This class explores the process of making scientific inferences through the lens of how society is affected by, and prepares for, natural & environmental hazards.
Specially, the class introduces our understandings of the dynamics governing several hazards, and how those dynamics both clarify and complicate our understandings of their risks and our forecasts of them. Case studies used include the Flint lead crisis, COVID-19, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and hurricanes Katrina and Maria, among others. Finally, the legal framework of environmental regulation is introduced and the often complex interaction between science and the public realm is explored.