The climate is changing more rapidly than at any other time in the earth's history. The average temperature of the world is increasing, with extreme weather events becoming more common. Humans are causing this by excess emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases. Other factors, such as small variations in solar output, are vastly outweighed by the changing chemistry of the atmosphere. As human populations continue to grow, strategies for energy sources and conservation form a driving choice for quality of life in the future.

Ron Sass explores this topic in this lecture titled "Global Change By Humans: Narrowing Choices For Our Future Climate." Sass is currently the fellow in Global Climate Change at the James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. During more than five decades as a chemistry and biology professor, his research has included wetland sources of biogenic greenhouse trace gases and the role of methane in particular. He has consulted for the EPA and worked with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, sharing as a member of the IPCC in the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.