Climate change's causes, effects and geographies of responsibility

Want to find out more about Geography and Environmental Studies at The Open University? 

Climate change is a key issue on today's social and political agenda. This free course explores the basic science that underpins climate change and global warming.

Is it possible to manage the risks presented by nature, such as too much rain at the wrong time of the year and very harsh frosts?

Carol Brown-Leonardi investigates how Britain’s exit from the European Union has affected the perceptions and decision-making of mixed nationality couples to stay and live permanently in Finland or the United Kingdom.

How can ‘thinking through making’ facilitate new kinds of geographical enquiry?

Climate change will lead to sea level rises and this will lead to enhanced coastal erosion. Professor David Humphreys explores the challenges that this will pose for the Thames Gateway in south-east England. 

How should we respond to humanitarian crises in other countries? Steve Pile explores the geographies that underlay the 2016 “Convoy to Calais” protest.

What links geography to anarchism? Dr Philip O’Sullivan finds the surprising connection lies with a Russian prince who died nearly 100 years ago.

What does environmental change sound like? Dr George Revill argues that sound can be a powerful way of conveying how places are transformed by climate change.

How sharing and caring is the sharing economy? Petr Jehlička takes a critical look at the booming sector and traces its hidden connections and contradictions.

This free course, From Brexit to the break-up of Britain?, sets the experience of Brexit in the context of the UK. It first analyses Brexit as a symptom of the political, economic and social geography of the UK, focusing on its uneven development in a country increasingly dominated by London and the South East of England. It then considers how ...

Potential NHS staff from outside of European Economic Area (EEA) will shortly find it easier to secure permission to work in the UK. Yet doctors and nurses from the EEA may no longer have the right to do so. Dr Parvati Raghuram looks at how the NHS has depended on foreign workers since its creation.

In light of a man-eating tiger being killed in The Nilgiris District, India, we need to address human-animal and human-human conflict in our forests.

A technological revolution is underway improving the lives of many who may benefit from additional assistance says human geographer, Dr Oliver Zanetti. 

Integrated urban technology is less apparent when it is functioning well says, Gillian Rose, Professor of Human Geography at the University of Oxford.

What does human geography have to do with studying the environment?    

Data research may lead to more efficient, sustainable and democratic societies says Gillian Rose, Professor of Human Geography at the University of Oxford.

What does the geography of the referendum vote tell us about the (increasingly dis-) United Kingdom? 

Cutting-edge research is enabling the development of new potentially life-changing prototypes aimed at serving those with disabilities says, Dr Oliver Zanetti.

Shonil Bhagwat explains the yogic way of understanding how individual actions relate to global challenges.

Does gender matter to the world's fastest growing economies? Parvati Raghuram explores how the labour driving many Rising Powers is gendered.

How do cities bring places, relationships and networks together, and what sorts of politics do they create? 

What makes a country count as a country? Andy Morris interviews geographer and broadcaster Nick Middleton about his recent book 'An Atlas of Countries that Don't Exist'.

This interactive map is a world first. It gives you the chance to explore a major international meeting on climate change as if you were there. 

The Earth in Vision project explores the BBC archives of environment themed television and radio programmes from the last 70 years, looking at the potential of these archives as a digital resource as well as to illustrate the potential of digital broadcast archives for researchers.

'Stories of Change' interviews with Roger Harrabin.

How have the films and radio programmes broadcast by the BBC shaped how we understand environmental change issues? Joe Smith shares his journey through the archives in the second part of a two part podcast series.

How have the films and radio programmes broadcast by the BBC shaped how we understand environmental change issues? Joe Smith shares his journey through the archives in a two part podcast series.

How are the civil war in Syria, the remote Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, and the future of the world’s food supplies connected? 

What ethical decisions does burying nuclear waste involve, and how are we responsible to future generations?            

Steve Pile looks at the changing geographies of sugar.

Sugar is a Contradiction - explore the cultural paradox of this ubiquitous ingredient, with Professor Steve Pile.

How do national parks manage the demands of different users, whilst still conserving natural beauty?

How do local communities respond to the risks and opportunities of nuclear power? 

Peter Wood shares his experiences researching cyclists - on both sides of the Atlantic.

Despite voters in 2014 choosing to stay in the United Kingdom, Gerry Mooney believes that in the long run, an Independent Scotland is inevitable. He explains why.

What can family photos tell us about households, gender roles and emerging technology? Professor Gillian Rose explores her research on family photography, and how this work interacts with her own experiences.

Does geography influence peoples’ sense of security and well-being?

What technological challenges are faced by communities seeking to understand environmental change at different geographical scales?

The UK government has confirmed that despite the path chosen by the US, the UK would honour the Paris Agreement. Here Shonil Bhagwat looks at the motivations and implications behind the US decision, and how international action on climate change will go on. 

The recent UK general election saw many parties pledge to ‘improve’ the environment. Vicky Johnson considers progress can be measured by more closely connecting the environment to economics.

What is a ‘smart city’, and how is smart rooted into Milton Keynes’ past and future?

Learn about MK’s unique history of transport innovation, and how The Open University has been a part of the experiment.  

Why research Milton Keynes? Professor Gillian Rose introduces a study of how cities are increasingly using digital data to improve their management and create new ways of living.

Sir David Attenborough and The Open University have had a long-standing relationship since the university's birth. David explains how that relationship came about and how it has developed over the years.

Where is Weetabix actually from? Prof. John Allen investigates.

What makes a city and why does it matter? 

Stories about migrants, asylum seekers and refugees make media headlines almost every day. John Allen asks, what's the role of borders in this movement of people?

The 'Geography Matters' initative is coming to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

How are Brexit and the Irish border connected? Dr Philp O'Sullivan reflects on the changing geographical relationship between the UK and Ireland.

How did a public utlity turn into a financial instrument?

How do we see the internet? Gillian Rose explores why some artists and campaigners think it's important that the internet is made more visible.

Is climate change the kale smoothie of TV schedules: unappealing but somehow fashionable and even essential to the diet? 

Trump's wall will not only have long-lasting impact on human society, but also severe ecological consequences.

Exploring the costs and benefits of expanding Heathrow, using a geographical analysis.

Introducing a collection of articles asking 'How can unique and distinctive regions, like the West of Ireland, retain the qualities that make them unique while continuing to modernise and interact with the wider world?'

George Revill considers the synergy between sound waves and ocean waves - how the coast of Britain has inspired the nation's musical heritage.

Fifteen years since the 7/7 bombings, we look back at unity in London after the terror attacks...

Dr Peter Wood, a Visiting Fellow with the Geography Discipline, argues that although methodological choices are often seen as technical decisions, they can actually be key to intellectual creativity.

Read this article outlining arguements in debate held under the auspices of the Social Sciences Student Connections, Big Conversation.