From DEEP IMPACT to the DAY AFTER TOMORROW, the role of natural disasters in causing death and destruction is glorified in popular culture. How realistic are those portrayals? This course will examine the normal processes of the earth that lead to earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, landslides, catastrophic climate change, floods, and killer asteroids. How these processes have contributed to the overall history of the earth, as well as shaping the current ephemeral landscape, will be emphasized. Current and recent natural disasters will be used as case histories in developing the concepts of how a changing Earth destroys humans and their structures. |