Dickinson to Durban » Archive
“It is what we make out of what we have…”
How did Mandela’s childhood and education impact his political philosophy? Nelson Mandela’s youth is not exactly what one would expect of a Presidential leader. Dirt floors, thatched huts, and country life led a childhood with little privilege and dispensation. Fortunately, Mandela was the son of a Chief, which offered more opportunity than most growing up in the Mvezo Village. Among the few opportunities he was granted, Mandela was provided with an education. His educational pursuits, life in the Mvezo Village, and membership of the Xhosa nation all have led Mandela to the political philosophy he abided by throughout his time as a Freedom Fighter and a political figure. Mandela’s British education played a large role in how he understood African civilization and concepts early on. Mandela states, “The education I received was a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Summer Reading Responses
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
The Media and Manufacturing Doubt?
Have public media and journalists contributed to confusion and doubt about climate change? What can/should they do to present science and scientific debate accurately on this topic? In Merchants of Doubt, considerable writing is done on the role of the media in presenting information or mis-information, really, to the climate change “debate.” The ideas presented by the authors are that 1) all media is politically biased towards one or an other party’s platform and 2) the media tries to devote equal time towards the climate change subject implying to the public that there is still DEBATE about the subject when the authors emphasize that since the 1990s there has been a general scientific consensus that climate change IS occurring and 3) scientific summaries are not written directly by scientists, they are … Read entire article »
Filed under: Summer Reading Responses
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