Fall means fire season for the Western United States! Ever wonder why California always seems to be on fire? Or how a fire like this year's "August Complex" gets to be larger than Rhode Island? Or how fires like that are even fought? In this course we'll cover the basic ecology behind wildfires, how they are dealt with, their causes, and why they seem to be getting worse. We'll also go over resources at your disposal as a curious citizen for all large fires in the United States.

We've all heard of cancer, viruses, heart disease, and genetic disorders but how do they actually cause illness? Here we will explore the biochemical basis for the effects of different diseases. We'll also highlight active areas of research and what is still unknown about common diseases.

Ever wonder what exactly all those things on the ingredient list on food labels are? Are they bad? Are they good? Does organic mean healthy? Do pesticides cause cancer? This is a crash course on some of the chemistry behind what we eat. We'll go into food additives, pesticides/herbicides, vitamins, natural products, and do some quick experiments with common items found in the kitchen. By the end of this course my goal is to make you more aware of some interesting chemistry and be able to evaluate if what people say about food is actually true or not!

Learn about wildfires and some basic ecology. This course will cover how wildfires start, current and past firefighting policy and methods, the dangers they pose, and their importance in their natural ecosystem. We will go over current fires (if there are any), last year's major fires, and some interesting case studies.