Science and Technology   

Every day, the world’s population consumes about two billion cups of coffee. The average American drinks as many as three cups a day. Climate Change continues to be a major challenge to the production of coffee which requires a tight conjunction between soil type, altitude, exposure to sunlight, and weather, including temperature, precipitation, windiness, and rainfall. We'll examine the history of our coffee addiction and the efforts being made so that we can continue to grow coffee on our warming planet.

With the fast pace in technology such as smart phones, smart watches, tablets, browsers, and social media, the senior community has become an attractive target for on-line hackers. The risk of losing money, reputations, and even identity is a real and impending danger for everyone. Yet, there's no option to stay off line while business is increasingly being conducted on-line. This class explores the dangers and offers the techniques to stay safe on-line and to protect privacy. This class will provide the details on how to stay safe in the Microsoft, Google, and Apple ecosystems.

California's water conveyance system is one of the largest in the world. This class will explore why it was constructed, ongoing operational challenges, and future limitations. We will learn about the hydrologic cycle and how California's climate and geography limit water resources. We’ll examine competing water uses over time, and study the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project. Key legal, environmental, economic, and political considerations will be discussed, along with future proposed changes to the system.

Fractals are repeating patterns of infinite complexity and design. They are found in both mathematics and nature and are truly beautiful to behold. They are generated by repeating simple equations. Snowflakes, pinecones and pineapples are examples from nature. We’ll also look at some mathematical fractals like The Mandelbrot Set and dive into The Golden Sequence.

Fractals are repeating patterns of infinite complexity and design. They are found in both mathematics and nature and are truly beautiful to behold. They are generated by repeating simple equations. Snowflakes, pinecones and pineapples are examples from nature. We’ll also look at some mathematical fractals like The Mandelbrot Set and dive into The Golden Sequence.

It’s Estimated that 8 million tons of plastic are dumped in the ocean every year. There are 170 trillion pieces of plastic floating on the ocean surface, and they’re ingested by thousands of marine species. We will examine the growing plastic threat as the industry plans to add 343 new projects and greenhouse gas is projected to pass 1.43 billion tons a year by 2030. What does that mean for our health? Microplastics are inside us all. The global cost of plastic-related health effects was estimated at $100 billion per year in 2022.

This course will present a compilation of photography gathered from numerous nature photo-safaris to Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. It will cover geology in the Rift Valley and many of the lakes and volcanoes. We will visit several of the national parks from Samburu in the north to the Okavango Delta in the south. The wildlife here includes reptiles, mammals, and a multitude of birds. If you ever contemplated a trip to Africa this short course should whet your appetite.