Dickinson to Durban » Climate Change
The “humanness” of nearsightedness
How can we reconcile the variability of weather with that of climate? How does our humanness restrict our thinking? Climate change was observed by scientists as early as the 1930’s, it was not, however, accepted by the general public until as late as the 2000’s and much of the public still questions its validity. This lag between data collection and public education and understanding has harmed our chances of turning the problem around. Even when word spread we had a hard time believing in the severity of the problem, when “asked to name environmental problems facing the nation, most Americans would think of pollution of drinking water, local smog, or the destruction of tropical forests ahead of climate change” (185): all very visible threats. As humans we have a tendency to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change, Mosaic Action, Summer Reading Responses
Public media the source of doubt on climate change
Public media has greatly contributed the confusion and doubt about climate change. The general public trusts the media. They trust the journalists who write for the New York Times, Time Magazine, and the like to do all the research and then present the information unbiased. Obviously it is nearly impossible to be completely unbiased, but in some sense, journalists are employed to do research so that everyone else does not have to, and their reports shape the opinion of the public. Therefore the public expects these investigators to get expert opinions on the subject, to explore all sides of an opinion, and use scientific evidence to write a piece that either expresses the truth to the best of their knowledge or presents all the facts so that the reader can … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change, Summer Reading Responses
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