Dickinson to Durban » Entries tagged with "Anna McGinn"
Climate Change, Politicized. Nations, Polarized.
In the world today, it is impossible for issues of climate change’s magnitude to be isolated from politics. The government is the body within the United States and most other countries which has the power to impose regulations on the people within its jurisdiction. Thus it is the government which needs to create and uphold standards of environmental protection in order for people to actually change their ways of life. Ironically, now more than ever in recent history, the United States government is polarized on almost all large issues, especially climate change. This division results in discussions which end with the decision that “more research is needed” rather than a call to collective action to prevent the predicted disastrous effects of climate change from occurring. In addition to the fact that … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change
Do the Little Actions Matter?
I have always operated under the belief that the actions of individual people can amount to global change. After all, society is the product of every individual’s way of life. Thus, society will only be altered when enough people believe change is necessary and act on those beliefs. Our society has caused the phenomenon of anthropogenic climate change to occur, so as Greenpeace argues, we should be able to slow climate change through our actions on a personal level. In Greenpeace’s article, How to Save the Climate, they list changes individuals ought to make to their everyday lives in order to live more sustainably. When each person reduces their annual carbon dioxide emissions to 1.3 tons, climate change will not continue to amplify (Greenpeace, 6). After reading this article, I … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change
Evidence of Anthropogenic Warming
Referring to figure 3 on page 182 in Weart, how would you argue that we have entered a time of anthropogenic warming? If you had been living in the 16th to 19th centuries and had the data of figure 3 to that point in time how would you argue the possibility of climate change? Extrapolating a story from climate change data is difficult because there is a great deal of variability involved. Weather and temperature change constantly so exact numbers often fade to averages and estimates. The further back in history one explores, the more uncertainty there will be simply because of less technology and attention paid to the subject. However, through ice, pollen, soil, and fossil samples, scientists have pieced together the story of earth’s climate. The graph on page … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change, Summer Reading Responses
Manipulators of Science
The process of science is one of questioning, testing, interpreting results, challenging findings, retesting, reviewing evidence and asking new questions. Are the activities of scientists who are said to be merchants of doubt about climate change different from what constitutes good scientific practice? In Merchants of Doubt, Oreskes and Conway expose the fact that ‘scientists’ such as Fred Singer and Fred Seitz are not really scientists at all. Yes, they challenge findings and constantly refuse to accept studies because they say they need to be retested, but their motives are not to further scientific knowledge for the betterment of people. Their sole objective is to make money by ensuring that the industries in which they invest and the organizations which fund their ‘research’ are not rejected by society as a result … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change, Summer Reading Responses
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