This class will investigate trade, competition, climate, and environment issues through the lens of supply and demand chains. The class will start with defining and giving examples of supply and demand chains. These are more interesting, important, and fun to learn about than you might think. They affect all of us.
The popular press, politicians, and others look at trade as just imports and exports. It is more than that. It often involves supply and demand chains that develop within and across countries. These affect economies, employment, inflation, lifestyles, the environment, the climate, power structures, and more. Competition across countries also involves supply and demand chains, not just imports and exports.
How could tariffs and sanctions affect all sides of trade? This class will investigate the financial side of trade, which politicians and the media almost never talk about. Hint: It may point to the sophistry of their arguments.
How do supply and demand chains affect the climate and environment? A lot of “experts” claim clean energy exists. How can that be when clean energy requires dirty mining in its supply chains? What about the lifecycle of any industrial product? None are clean. How do agricultural supply and demand chains from farm to table affect the climate and environment?
This class will look at the supply and demand chains for energy sources and systems, non-energy commodities, and the sort of things that we consume daily to see how these can affect the environment and climate, our trade, our competitiveness, and our daily lives. It will also investigate the supply and demand chains for illegal drugs and weapons. Hint: how does fentanyl get to the US and how do illegal weapons from the US get to Mexico?
This is very cool stuff once you understand the linkages and nexus issues.

COURSE FORMAT
This is an interactive online seminar course that meets weekly over 6 weeks. Live online sessions will use the zoom platform. Weekly reading or other forms of materials may be assigned. Weekly sessions will be recorded and available for registered participants to access throughout the course.
There are no papers or grades. This course does not offer any credits or certificates. This course is intended for learning for the love of learning.

COURSE MATERIALS
This course will have all reading materials supplied by the instructor
Registrants will receive access to the course website and the zoom links about two weeks before the course starts.

COURSE CANCELLATION POLICY
Registrants can cancel and receive a full refund up to March 7. After March 7, there will be no refunds issued.
Yale Alumni College courses are subject to schedule changes as well as cancellations. If Yale Alumni College must cancel any course prior to its start due to low enrollment, you will be notified of this by the cancellation date. Upon cancellation of a course, registrants may transfer their registration to another available course or have the registration fee fully refunded.

In the event of a disruption to the original course schedule, including but not limited to; Professor absence, hazardous weather conditions, or local travel restrictions, Yale Alumni College will do its best to reschedule the missed class for the week immediately following the original end date at the same course time and day.