It is a statistical fact that people with a fair understanding of physics (a combination of reasoning skills and understanding of the basic concepts of physics) are better stewards of society and the planet. They are less likely to be addicted to drugs or gambling, and they take better care of the planet.

The world is a shocking mess- magazines and the news are full of environmental disasters.
The causes are known, to a few- in a word, technology
The solutions are also known, to a few- in a word, technology. (You might want to read a Union of Concerned Scientists mag)

The problem is ignorance-Too few understand the causes and too few understand the mathematical dynamics of the situation.

Examples:

The current shortage of fish in the ocean"crisis". 30 years ago a team of scientists-financed with your tax dollars- predicted that rapid advances in technology would enable total depletion of the oceans by the turn of the century, and drew up a harvest plan which , if followed by all people globally , would enable us to harvest up to ten times as many fish annually as were then being harvested without reducing the fish populations at all. Those in the fishing industry refused to listen to science 30 years ago so now your tax dollars must take care of them like helpless children and we have a desolated ocean, which may not be repairable.

The soon to come shortage of timber for those in the logging industry. We'll be expected to retrain them and support them in the manner to which they've become accustomed while doing so and we'll have lost forests literally thousands of years in the making. (Already over 98% of the old growth forests have been leveled.)

Energy production and current usage thereof is terribly destructive to the ecosystem of the planet. Solutions are already available. We just need to decide whether we want to make the planet healthy or a handful of oil barons even richer.

If you think fish crises and timber shortages are bad, wait until the water crisis hits. It will occur during your lifetime if we don't collectively change our behavior patterns.

The plastics problem. HCFC's are produced both in manufacture and disposal. (Try to go thru a single day without using something made of plastic only once, and then throwing it away.)

Enough people start their engines before fastening their seat belts each day in this country alone and waste enough energy to power a city with a half a million people in it. (Atlanta, for instance)

The situation requires a global democratic solution. (i.o.w. every man, woman, and child must understand the problem and its urgency, and agree to engage in the solution).

People must understand the problem because it is impossible to pass enough laws and hire enough police to force people to behave appropriately. The problems themselves are dynamic, and people are going to have to understand the problems enough to constantly judge their own behavior against the problems at the moment and to act in ways that will eventually dissolve the problems.

But I don't want you to think of physics as solely some kind of gloom and doom prevention machine.

Physics is a study of the basic ingredients of our existence and how they interact with each other. This study itself is by no means concluded. Not only can an understanding of the basic concepts of physics make you a more effective engineer or scientists, but it can also make life easier and more fun, and there's always the chance of you making a big discovery.

Examples:
Michael Faraday made some of the greatest contributions in electricity and magnetism even though he never clearly understood why he was so great because he was mathematically illiterate and never understood the magnitude of his own discoveries.

A 14 year old kid unravelled the mystery of sudden death of whole villages in Africa which led to measures to prevent these disasters in the future.

Another 14 year old designed a simple apparatus to measure the force on a superconductor by a magnet ( he figured it out when he was 12), solving a problem that had baffled scientists for three decades. He was discovered when he presented his apparatus at a science fair.

So my objectives for you are:

1. To obtain a basic overview of the physics of our existence as it is known at this time.
2. To obtain some training in the methods whereby all this information was obtained so that you can analyze new situations as they unfold and also so that you too may make new discoveries.

3. To enlist you in the army of those engaged in expanding this understanding and utilizing this information to enhance and perpetuate our existence rather than terminating it.

i.o.w. I want you to obtain enough information and skill to become an intelligent player of the game of life as we know it.