and I was able to learn a lot of stuff before the tests and do well.

I absolutely love Professor Lawrence!!!! This class seemed interesting to me, and she definitely made it worthwhile. Professor Lawrence is extremely knowledgable and has the experience to back her stuff up. There is a decent amount of weekly work, but it helps for the tests. Normally, there would be 1 or 2 chapters to read, then a short quiz with 5 or 6 questions on it, or an assignment where you had to ask a question about anything within the last class or chapters. The quizzes and "ask a question" are almost impossible to not get full credit for. She does learning catalytics in class, but once again, it was almost impossible to not get full credit. The tests were a little difficult in my opinion, with and without studying an outrageous amount. Overall, the class is extremely enjoyable and you do learn a lot about the climate and the causes behind climate change.

Great class. Professor Lawrence really cares that her students understand how impactful climate change is and how important it is that we learn about how to deal with it. We learned stuff that coincided with so many other subjects, and yet the class was pretty easy. The class is based on four non-comprehensive exams (14% each), review quizzes and questions based on reading (11%), in-class questions (13%), a blog post (11%), reading other students' blogs (5%), and two comments (4%). The review quizzes and questions are a participation grade if you get 50% correct over the course of the semester, which is incredibly easy. In-class questions are on Learning Catalytics and you just have to participate in 90% over the course of the semester to get full credit. The blog post takes like 5 minutes. In lieu of a final, you take the fourth non-comprehensive exam during the final exam period. Great class. I love Professor Lawrence so much. She really is a cool person too. She is obviously incredibly smart and I love that she makes a point to teach a bunch of undergrads a 1000-level course because she thinks it's important to do so.