By Daniel Liu ’28
Brendan Mackinson, Instructor in Science, has spent several years shaping SCI410: Environmental Science, Global Climate Change into a course that blends rigorous scientific inquiry with ethical reflection and interdisciplinary thinking. Drawing on his background in environmental studies, oceanography, and earth system science, Mackinson has crafted a curriculum that asks students to engage climate change not just as a scientific problem, but as a human and systemic one.
“This course was right in my wheelhouse in terms of areas of interest,” Mackinson said. “I was excited to have the opportunity to teach it… I’ve been teaching it for several years now and have had a chance to design it in a way that matches what I’m interested in.”
SCI410 departs from the standard science class model, focusing less on rote testing and more on collaborative exploration and dialogue. Through reading-intensive classes, student-led projects, and open-ended discussions, the course invites learners to explore the relationship between scientific facts and societal structures.
“This class thinks more about the connections between science and other fields of study and is very focused on practical applications of chemistry, biology, physics, geology, and earth system sciences,” Mackinson said. “It’s more open to students pursuing areas of interest—and me pursuing what I’m interested in… There isn’t a topic that has to be covered for the next course in a sequence. We have the freedom to explore what we want to explore.”
The curriculum begins with foundational scientific principles like the greenhouse effect, climate feedbacks, and the carbon cycle, but quickly expands into issues of justice, impact, and strategy. Students are challenged to confront the reality that those least responsible for climate change are often the most vulnerable to its effects.
“The whole course is framed around thinking about different groups that are impacted by climate change in different ways—and the universal fact that the people who have most benefited from the activities that have caused climate change are often those least impacted by the results,” Mackinson said. “There’s a core justice issue that we frame the whole course around.”
Mackinson’s own academic journey influences his approach to teaching the course. With a minor in environmental studies and a master’s in oceanography and earth system science, he has long viewed environmental problems as inherently interdisciplinary.
“Environmental studies… is really an interdisciplinary field that looks at how we need the intersection of different disciplines—history, social science, natural science, philosophy, religion, art—to make sense of the environment,” he said. “To understand complex problems, you need to think about not just the individual parts, but the relationships between the parts… That’s the key.”
The course schedule mirrors this flexible, systemic approach. Mackinson designs each week to balance independent homework, long-block reading discussions, and in-class group projects that evolve with student interest.
“It’s a lot of group work in class, usually one or two days a week,” he said. “Then we’ll have homework going on in the background, and we pull all that together into a big conversation.”
Beyond academic skills, Mackinson hopes SCI410 encourages students to develop a lasting sense of climate literacy and self-awareness. The course invites them to grapple with their own role in the natural world and its future. “I hope everyone comes away with an awareness of the importance of the issue and some literacy around it, that they understand how to think about it in an interdisciplinary way,” he said. “That they understand you can’t just think about the science and ignore the politics and policy side of things, or you won’t make progress.”
This reflection extends into deeper philosophical questions about the evolving relationship between humanity and the environment. In Mackinson’s view, climate change blurs the line between nature and human systems, prompting fundamental questions about how we define what is “natural.”
“Since humans now control the climate, how natural is the world in which we live? That changing relationship between humans and the world—are we a part of the natural world, or is it now part of our economic and social systems?” said Mackinson.
Readings and materials are curated each term to reflect current events and deepen engagement. A central text is Drawdown, which presents climate solutions with a tone of practical optimism.
“It adopts that hopeful mindset I want students to have,” Mackinson said. “There are steps we can take that can solve the problem and help build a better world.”
Another key resource is a Frontline documentary exploring how fossil fuel companies manufactured public doubt about climate science. Mackinson uses it to ground students in political realism and the strategic demands of activism.
“They’re well-funded and strategic. We can’t just go in naively thinking being on the right side will be enough. Real change requires long-term, strategic work,” said Mackinson.
For students unsure of where to begin, Mackinson encourages starting with conversation and connection. He believes that the scale of the crisis gives young people not just responsibility, but moral leverage.
“Young people are some of the most effective activists… as the generation most impacted by the issue, you have a kind of moral high ground,” said Mackinson. “Individual actions… are great for engagement and awareness, but they’re not enough. Real solutions require societal-scale responses.”
Like the climate itself, SCI410 is constantly changing. Mackinson updates the content each term to reflect the shifting political landscape and new developments in science.
“With the dire state of climate politics in the U.S. right now, that could influence how we talk about the issue next year,” said Mackinson. “As the science and predictions develop, that will influence what we cover in class as well.”
SCI410 does not offer easy answers, but for Mackinson, that’s precisely the point. The course invites students to think critically, engage boldly, and imagine more just and sustainable futures.
