Muleskinner

Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Courtney Hudson: Muleskinner Corey Werner, geography department professor, is the leader of a new course offered thought the department, "Natural Hazards." The goal of the course is to educate students in the ways human behavior effects natural hazards. [Click to enlarge]

When most students think of geography, they remember memorizing state capitals and identifying foreign countries on a map. Well, not anymore. Although geography is about locating regions and learning about their make-up, Corey Werner has decided to take geography one step further.

Werner is a professor at UCM who has decided to shake things up a bit. Natural Hazards is a new course being offered this semester.

"The course is really focusing on the natural causes of natural hazards and how human behavior can affect natural hazards," Werner said.

Natural Hazards is a special topics class and has 15 students enrolled and actively participating.

Werner will cover everything from hurricanes to global warming. The class recently finished learning about earthquakes.

In addition to the required reading and attendance, Werner has his students complete a risk assessment. This includes types of hazards and the significance of risks and how the geography plays a part in those risks for a specific location.

The students will then present their findings and report on how those risks might affect residents of that location.

Sarah Vitt, sophomore hotel and restaurant administration major, explained that this type of a class would be great for almost any major.

"I would be interested in this course because it is important to understand why these things happen and understand how to be prepared for such a crisis," Vitt said.

Natural hazards such as hurricanes, wildfires and floods are things that occur all year round.

This course plans on looking at tsunamis, volcanoes, flooding, soils, atmosphere and extreme weather, waves, wildfires and climate change.

Werner explained that these types of hazards have an impact all over the world, and just because they may not happen in the Unites States, natural occurrences have an impact on every country in some way.

Werner said this class will also briefly touch on global warming and its impact on the world.

"Our deadliest hazard is heat," Werner said.

Although Werner will discuss global warming, he tries not to make assumptions about the future.

"I try as a scientist not to predict the future," Werner said.

Since this is the first time this class has been offered Werner does not yet know if it will become a part of the curriculum. He said he hopes his course can be offered at least every other year.

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