Utah State University's Climate Change Minor?

Utah State University's Board of Trustees just approved a new Climate Change and Energy minor for students in the College of Science.

From the Herald Journal:

Utah State University plans to offer a new minor in Climate Change and Energy to help students “become familiar with the science and objective knowledge underlying these issues.”

USU’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved the program on Friday; it will go before the state’s Board of Regents in a future meeting. USU hopes to have the minor in place for spring semester.

If it is approved, the minor will be unique in Utah. Requiring a total of 15 credit hours, it will seek to integrate scientific and socioeconomic issues through courses like Energy in the 21st Century, Sustainable Development and Challenges in Climate and Energy.


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The minor will appeal to Aggies who hope to work with “green” industries or in government agencies that work with energy issues, the proposal says.

“Student interest already exists, but should increase as climate issues become more visible,” the proposal states. “Climate change is projected to have profound effects on ecosystems and human activities including socioeconomic problems.”

Another motivation for offering the minor is adherence to a “Climate Commitment” signed by a number of university presidents in 2007. USU President Stan Albrecht was the first in Utah to participate. The document states that participating schools will try to eliminate its carbon dioxide output in order to reduce global warming.

The commitment also requires each school to “make climate neutrality and sustainabilty a part of the curriculum and other educational experience for all students.”

Objective knowledge? For some reason, I have a hard time trusting those words when in the context of Climate Change.