The project has five components. 1. Initial short opinion paper 2. In-class exercises on data sampling, trend analysis, extrapolation, filtering and data quality 3. Group presentation (30 minutes plus questions) on a relevant journal article agreed with the instructor 4. Individual data analysis project on a topic agreed in advance with the instructor 5. Final opinion paper presenting their perspective on the topic. In contrast to the first opinion paper (which is very informal) students are expected to put this paper in context based on the class exercises and lectures during the course of the semester, as well as any relevant external materials. Each of these steps is described in detail in the activity description file below.