Starting a new semester means a new round of blog posts. For those of you who did not follow my blogs first semester, I wrote about my passion of traveling and exploring the world. My inspiration for my civic issues topic, the environment, came from my final project in RCL I. My group made a history of public controversy video on climate change, which I enjoyed researching and creating. Therefore, I found it more than appropriate to continue this interest with something that can benefit everyone – posts related to the environment. More specifically, climate change, including subtopics such as the people and government’s awareness, both sides of the debate about whether climate change is existent, etc.
The place where we live. The place where animals live. An 11-letter word that arguably holds importance over anything else, that dictates our survival, the place we call home: the environment. The complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors (as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival, as defined by Webster dictionary. What we do for our environment will essentially determine our future, and in the same sense, what outside forces – like climate change – are doing, or have done, for our environment will also determine the future.
Before engaging in any discussion of subtopics of climate change, it is more than necessary to begin with and understand what climate change really is. A summation of climate change can be described as the gradual warming of earth’s atmosphere caused by the rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which have devastating effects and have been destroying the environment for decades.
So in the vastness of climate change discussion, I decided to begin with a discussion of the difference between being aware and taking action. I would say that most of you would agree with the fact that you have a wide awareness of climate change. Nonetheless, where the answer becomes blurry is if I were to ask what have you done to prevent climate change – some of you might not have definite answers, and this is where my blog begins.
Unfortunately, as much as society might say they completely understand what climate change is doing to our environment, the same society has done little to actually prevent climate change. Where does this gap originate? In attempt to answer this, Anthony Leiserowitz, the Director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication (CCC) at Yale University conducted a large study examining how much society thought they were at risk because of global warming, and what global warming actually means for the environment. Sadly, it was concluded that although the public might be aware, about 92% of Americans think this issue is of low priority in comparison to other issues because the effects aren’t immediate.
The awareness versus action gap is the reality for most americans for various reasons – one reason being the type of communication about global warming and climate change. Individuals might be introduced to evidence regarding climate change, and therefore might change their attitude of whether or not it is evident in today’s society. Unfortunately, this attitude change, in most cases, does not mean a step towards taking positive action.
Furthermore, it is possible that misinterpretation of data is a reason for the belief that action is not needed immediately, and this is where a debate is brought up: whether or not the hardcore evidence can be used to prove that action is necessary, rather than just a keen awareness.
To side with the large majority who agree this issue isn’t a pressing issue, it is true that the effects of climate change are not immediate, because the earth has been warming for centuries. However, on the contrary, that doesn’t stop the effects from being devastating. NASA confirmed that the average global temperature has increased by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880, but ⅔ of the warming has occurred since 1975 – meaning about .15-.20 degrees celsius increase per decade. Certainly not immediate, but extremely powerful. To get a perspective, a one degree drop was enough to put the Earth into an ice age, and a five-degree drop destroyed an entire part of North America 20,000 years ago. It is possible that those who agree that this isn’t of grave concern in today’s century are failing to take into account the ideas of sustainability for the future – sustaining our environment for our children, our children’s children, etc.
In closing, I invite you to give me any feedback – whether agreeing or disagreeing about anything in this first blog, and ask further questions. I hope to include these comments or answer your questions in further blogs while discussing certain topics of climate change.
I think you approached this topic very well. More recently, people have been very quick to approach this topic in a single way. This was a good introduction and opening post because it introduces a lot of what you could expand upon in other posts. I definitely agree there is a difference in being aware versus actually doing something about the problem. At least for myself, I can say I’m someone who is conscious of the fact, but have not taken any preventative measures in the problem. I think a large part of the population is in this position.Understanding why people show a greater involvement in topics that they can “see” versus a gradual environmental change that can’t as easily be shown in daily life might be something you consider looking at. I really liked how you acknowledge that there is another side to the issue. I think that will be helpful in drawing in an audience member who might be more skeptical about you blog. Even approaching environmental issues from both a societal and biological approach will keep your blog both informative and interesting!
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I think you approached this topic very well. More recently, people have been very quick to approach this topic in a single way. This was a good introduction and opening post because it introduces a lot of what you could expand upon in other posts. I definitely agree there is a difference in being aware versus actually doing something about the problem. At least for myself, I can say I’m someone who is conscious of the fact, but have not taken any preventative measures in the problem. I think a large part of the population is in this position.Understanding why people show a greater involvement in topics that they can “see” versus a gradual environmental change that can’t as easily be shown in daily life might be something you consider looking at. I really liked how you acknowledge that there is another side to the issue. I think that will be helpful in drawing in an audience member who might be more skeptical about you blog. Even approaching environmental issues from both a societal and biological approach will keep your blog both informative and interesting!