Dickinson to Durban » Entries tagged with "climate change"
Building a Platform
The spring right after I turned seven I planted a tree. It was a small white pine, and I patted it into my great grandfather’s backyard with my own little hands. Since then I have watched the tree grow from the window of that little house. I remember feeling like I was connecting with something as I planted the tree. I was connecting with the tree, with nature, with my future. I knew, innately, that I was doing a good thing. And I wanted to do it again and again. I don’t think that planting one tree will save the world. No more than I think that buying a sustainable dishwasher or riding a bike instead of a car will stop climate change. But I do not deny that it is important. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change, Mosaic Action
Climate Action in an Individualistic Age
Can one save the world by planting a tree? Riding a bike? Recycling? Harnessing solar and geothermal energies? What does it take to avoid disastrous climate change? Bill McKibben, a famous climate change activist and author of the book Eaarth, even argues that the world we live on now is a completely different place than it was fifty, even thirty years ago. It is a new “Eaarth,” to what used to be “Earth.” By presenting this new idea of Eaarth, McKibben shows how already, climate change has altered our world, and now, we face the challenge of mitigating and ultimately, adapting to this change. In its paper, “How To Save the Climate,” Greenpeace cites the Stern Report, which says that action to reduce anthropogenic contributions to climate change must be a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change, Key COP17 Issues
The Lorax Can’t Stand Alone
Dr. Seuss’s children’s book, The Lorax, demonstrates the effects of consumerism and industry on our environment, represented by the Truffula forest; as well as the regret we will experience should we fail to take action against these powers, illustrated by the Once-ler. In the end, the Truffula forest is destroyed except for one seed, which is given to a little boy in the hope that he will successfully care for the seed and undo the damage, bringing back the Lorax and his friends. Maniates says that the little boy charged with planting the tree cannot bring back the Truffula tree forest and the Lorax. He criticizes there is too much emphasis on the ability of the individual to effect change, and he makes a valid point. Maniates argues that the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change
Attacking Global Warming
What strategies have been used to promote doubt about climate change? Have they been effective? With what consequences? When ideas concerning global warming and climate change circulated during the mid 1900’s they were met with strong opposition from a handful of renowned physicists. These men tried several methods to merchandize doubt about the issue, all of which confused the public and the government and slowed the progress of policy making. In 1989 Bill Nierenberg, Robert Jastrow and Frederick Seitz (As part of the Marshall Institute) began to attack global warming. Their first strategy was to relocate the blame from fossil fuels to the sun. They wrote a small book called “Global Warming: What Does the Science Tell Us?,” in which they picked and organized data to their liking, and presented it to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Climate Change, Summer Reading Responses
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