I attended the event called PIELC Changing Current on Thursday evening and a lot of people all over came to the conference. PIELC stands for public interest environmental law conference and was the 33rd annual meeting. Amy Goodman and Kathleen Dean Moore spoke at the ceremony. Amy Goodman gave a video message and talked about the extreme weathers. Changing currents is the title of the conference and wants to enforce a message about climate changes and how it plays a role. There are always weather reports that display extreme weathers and they should be linked with the word climate change. She talked about how people need to know that climate change plays a role in weather and how different places experience such highs and low temperature. I agree with her on the statement that people are in denial and don’t want to face that fact that global warming is happening.

Goodman wants the media to tell the truth about everything that is going on whether it is oil, war, or weather. She is a very passionate speaker about climate change and wants to make people aware of the issue and spread the word. Also, she talked about places all around the world that are trying to bring climate change to justice. She made me think about how much power the media has because the media can brainwash people on climate change. Fossil fuel industries have a lot of power but people have a chance to make a change and help with global warming. She explained how serious this issue is and how thankful she is that people have gathered together and are taking a stand. I would say it wasn’t a positive speech but it definitely was an informing message she had to share with everyone about climate change. Her last part of her message was “we shall not be silent” and that was a very powerful statement.

The next speaker, Kathleen Moore, was another inspirational speaker about climate change. Contine reading →

Over the weekend my dad and I did a mini road trip to Florence, Oregon. On the way there we saw a lot of trees that were being cut down. There were many trees in one area and then a gap of no trees. It made me sad because I saw right in front of my eyes our planet getting destroyed. When I went to the beach, I thought about if a flood happened and all the places that would be destroyed. This class really makes you think more about climate change. Especially, the weather in Eugene has been so nice and it is not like last year. Last year during this month we got snow and that was really cool to experience.

The book we have been reading in class Odds Against Tomorrow has made an impact on me. You hear about Seattle getting destroyed and I think about if that was my hometown. That’s were I grew up and I can’t even imagine it gone. This book talks about how the corporation called Future World is preparing for disasters. This book also talks about situations that could happen such as poverty and dead bodies. I can just picture the people in the novel terrified and desperate. The books cover can say a lot because you can tell its New York. The city looks like it is flooded and just does not look in order.

In this article it talks about New York and climate change and I thought it related a lot to our book. Contine reading →

On Thursday, I attended the meeting about how climate change has affected salmon. This was a great experience because it brought a lot of the community together to talk about the issue. The speakers were Ryan Bransetter and David Graves and they work for the organization Columbia River Inter- Fish Commission, in Portland. They focus on the how to improve the salmon industry with climate change. I learned there are four different tribes and they have fishing rights here in Oregon. This made me remember when I was in the lake with my brother and wanted to fish. He told me I couldn’t because I needed to have a fishing license or I could get in a lot of trouble. I am not a seafood lover at all, but it was still interesting to hear other people’s perspective on salmon. In the Northwest the temperature is increasing and our climate depends on the snow to keep the water cold. Tributary effects on the salmon and steelhead because the temperature is increasing. Overall, the population in Oregon has increased and with that the demand for water goes up. When summer comes along it is harder to fish for salmon because so many people are using the water. In the meeting people were very passionate about salmon because it is used for medicine. Salmon is a fish that has a lot of health benefits and a lot of people depend on it. Climate change has made the water temperature in rivers, oceans, and lakes warmer. This issue makes everything difficult because a lot of people work in the salmon industry and could lose their job. To fix the issue there needs to be more snow fall to help cool down the temperatures. There was been arguments between the tribes and the United States government. Both of them want control over the tribes and want the money. Money is always the reason because that’s what our world has come down to. The speakers talked about a new technology and it is a plane that flies over the ocean. When it flies over the ocean it can determine where cold water is. I really liked when one of the speakers said to fix climate change our society needs to change their values. He made an example about how a lot of people are greedy. The more people want the more climate change is going to be an issue. The government will always be fighting for power over land and want the benefits of the salmon industry. This meeting answered a lot of my questions and was nice to hear from experts. I learned something new about how climate change is a huge issue and not many people care.

In class we have been reading fictional stories about the future of global warming. I personally have never read a graphic novel. When I read a graphic novel I think it is harder to understand because I have to read the texts and look at the pictures. When I read the text the images that come into my head is not what the photo illustrates. The book I.D.P takes place in 2043 and is told by six different authors. A different author tells each chapter and they put their own flavor into the story. In the reading so far there is a separation between the rich and the poor. The key themes through the story are about survival, government, wealth, and more. There is a tower and all the rich live in the tower and there are farmers located at the top. Food is scarce and everyone is trying to survive in a rough time. It shows how technology has been advanced and to get into buildings you scan your hand. I feel like as the years go by new inventions are going to appearing.

In the article called, “How To Feed the World After Climate Change” by Matt Hertsgarrd was very educational. It really made me think about my future and when I have kids. It talked about how in the future making a birthday cake will be hard because wheat and flour will not be available. These raw materials will become harder to grow because of climate change and because less rainfall. When I read this I though about my birthday and how weird it would be if I didn’t get to blow out the candles. It talks about how in Iowa they will experience extreme heat in 2040 and will go without flour for three summers. Flour is in a lot of foods we eat today and that’s a resource we need. This is only one state and how it will be affected, what is going to happen to other places?

In most of the readings we talk about in class it says a solution to climate change is reducing fossil fuel. Fossil fuel is everywhere and everything is made with fossil fuel. It is located in our house, cars, stores, and other places.

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I personally have never thought about the damages climate change could have until this class. This class talks about what the future holds for us here on earth. We have done some readings about how people are handing climate change. In a story called, The Weatherman by Holly Howitt, talks about a man who gets a job for the weather and gets to control the weather. He gets to make it rain, snow, and make storms. He and his wife Marly are a part of the green people society. That means they are not in harm of damages from climate change. Since the husband works for the weather their family is not in harm. Marly does not think that his job is fair because there are people suffering because of climate change. Marly said, They were filthy starving. Half dead. And here we are, us fat green people, getting everything we want and destroying everyone else”(Howitt, 136). This is a strong message because it shows what the other side is going through. If I was a news reporter and knew what was going on with other people I would try my best to help out in any way I could. It shows that food and water are scare during this period. The wife makes a point to be realistic and think about other people instead of just them.

I picked this picture from a website called, Global Warming: Causes and Consequences because it has as strong meaning it shows the two different sides. One side illustrates a pretty sky and the city is in good condition. The other side is showing what global warming is doing to our planet. It proves a message that one day our planet is going to look like this. The skies will not be blue anymore but instead coved with dust and smoke. This picture makes me worry because when this starts to happen I will be alive during it.

In another story we read in class called, The Siphoners by David Mitchell was a story about how when people turn sixty you have to take a sleeping potion. The sleeping potion kills you because the younger generation needs the food. A man named Hija does not let his grandma take the potion because he wants her to live. I do not think the age sixty is fair because that is still a young age. When Hija was talking to the emperor he said, “your majesty”. The emperor wondered who taught him that and he told him it was his grandmother. Then Haji explained that his grandmother lived past her sixtieth birthday. The emperor got very upset and the Haji said, “ I am afraid, but fear or no fear, how could I alter one world” (Mitchell, 140). This shows that even if Hija does have fear he still wants to change the world. The world is in danger but he still has hope about making a difference. Overall, global warming is a problem that we all need to be thinking about because it can affect all of us in some way.  Contine reading →