Read the short story “There will come soft rains” by Ray Bradbury in the Mercury Reader, pages 57-64.

1. Answer the three "Questions on Meaning" on page 64.

2. Answer this question: Do you think this story works as a warning about what could happen if we allow global warming to get out of hand? Why or why not? (Feel free to say that it doesn't apply to global warming.)

Read "The Curse of Akkad," pages 93-99 in Field Notes from a Catastrophe

3. Kolbert wants us to feel afraid here. What does she want us to fear? Did you feel afraid? Why or why not?

4. In your personal opinion given what you know at the moment, is Kolbert's warning here alarmist or appropriate? Could climate change destroy our civilization as it destroyed the Akkadian civilization?