Dr. Campbell has been involved in online instruction since the university first offered such courses. Some of his research examines the strengths and weakness of offering courses online (as opposed to face-to-face). Some of the benefits of the online format are obvious -- you can't spread disease among the students in the class, students with physical disabilities can attend class easily, shy students can speak out in online discussion without the fear that everyone staring at them, and students may make fewer trips driving to campus when some of their classes are online. But what about the impact on climate change?

To see whether online instruction can mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases, Dr. Campbell investigated the environmental consequences of fewer driving trips to campus. He was surprised to discover that teaching a course online prevented literally tons of CO2 gas from being released into the atmosphere. Read the full article to get the details. And then try to work one or two online courses into your class schedule next semester. It's good for the environment!