They way we act in times of stress can show us who we are. The way we act in times of distress define us as a society and species. In the book Odds Against Tomorrow, after the flood, the author Nathaniel Rich described some of the people in New York as if they had lost all of their societal common sense. They were expressed as if they were creatures that did not belong in the bodies that encased their inner beast. It was like they had forgotten that as a people, we need to band together in times of sorrow and pain, not hurt each other.
Only YOU Can Prevent Climate Change
We all have been constantly blogging and talking about why people should care about climate change, why it is hard to get people to care about climate change and wondering why people have not done anything to stop it. Yet we have not focused on what exactly we can do to help prevent climate change. It is easy to tell people that we need to care about it but the hard part is individually doing something to prevent it. I think that not only do we need people to notice climate change and that it is a problem in our world today but to give them action plans to prevent it. Because without giving people specific examples of what they can to do help, let’s be honest nothing is going to change. Contine reading
Disaster for the Future?
Things appear to be finally progressing in terms of the recognition of climate change. I think this is due to the noticeable differences in temperature, as was pointed out in class, it’s sunny and sixty degrees in the middle of February. I myself was quite surprised at the speed symptoms of climate change are beginning to appear. Flowers are already beginning to bloom, it seems like it didn’t rain nearly half as much as it usually does for Oregon during the winter. Another alarming revelation to appear in the news was a prediction by climate scientists of future “mega-droughts” manifesting in the United States around the year 2050. These mega-droughts would specifically hit the southwest and great plains regions. A typical drought lasts around 7-10 years. One of the most famous droughts that occurred in the United States was the “Great Dust Bowl” which lasted around a decade. The “Great Dust Bowl” caused widespread crop failure and initiated mass migration to cities due to the lack of farming jobs. A mega-drought would hold similar conditions to a normal drought, but could last as long as 35 years.
The reasons these mega-droughts could occur in the near future would be due to the excess evaporation of water vapor from the soil due to changes in temperature and precipitation from climate change in the future. The south-west is currently going through a drought right now, but there is a 12% risk with current carbon composition of the atmosphere that a mega-drought could occur somewhere in the near future. If the atmospheric composition of carbon continues to rise at its current rate, which predicted to hit 1370 parts per million by 2100, the risk of mega-drought could rise to as high as 80%. Even if great efforts were made to curb carbon output, the risk of mega-drought is still expected to be nearly 60% in the future.
With all these risks, one would think that people would be immediately motivated to take action, especially in the regions where these climactic events would occur, yet it seems other issue continue to take the forefront on the news. Even though it finally seems like most people generally now accept that Climate Change is both real and directly correlated with the release of fossil fuels in the atmosphere, it seems to be continually downplayed, with more focus being put on adapting to the changing conditions instead of actively changing them. The future of the planet seems very obscure. No matter what is done now, things have been permanently altered by carbon emissions. With all the disaster related fiction we’ve been reading in class, I am very curious as how humanity will adapt in the future to the new conditions. I hope that no group or class of society will be damaged or discriminated against in adapting, but judging by human nature, I know that this is simply not the case. Dramatic action must be taken to address these climatological threats, otherwise the disaster fiction we read about could become reality.
Aesthetically pleasing Hurricanes?!
While looking at the various articles on Hurricane Sandy, I had flashbacks of turning on the television and constantly seeing the news coverage of the storm and the devastating toll it was having on the people of New York. Although I was watching this coverage from the comfort of my own home in sunny California, I thought of those individuals in New York that had to handle this treacherous storm. I can only imagine the panic and complete frenzy I would be enduring.
Yet while I read Nathaniel Rich’s novel, Odds Against Tomorrow I did not feel the same way. Although Rich discusses the immaculate hurricane that the people of New York are enduring he does it in a way that is extremely aesthetically pleasing. Which is odd because usually even the thought of a hurricane brings nothing but horrid and saddening images to mind. However through Rich’s vivid figurative language he does a great job at erasing the images seen in the articles regarding Hurricane Sandy and shines a light on bright colors and images. For example, “Out of this murkiness the larger shapes emerged first: the curved seat of a wicker chair; a strip of rubber insulation curled like an octopus’s tentacle; an inflated red yoga ball, like a candy apple; and the smooth black hull of a plasma television, bubbles coalescing and darting on its screen as it rocked in the current”(Rich 166.) As Rich explains the scenery while he is canoeing down the street flooded with water, he chooses to describe mundane everyday items such as a wicker chair, or a television and highlights the beauty and delicacy of them. Which makes me wonder if he does this to romanticize the tragedy of this storm.
Although he is making this storm sound and seem much more pleasing than it is, it makes me question that he points out these everyday items to make a point of the intensity of the storm and its effect on things that we see everyday, and take advantage of. I personally think that Rich does a wonderful job at displaying the effects of this Hurricane, because it allows us to be put in Mitchell’s shoes. And rather than being absolutely terrified as we are on a tiny little canoe roaming to safety, we are engaged in the scenery and the emerging objects all around.
Overall I think that Rich’s novel does its job as a climate fiction novel, it highlights the effects of climate change on natural occurrences such as hurricanes. Hurricanes are inevitable because of the unpredictability of our weather, yet things like higher sea levels, and extremely warm temperature can escalate these hurricanes, which is very scary. But Rich makes a point that these storms can effect and overtake a whole city, and I would certainly be nowhere near as prepared as he is. Which is even more frightening.
Acting On It
As the interest of climate change fills my brain I have been conducting more research not on the future affects, or causes of the change, but what people are doing today to help prevent it. My blog post will harp on different communities protesting, fighting, and rallying on the ideas of climate change. Contine reading
Our Planet: Before and After Climate Change
The reality of climate change is getting to the point where it is impossible to ignore. A large percentage of Earth’s population is in a state of denial about the effects that our race is having on the planet. No matter what evidence and numbers and statistics of the past weather are placed in front of them, many find ways to deny it. A common response is that the Earth is just going through another cycle like it has done for the last billions of years. Although the fact that the Earth has gone through phases of global temperature is true, the rate at which the temperature is increasing has never been seen before.
Most of these past climate changes took millions of years to change, and even then, the Earth’s global temperature has never been higher. I found an article on Business Insider written by Dina Spector titled, “Before and After Pictures Show how Climate Change is Destroying Earth“. The article states that since now almost all scientists agree that global warming is happening, the White House has invested $1 billion towards climate change and preparing for our near future’s inevitable storms and natural disasters. “Rising global temperatures, largely due to man-made greenhouse gases, are the source of widely-discussed observable changes to the Earth like melting glaciers, rising sea levels, warming oceans, and more extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, droughts, forest fires, and floods” (Spector).
Along with the article there are numerous before and after pictures taken different locations around the world. The devastation that has occurred since the Industrial Revolution has completely transformed our planet. The Great Barrier Reef was once filled with color and life, and now the coral, which is crucial to the survival in sea life, is white and on the brim of death. It doesn’t stop at sea life. The Muir Glacier in Alaska in now completely gone and has transformed from icebergs to a body of water. These pictures are a powerful tool to stop the nonsense that our current climate change is just another part of the Earth’s natural weather cycle. The facts are in. Humans are the cause.
We Need to Inform People About Climate Change!
After getting further into the novel, Odds Against Tomorrow I kept thinking about how I wouldn’t know how to survive if an extreme natural disaster destroyed the city I was living in. For instance, in the novel when the category three hurricane came through and flooded New York City, Mitchell handled the situation pretty well and used his overly expensive canoe to get him and Jane to somewhere safe. This part of the novel reminded me of the movie The Day After Tomorrow because it is literally the same concept, except everything ends up freezing over.
This specific part of the novel made me a little nervous just because an extreme natural disaster like that could happen at any given point and nobody would be prepared for it. Many people would not know how to survive in that type of situation, which is really scary. However, if people were informed of climate change and the natural disasters that can arise due to climate change then people would be able to prepare themselves for extreme natural disasters such as the category three hurricane in the novel. Also, if people knew more about climate change and the effects it can cause then people could try to change their daily habits to try to decrease the negative effects happening due to climate change.
Also, lately the weather has been extremely nice in Eugene and many students realize that this is happening because of climate change, but it is concerning because we have having 60 degree weather in Eugene in the middle of February. Flowers are already starting to bloom! THAT IS A PROBLEM! Many people are happy about the weather being nice and I can’t blame them because I have been very happy with it too. However, after I sat down and really thought about it, I got a little concerned because that is not normal winter weather. It makes me wonder if we are having weather like this now then what will happen next year and the year after that and five years later?
The main problem is that we have damaged our climate so much that even if people did change their daily habits, it wouldn’t be enough to stop climate change or help decrease the effects we are having to deal with because of it. This is what is really scary. I honestly never used to think about climate change a lot before because I wasn’t as informed about it as I am now and I still barely know anything, which is even scarier! Now, I notice the little things about climate change such as having mid 60 degree weather in the middle of February. While talking to my dad on the phone today, he asked about the weather and I told him how it was really nice, but that was because of climate change and he replied with, “Oh no, that’s not the reason at all”. So that just shows me that adults aren’t even fully aware of this and don’t find it concerning. Therefore, I decided that I am going to make it my goal to talk to my family about different issues involving climate change over spring break to see what they have to say about it because I want to hear other people’s thoughts on the issue and see if they find climate change to be a huge issue or not. I recommend other people do the same thing because you will be surprised to hear what some people have to say about the issue.
Decrease in Salmon and Divestment Rally
Last week I attended both the Columbia River Fish Commission meeting and the divestment rally. I never truly realized how many people actually cared about these problems. Not only were there many students at these events but also active community members. And not only did these community members sit in on these of events but also participated such as asking questions or protesting.
Currently the salmon of Oregon are being affected greatly by global warming. These fish are cold water fish and the river waters are starting to warm rapidly. Since the climate is also warming there will be more flooding in the fall rather than the spring or summer. This also means that there will be decreased river flow in the summer and spring. The population of Portland is also expected to increase by half a million in the next few years thus, causing an increase in water demand. At this meeting people were also able to voice their opinions on possible solutions to this problem. One presented idea was to breed salmon and a release them into the rivers of Oregon. However this idea was quickly shot down since these fish would not be native to Oregon and would most likely be treated with possible chemicals that could affect the rivers. These salmon would most likely die off quickly anyways cause they wouldn’t be use to the warmed conditions. Also, not only are these salmon being affected but the tribes with possession of this land would lose their identity once a large population of salmon is lost.
Who is Mitchell Zukor?
So… who is Mitchell Zukor, and what does our answers to that question say about how Nathaniel Rich chose to develop the protagonist in his novel Odds Against Tomorrow? Based on the group activity we completed in class today, I put together a word cloud that tracks our class’s answers to the question, who is Mitchell Zukor? The larger the size of the word, the more often it appeared across different groups’ answers.
(Click on the image for a larger version)
I find it interesting to see Mitchell’s character visualized like this as it makes salient some of the patterns in who he is, as well as some of the contradictions in who he is (like his being both socially awkward and persuasive, both introverted and caring).
When thinking about your final projects and creating your own works of cli-fi, you might want to consider the complexities of your own story’s characters and how different kinds of characterization might allow you to investigate different aspects of climate change. For instance, in Odds Against Tomorrow, Nathaniel Rich seems to have created a protagonist who is obsessed with disaster in part as a way to explore our own culture’s obsession with apocalypse, and yet he makes Mitchell likable enough that we as readers seem to really care about what happens to him.
Rally 2/13/15
At the Divestment Rally on Friday I realized that so many people are so passionate about this subject. It really opened my eyes into how fossil fuels are really impacting our planet. When I first walked up to the rally I was a little intimidated and did not really know what to expect. I thought it was actually a little intimidating. But, once I walked under the tent a lady came up to me very friendly and asked me to sign their petition. I happily did so, and immediately felt more welcomed.
Once the rally started the chants I though were very compelling. They created a message not only by what they were saying but how they were saying it. It was the strength in what they all believed in made me take a step back and look at this through there eyes and how much strength it takes to stand up for what they believe in.
This strike reminded me a lot of the GTF strike that happened at the end of fall term. Although there was not as many of them, and no one really knew about this rally, I think that these people that were yelling the chants were so much more into what they were saying and you could hear how much they care in their voices. They also had quite a few speakers during this rally that shows people what their thoughts and outlooks are on this subject. They are trying to get their voices heard so that more people are aware about climate change and the use of fossil fuels.
I really enjoyed this rally. I thought it gave me a new perspective on how fossil fuels are detrimental to our lives.
Rally for Global Divestment
This past Friday I went to the Global Divestment Rally. The rally is supporting the University of Oregon Foundation to sell its investments in fossil fuel extraction companies. Right now the University of Oregon is selling their stock to make more money and people would like them to use that money to invest in fossil fuels instead of stock.
The rally consisted of a few speakers including the mayor of Eugene and student at the University of Oregon. The student really caught my attention because she was speaking on behalf of the students here and was representing the undergraduate school. She claims they took a survey last year and 73% of University of Oregon’s students approve and support the investment into fossil fuels. I think the percentage is really high and could make a difference in changing this part of our school. I thought her speech was empowering because she made it in a students perspective that we need to stand our ground and not let them take our money to invest in stock. The money should be put into use by investing fossil fuels to save our environment.
Before coming to the rally I did not really know what to expect or even know what it was. Luckily Stephen was there to explain to us what the rally was about and what they are trying to do. I was surprised to see so many people their from the community supporting this and how involved they really are in the school. I am glad I went to the rally because I got learn about something new and something I will now support at this school. Before coming to this event I did not know this existed or what the school was doing with our money and I am really happy I came and saw first hand what is happening.
Where do the salmon go now?
This past Thursday I went to the climate change and Oregon salmon talk. There were two tribe members there talking about climate change and how it is affecting the salmon and their tribes. They told us there are four tribes that include, the Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla, and Nez Perce. Each of these tribes have fishing and hunting rights on the lands. Currently climate change has been affecting the salmon and steelhead by winter flooding and it is affecting their eggs and overwinter juveniles. During the summer their has been low flows which leads into migrating or spawning adults. Than throughout the year there has been increased water temperatures which will stress on migrating. During the meeting the audience came up with a climate change improvement for the salmon by growing more trees. We also talked about how the dams are affecting the salmon because it is hard for them to go through and the warm water and climate change on top of it is making it worse. Some people in the audience brought up creating passages for the fishes which would be hard to do. I think the ideas the audience brought up during the speech were great ideas which I hope will happen in the future to save the salmon. One of the tribe members brought up towards the end of the speech that salmon is in an ingredient in a lot of things we don’t know about and if they are in danger than we are in danger. After he said that it made me realize if our food is diminishing and the necessary products we need in our body are diminishing than what is going to happen to us.
Before coming to this talk I did not really know what it was about it or what to expect. But I really enjoyed coming and learning something new. It made me more aware of some of the other things climate change is doing to our environment that we do not necessarily talk about in class. I thought this talk had a really great turn out, more people than I thought would come but I think they really liked seeing the students there supporting this.
Divestment Rally
“Hey hey, ho ho
Keystone Pipeline’s got to go
No more gas, no more oil
Keep that carbon in the soil”
On Friday at 3:00 PM, a rally was organized to protest the University of Oregon’s investment in fossil fuels. With petitions to sign and posters to hold, the group got together to make their grievances clear to the administration of the university. As I approached the tent, I was handed a pen to sign the prepared petitions and a sheet with lyrics to the chants and songs that were to be sung. The chants contain lines like “every time you pump a barrel, you increase our climate peril” and “corporate greed- we’ve got to fight, polluting Earth is not a right” to convey their displeasure with where the university invests millions of dollars. The aim of divestment is to re-budget the university’s priorities from dangerous fossil fuels to other places more in line with students’ interest.
Salmon Are Literally Swimming Out of Our Lives
Due to climate change, salmon populations are decreasing because the dams are affecting upstream and downstream migrants. While attending the discussion on climate change’s impact on salmon, I found it to be really interesting because I didn’t realize how climate change and the dams were negatively impacting the salmon populations. The dams make it impossible for the fish to repopulate because they are unable to reach their unique original spawning grounds further upstream. Climate change is impacting the salmon by the warming temperatures because salmon are used to living in a cold-water habitat.
Since the temperatures are increasing, mid-watershed elevations will switch from snow dominated to rain dominated. Higher climate temperatures lead to less snow and more rain, which is a major cause for the rivers’ temperatures to be rising. The increased water temperatures will stress migrating adults, may disrupt growth and downstream migration timing of juveniles. As of right now, they are unsure of how much warming will wipe out the salmon population, but there have already been fish die offs from the rising water temperatures.
As the Salmon Swim By, Stare, Take Good Care; One Day, They May Not Be There.
Salmon are very important to Native American tribes all over the country. The salmon populations in the Northwest are depleting because of human activity and it is a huge issue for not only the tribes, but citizens who are used to fishing for and consuming salmon. Climate change is directly correlated to this shift in population.
Salmon are very sensitive to environmental changes in their habitat. They must migrate from the ocean back upstream to lay their eggs and a change in water temperature or surroundings could cause a change in their path home. The salmon species is in grave danger of extinction because of human activities and the EPA said, “Many salmon species are already considered threatened or endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Act. Studies show that by 2100, one third of current habitat for Northwest salmon and other coldwater fish would be unsuitable. This is because warming temperatures are projected to pass key temperature thresholds.”
There have been many measures in place and being brought up for the future to combat this change and slow the process of habitat being unsuitable. In the talk tonight, they discussed many solutions. They ranged from restoration of the areas with increased shading or slowed flow of the rivers to using hatcheries to basically “manufacture” salmon in a controlled environment.
There was a discussion about the ethics of using hatcheries and releasing the fish into the wild because not only does it set them up for failure, but it is a short term solution for a long term problem. This meant that the fish that were released from the hatcheries would affect the natural fish because they do not know how to repopulate naturally, so they create a new environment.
The speakers highlighted that the most important thing that we can do to help the salmon is to vote. They need all the money they can get to save these sacred and good-tasting fish. Another thing we can all do is go out and help to plant trees along the sides of rivers. This creates shade, which helps to keep the water temperature cool for the salmon.
Save the salmon! They are so very important to Oregon and all the tribes as a whole. They need to stay alive.
Extra Credit: Poor Fish
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.
Geoengineering in the News
A recent post on Andrew Revkin’s New York Times Dot Earth blog about climate change and geoengineering. Those of you particularly interested in the short story “The Weatherman” might find the discussion particularly interesting. Scientists do agree that no kind of “engineering” techno-fix can take the place of mitigation; note, however, that the discussion doesn’t focus much on the ethical dimensions of these ideas, nor is there much mention of the implications of geoengineering schemes on social justice.
A Positive Outlook
A reoccurring topic that we have discussed in class is the fact that most climate change stories that we read and most facts that come up about climate change are very negative. While the facts may predict a very negative impact on the future, we must realize that if people begin to help now, the damage on the world could be decreased. One of the main issues with getting people to help is the fact that a lot of people here all of these depressing facts about climate change and think that there is no way to prevent it from happening. While there are natural changes on the planet throughout the years, the extremely negative side effects of global warming could be stopped or helped if people begin to help. While the short stories we have read in class do help people connect emotionally with the problem, I do not think that they help in this aspect. Most of them show little hope for the future and instead just show the negative effects and how people cope with them. I think the story of “IDP: 2043” did a good job of showing both the effects and the solutions to climate change. Contine reading
Modern Class Warfare 3
When it comes down to climate change and global warming the rich will be the ones afloat when the oceans rise and flood coastal cities.
From what we’ve read in class about cli-fi stories, it seems as though a crucial element of the genre is the separation of rich and poor. How the rich are REALLY rich and how the poor seem as though they are living in a third world country even if they are living in the same backyard as the rich. The story that best represent this narrative discourse is “The Weatherman”.
What Can I Do?
On Wednesday, Mr. Siperstein asked our class to answer a few questions about climate change in our journals. Those questions were, “Why don’t people care about climate change? Or if they do care, why don’t they act?”
I found this activity to be especially interesting because this is a topic I think about continuously. Being a person that knew hardly anything about climate change before taking this class, I think it’s safe to say that I can answer these questions from first-hand experience. Now, I don’t think the issue is that people don’t care about climate change. In fact, I think it’s quite the opposite. I would argue that most people not only care about the issue, but are also at least somewhat scared about the negative effects climate change could have on our society. However, I don’t think people know enough about climate change and its repercussions to realize just how serious of an issue it really is. As a result, they probably don’t think there’s anything they could really even do to help.
Now, obviously I can’t sit here and claim that all of these assumptions are true, but as I said before I’ve decided to base my assumptions off of my own personal experience with the matter.
Anyway, on top of not understanding the severity of this issue and the need for a change, I think there are several other reasons why people don’t act towards resolving this issue. The main issue though, is that people don’t know what to even do. This is the main reason why I myself don’t act upon this issue. I definitely want to do my part in making a positive change, but I really have no clue about how I could get involved. I don’t even know where to begin! I’m assuming many other people probably feel this same way, so I decided to do some research about how to get involved.
Upon my research, I discovered a number of different ways to get involved, even right here in Eugene! The University of Oregon has a group called The Tribal Climate Change Project, and the city of Eugene there is a campaign called Youth Climate Action Now (YouCAN). The groups have done and are continuing to do some amazing things locally, and both would be great place for one to start getting involved. Contine reading
Advertising for Climate Change
This past weekend during the Super Bowl a commercial caught my eye. I was standing in Pegasus Pizza waiting to order my small cheese pizza and the song “this land is your land, this land is my land…” started playing on the television. The new Jeep commercial is promoting the importance of taking care of our earth. It starts with a scene of the ocean, to the snowy mountains, then the grand canyon, and across the landscape of the United States. All while the song “This Land is Your Land” plays promoting the importance of preserving America. It doesn’t stop there though, it continues to show popular landmarks throughout the world. The camera goes from the streets of India, to the rivers of Vietnam, to the Great Wall of China, and much more. Showing people of all different ethnicities, ages, gender, and religious beliefs coming together as one. Climate change will effect everyone all over the world and Jeep is trying to spread that message. The Jeep commercial inspires people to treat the earth with respect. At the end of the commercial the words “The world is a gift. Play responsibly.” flashes on the screen reminding everyone that they should not take the world for granted.
http://youtu.be/j7LbPdzYrrE
As this commercial played I thought back to everything we have learned in class so far, and how we have talked about people not taking initiative to change the way we live. But, I think that Jeep is one company trying to make a difference and opening peoples eyes.
Another company I found advertising for climate change is the website Nature is Speaking, which features celebrities speaking from the perspective of the earth. For example, Harrison Ford is The Ocean, Julia Roberts is Mother Nature, Kevin Spacey is The Rainforest, and many more public figures speak out. The videos are unique and captures an audiences attention because its new and inventive because a viewer isn’t being lectured on climate change but instead hearing what our earth has to say about it.
Harrison Ford says, “Humans there no different. I don’t owe them a thing. I give, they take, but I can always take back. Thats just the way its always been. Its not their planet anyway. Never was, never will be.” I think this audio clip is a reality check to some people because some people feel the earth is ours, but it really isn’t. We live here and have taken over, but plants and animals were here before us. This land didn’t start with us, but we have taken over and have been destroying where we live. Hopefully more propaganda for global warming will start to make its way into the media, so more people realize that this is real. The saying on the website says, “Nature doesn’t need people. People need nature” and this is very true. We rely on water, soil, and clean air to live and without generations will be lost. One benefit to the Nature is speaking website is there’s a tab, so people can do something. People can act and start making a difference. Its great to see advertising and public figures starting to take a stand.
Political Power
We talk a lot in class about how global warming and climate change can affect our resources, our living styles, and the future of our planet. We lack in the area of what political actions are being taken towards this issue. What I mean by that is how our republicans react to global warming, along with democrats, and so on. Or if they are even reacting. Our nation relies on our people for decision making mostly, but at the end of the day our government are the ones who we need to put plans into action. We rely on them for change because of the power they have. In retrospect this can be seen as a negative and a positive aspect in our countries government. It brings the question to mind of how do we know we are in good hands and can trust they are putting our nations best interest at the top of the priority list. For example, we discussed the Keystone Pipeline that our government has had a lot of controversy over, when in my opinion, I feel like it is obvious we should not follow through with that plan. Why would we risk the chance of ruining water sources for states along with their untouched land? While also, adding more fossil fuels in our atmosphere. The main purpose to this pipeline is to transfer 830,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta to refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast. When is enough, enough? I see this plan as almost selfish in the way that money is involved along with more damage to our land. That is one perspective to this plan, which protesters throughout our nation are trying to make clear to our government officials. The reason why I believe that this example strongly shows how our government has the power to make or break our nation is because the fact that there were mixed votes on the Keystone Pipeline from our government officials, makes me think we might not be in good hands. Contine reading
Hot Planet/ Cool Athletes
While researching information for my blog post, I came across a program created by The North Face called “Hot Planet / Cool Athletes”. They also paired up with sponsors Cliff Bar and MEC to educate middle and high schools about the truth of climate change. They use the influence of pro athletes to energize the youth about the future of our planet if we continue at the same rate we are at. These athletes, many of whom are professional snowboarders and skiers, provide a different perspective of the reality of climate change that they have experienced first hand.
I think this is a great idea to connect with the youth. For many students hearing from a teacher about the effect the human race is having on the world is often not enough to influence and fully educate them. This program brings in professionals who have first hand experience with the changing of snow levels in mountains all across the world in just the last decade. The Hot Planet Cool Athletes program has reached over 27,000 students since it was founded in 2011 by speaking and inspiring the youth in classes and assemblies.
I think that the education of climate change needs to go farther than the classroom. The youth of today is the generation that really needs to step up and change the way that humans live and pollute. With an increasing focus on climate change in schools, the information may become repetitive or still not have a personal impact with students, especially those who live in an urban environment. Field trips should be mandatory that physically display the effects that humans have on the environment. Once the evidence is displayed to students first hand, then maybe the next generation will be motivated and eager to change the world.
Climate Change = Bad Roommate
After reading our graphic novel this week, and thinking about some of the questions that we brought up in class, I decided to look up some climate change comic strips. I wanted to answer the question that my group was discussing in class, which was: “Why don’t people care about climate change and why don’t they think it will happen?” Our group focused on the notion that many people do not believe it is happening because they are not facing any changes in their daily life as of now due to climate change. I, too, did not think that climate change had severe consequences as the ones we have been learning. Reading “Diary of an Interesting Year,” though it is a fictional story, made me think about when the world is going to take a turn in that direction. That story gave it a date: 2040. The graphic novel, IDP: 2043 also gives it a date. Though the comic strip I found does not have date included, it relates it in a different way that we have not really seen yet.
Step up
What is Obama doing to stop climate change? What is Lebron James doing to stop climate change? What is Justin Bieber doing to stop climate change? These are some of the biggest celebrities today and celebrities have the most impactful power in our nation. If celebrities show more concern about climate change, maybe this will bring more awareness to the world. Recently we learned in class that climate change was not of much concern among citizens. Other issues such as terrorism and military were of bigger concerns. I do believe that people are willing to invest more in current problems rather than future problems. People tend to want to focus on the issues that impact them now rather than focusing on the future. I could see why some people have that way of thinking but if we emphasize the future impact of global warming more, maybe there will be more awareness.
Obama plays an immense role in regulating climate change. In 2013, he introduced the Climate Action Plan hoping that it would make a difference in the amount of carbon being produced by large companies and power plants.Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency are working together to develop carbon pollution standards for both new and existing power plants. In June 2014, the EPA released the Clean Power Plan, the first-ever carbon pollution standards for power plants. These standards will help keep children safe and reduce the amount of carbon produced by 30% by the year 2030. Obama also advocates for building a more climate resilient America. He is trying to introduce public investments that will benefit the future in dealing with climate change. Some of these investments include grants for cleaning up trashed areas and energy efficient transportation funds. Is Obama doing enough to stop this issue? Is he putting enough emphasis on stopping global warming?
Big Oil, Bigger Problems.
One of the few aspects about climate change that we have gone over briefly in class, but have not gone into depth with is the political and economic impact of climate change. The majority of the short stories we have read also have neglected to go into depth on the political and economic impacts but these are some of the most important aspects in the fight against climate change. I ultimately believe that political legislation and the impact of the economy due to climate change, will be the largest driving force in favor of doing something about the problem. One of the major reasons why I enjoyed “An Athabasca Story” and the various photo essays on the Tar Sands in Canada was they tied together issues that are relevant today, issues such as the Keystone pipeline, with the Cli-Fi genre. Contine reading
What we didn’t know about “An Athabasca Story”
In class when reviewing “An Athabasca Story” I noticed a plethora of people had questions on who Elder Brother is and what the last part of the story means. I did my essay on “An Athabasca Story” and figured out Elder Brothers part in the story and analyzed it. I thought I would share my information with everyone and thought it would also help with studying for the midterm.
As we all know Elder Brother cannot die but is alive through all of us. He is in our cars, our heaters, and anything we use that needs oil. In the last part of the story the narrator says, “you might hear a knocking, rattling sound down deep in the bowels of the machine. Thats Elder Brother, trying to get your attention, begging you to let him out” (Cariou, 75). When we hear these noises Elder Brother wants us to stop our car and turn it off and think about him inside of our car as oil. What he really wants us to do is to stop and think about the tar sands. He is trying to get our attention through the noise he is making by telling us to stop the car and stop the tar sands. Some may or may not have noticed when reading the story that there is also a motif, with this quote and a quote in the beginning that says, “His stomach was like the shrunken dried crop of a partridge. It rattled around inside him as he walked, and with each step he took the sound made him shiver even more” (Cariou, 70). The motif is the rattling of the partridge and the rattling of Elder Brother in the car. Elder Brothers shrunken up stomach is foreshadowing what is going to happen in the end of the story. In the end of the story Elder Brother is trying to make us more aware of the tar sands and stop them or else our world is going to shrivel up like a dried crop of a partridge.
Athabasca Break Down
I became very interested in “An Athabasca Story” mainly because I was confused on how Cariou wanted the last few paragraphs to be portrayed to the reader. I did a lot of research which I used for my close reading but I broke down almost every aspect of “An Athabasca Story” to be able to picture it better.
Cariou grew up in Saskatchewan and when he heard that his community and northern Alberta were under the threat of oil sands, he traveled to Alberta to create a documentary on the natives who have been dealing with these fears. While he was there, he spoke with an elder who told him some stores. Cariou said that his stories started to blend in with what he saw there(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmZ-ej_Sx5Q). I viewed Elder Brother as a Native American who lived off the land in the forest. There was some discussion in class on whether he was human or not but it stated that he wore moccasins, had fingers and toes, and spoke English.
We’re Here, So Let’s Make That Clear
In class today, we were asked to write down answers to the question, “Why don’t people care about climate change?” My classmates and I came up with many reasons, for example: global warming hasn’t personally affected people, it’s not viewed as a serious issue in our society, people aren’t properly informed, etc. With our current technology and knowledge of global warming, we have an accurate picture of what our Earth could look like in the next couple years. I think it’s important to start creating ways to get the public involved and informed of global warming and how it’s going to affect our communities if we don’t address it.
First, we need to start by educating the younger generation that will be growing up and living in the aftermath of our current actions. The government or activists should supply school funding to provide environmental classes that inform students of the changing climate and how to adapt. By learning about this issue at such a young age, this generation will be innovative and motivated to adapt and maybe reverse global warming. Adam Dyster stated in his article, Comment: education is the key to addressing climate change, “It equips youth with the skills to help combat climate change, and be part of a green recovering, and positive future.” Contine reading
When Will 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.
The Athabascan Allegory
In class, we briefly noted that “An Athabasca Story” was not merely a short story, but rather a narrative of a story being told. I took this idea home and developed it further, into a theory, and the topic of my close reading paper. Upon closer reading and interpretation, I came to the conclusion that the story is not only a folktale, but a Native American style allegory, written similarly to the orally dictated and passed down Native American tales we have here.
Our Fault, Our Problem
After reading Kathleen Moore’s article on “The Ethics of Adaption to Global Warming” she proposed a question, which asked, “Does the adaptation effort privilege the wealthy and powerful, at unjustified cost to the poor and dispossessed?” This question immediately reminded me of the short story “The Weatherman”. Characters in this story are faced with life changing decisions that are the exact answer to Moore’s question. Most stories we are reading in our English 104 class have to do with the powerful controlling the future while the poor are left to starve and die. It’s easy to imagine ourselves as one of the rich in a case like this but what if we are the poor? And are left to starve. It’s a harder image to grasp when faced with a question like that. You have to decide now what side you are going to be on. Either we can start to do something now to help face and protect the Earth from climate change, which ultimately will protect us, or adapt to it and become the rich, greedy, and self-preserving. Contine reading
Don’t Care? Or Just Simply Unaware?
When I first signed up for Mr. Siperstein’s English 104 class, I went in on the first day thinking it would be like any other class I’ve taken here at the UO. Much to my surprise however, I was soon proven wrong when I discovered that we would be focusing on the issue of climate change. My first thoughts? “I’m screwed. I know absolutely nothing about climate change.”
As I look back now at my panicking self, I realize that many other students probably had reactions similar to mine. That’s when it hit me. The problem is exactly that! You see, it isn’t that people don’t care about climate change, but rather they just haven’t been properly informed about the issue. I recently came across a study done by Yale on Climate Change Communication, and discovered that only 1 in 10 Americans say they are “very well informed” about the issue of climate change. Kind of a crazy thought, right? How are we supposed to help the future of our environment and make a positive change if roughly only 10 percent of Americans even know what’s actually going on? Exactly, we can’t. The good news is, there’s something we can do about it. The Yale study also reported that 75 percent of Americans said that they would like to know more about the issue, which means that people are interested in learning more. So, where can we begin? While the task of informing an entire nation about the issue of climate change can seem quite daunting, I think that creating more classes like the one Mr. Siperstein is teaching would be the perfect place to start.
Cli-Fi Blog at Temple University
Check out this cli-fi course blog at Temple University. They are reading a much different set of texts than we are (just goes to show how capacious this new literary genre has become), but I’m sure they are interested in many of the same questions about literature, climate change, ethics, etc. If you have a few minutes, I’d recommend taking a look.
Final Project Idea
So, right now, I have a pretty good idea for my final project for this class. I’m gonna propose my story idea by writing the first chapter of a possible cli-fi novel. Hopefully there isn’t too much of a limit to what I can write. I still need to do the close-reading analysis for the actual chapter. However, I could use some help with some details for the plot and how to weave certain elements of the story together. That is why I am asking for help from my fellow classmates.
The Greater Good
“Which is worse: if we all die, or if only some of us die?” – Kish
Many of the stories we have read over the past couple weeks have dealt with humanity living in a post-climate change world and depict how that world changes them. One of the most compelling aspects of these stories is how the characters deal with ethics and morals. I think The Weatherman by Holly Howitt is a perfect depiction of how humanity will be forced to make very tough and seemingly unethical decisions in order to keep the population alive. One of my favorite quotes that deals with this dilemma is said by Kish, the narrator’s boss, when he explains, “You know that we control the weather here because if we didn’t, we would starve…we control the weather because we have to, else we’d have no food, no chance of survival…Which is worse: if we all die, or if only some of us die?
For The Greater Good
After reading Holly Hewitt’s short story The Weatherman, I began thinking more and more about how climate change on Earth will affect third world countries. Living in North America, it is quite obvious that we are responsible for a fair portion of the global warming that our world is experiencing. That being said, I would also argue that a fair number of American’s don’t know the full effects that global warming can have, and therefore aren’t planning on changing their lifestyles anytime soon. Consequently, climate change will get worse, and it will have an immediate effect on third world countries. Contine reading
Climate Change Ethical Issues in “The Weatherman”
The short story “The Weatherman”, caused me to think of the blog we read about climate change ethics. One specific question from the blog that related really well to “The Weatherman” was the question that asked, “Does the adaptation effort privilege the wealthy and powerful, at unjustified cost to the poor and dispossessed?” (Moore 4). This question completely applies to “The Weatherman” because the only people who benefit from the weather being controlled are the Green people. However, the sandtowners do not receive the same benefits from the weather being controlled as the Green people do.
In the story Marly claims, “You should’ve seen them! 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 statement relates completely to Moore’s third question on her blog post because the weather being controlled by the Green people is only privileging the Green people, while causing the sandtowners harm. Some of the Green people, like the couple in the story, feel bad for the sandtowners because they know that what they are doing is wrong, but they also know that in order to survive they have to control the weather.
The Not So Great Barrier Reef
After reading An Athabasca Story and viewing the photo essay on the Alberta Tar Sands I was shocked at what I read. An Athabasca Story is an actual reality because up in Canada these tar sands are dug up and cleaned out until it is just bitumen. The production of extracting bitumen from these sands produces 3-4 times more green house gas emissions than regular oil. The smell of this process is horrendous as well, even An Athabasca Story mentions how horrific the smell is, “And the smell! It was worse than his most sulfurous farts, the ones he got when he ate moose guts and antlers. It was like being trapped in a bag with something dead” (Cariou 70). But upon learning about these tar sands I thought, how much is the emission of these carbon and green house gases really affecting the rest of the globe?
One large and important part of the world is being affected by all the carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia is deteriorating at a surprisingly quick pace. The article Top 10 Places Already Affected By Climate Change discusses how the oceans have absorbed a third of the gases produced by the industrial revolution. Since the oceans have absorbed these gases the water has completely shifted the pH scale and the sea animals are able to feel these affects. Ocean water is becoming warmer and the coral reefs are being bleached and starting to die off. Once the coral starts dying off fish and other sea life will start to as well. And once fish start going a chain reaction will begin to occur. At what point will it be our time to die off?
The Pits of Despair?
In class, we talked about the tar pits in Canada. They are obviously terrible for the environment and they help Canada’s GDP immensely, but we didn’t talk about why they are so awful for the environment.
The tar pits excrete oil sands and create a barren wasteland of ugly earth that can be seen from space. The miners not only clear the areas of all life and green, but they destroy the water supply in the surrounding areas. A report about water usage in the mines said, “To produce one cubic metre (m3) of synthetic crude oil (SCO) (upgraded bitumen) in a mining operation requires about 2–4.5 m3 of water (net figures).” The oil sands mining company is currently allowed to divert 359 million m3 of water, more than two times the amount needed for the local city. This is a problem that changes not only the environment in a negative way, but it is hurting the locals in many ways.
The locals are not only unable to fish and hunt, as was mentioned in lecture, but their lively hoods are completely changed by the oil sand pits as well. They are forced to assimilate into the culture that the sands bring with it. That means that they get jobs mining the sand and in production. My question is; is it worth it? Is it worth the jobs? Their lives are completely changed by this monster that comes charging in and seems to destroy everything in its path.
While I might not agree with the politics necessarily, I thought that this was a very interesting video on the tar pits.
It made me think about all the things that they go through up there and how the big companies get away with a lot. It is a problem that needs to be dealt with.