Heating Up Action To Cool Down The Planet

The Arctic and Antarctic ice caps are only two of the major features facing the ills of climate change over the past few decades. Scientists have been studying the increasing levels of temperature on Earth that have risen steadily over the years. CO2 emissions are at an all time high because of pollution and need to be addressed and resolved. According the Environmental Protection Agency, this increase in heat has caused the sea levels around the world to rise about 6-8 inches in the past 100 years. Most of this growth in water level is directly from the melting of the ice caps. This short clip below shows a satellite image of the Arctic ice from January 2000 to recently in May of 2009.



Now the question is, how do we help prevent further increases in temperature levels? Who is responsible for this change and how is society going to go about it? John Tribbia from the University of Colorado presents five factors that affect individuals’ environmentally responsible behavior, or ERB as he refers to it. The first factor is the inclination to engage in an environmentally conscious behavior. There are certain characteristics of people that might encourage or not encourage them to engage in environmentally friendly actions that will help climate change – such as gender, race, socioeconomic status, and values. The second factor is motivation to actually become involved in the cause. The public might not be fully informed about the melting of the polar ice caps causing confusion about how to actually help prevent it. This brings us to Tribbia’s third factor, information process and behavioral intent. How individuals’ perceive and feel about the issue of the melting Arctic and Antarctic ice will directly effect how they act in return. Therefore it is extremely important to stress the significance of the problem of climate change due to the daily pollution of the population.

Image of estimated thickness of Arctic Ice


The fourth and fifth factors focus on the ability and skill of the individual to engage in ERB as well as the external support one receives for acting environmentally friendly. The “good citizen” of America has certain standards that all people should live by, however this all depends on certain social, economical, and personal factors that greatly influence their ability to act in ERB. Informing the public is only the first step in this problem of climate change’s distress on the ice caps. Grabbing their attention, motivating them to be environmentally conscious, and letting the public know exactly how they can help this worrying issue will be the next necessary steps to address and hopefully end global warming.

Briauna F.

Here are some links with interesting information and tips to help stop global warming:

http://www.takepart.com/news/tag/stop-the-ice-caps-from-melting

http://scienceray.com/earth-sciences/five-potential-results-of-melting-polar-ice-caps

Works Cited

"Actic Sea". YouTube. May 19,2010 .

"Is the polar ice caps melt, how much would the ocean rise?". howstuffworks. May 19,2010 .

Tribbia, J. (2007). Stuck in the slow lane of behavior change? A not-so-superhuman perspective on getting out of our cars. In Moser, S.C. & Dilling, L (Eds.), Creating a Climate for Change: Communicating Climate Change and Facilitating Social Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 251-265.

"Food, Inc." and "The 11th Hour": How Documentaries are Promoting Change

Food, Inc. was created to raise awareness for the American consumer about the practices going on in our nation’s food industry. Much of this is going on under consent of our own government agencies, and being controlled by corporations only concerned with monetary gain. This economic selfishness has lead to major problems for our nation’s health, farmers, workers, and the environment (Food, Inc., 2008).

We watched the documentary The 11th Hour in class this week, and although it was not specifically about food, it had a lot of overlap with Food, Inc. on certain topics. The 11th Hour brought up the issues of politics and selfishness with the environment, and how we as a nation are much too focused on economics and not enough on sustainability. This point was very evident in Food, Inc. when talking about corporate ownership of the food industry and how factory farming and food transportation has very negatively impacted our planet. Annual greenhouse gas emissions for transporting food alone are up to over 30,000 tons, and industrial farms are greatly contributing to global warming through pollution.

Besides negative effects such as disease and threats to national security, food is one of the main culprits in destruction of our planet and our economic health. Food is supposed to make us healthy and good for the environment, so where did we as a nation go wrong? One of the main problems is that we do not demand for it to be better. This relates to both the food industry and our environment as a whole, because it is ultimately the consumer that decides what is produced. Buying is approval, and if we stop buying, then they will be forced to stop selling (Pino, 2009).

Most of the time people don’t even realize the power and impact they can have. Whether it is bettering the food industry or the environment, we have the power to make change, and awareness is the first step to make things happen. We need to change the way the system works in order to break the system and create a healthy, sustainable economy and environment for everyone. Both Food, Inc. and The 11th Hour have pushed us to think about our decisions and impact on the world. Because of this, change is happening at all levels, from the individual all the way up to global (Newman, 2009).

Here is the link to the Food, Inc. site where you can view the trailer:
www.foodincmovie.com

- Erika L. Hurn

Works Cited
1. Food, Inc. Hungry for Change. 2009.
2. Newman, Sarah. “From Fries to Fennel, How Food, Inc. Is Changing America.” The Huffington Post. 3 September, 2009.
3. Pino, Daria. “Food, Inc. Shows How Your Food Choices Can Change the World.” Summer Tomato. 15 June, 2009.
4. The 11th Hour. Documentary. 2007.

Global Warming... Rocking This World

Came across a great article on global warming and its possible effects on earthquakes... check it out!

http://www.livescience.com/environment/070830_gw_quakes.html

How the media frames Global Warming and its impact on Earthquakes...

By: Tristan Nguyen & Science of Pollution Group

Earthquakes are said to be responsible by humans from the fact that they are sole contributors to global warming. Global warming causes the polar ice caps to melt and that contribute tremendous amounts of weight are lifted off of Earth's crust and this can cause seismic plates to slip and stimulate earthquake activity according to research into prehistoric earthquakes and volcanic activity. As human go through their daily life they generate pollution by creating waste and putting airborne pollutant into the atmosphere. From factory mills, chemical, production, cars, sewage, and oil human contaminate the earth. Carbon monoxide is the main problem and concern for the Earth’s well-being, because the more carbon monoxide human place in the atmosphere the quicker global warming will get worst hence contributing to climate change. Pollution caused by humans are not the only contributors to earthquakes. For example other factors include coal mining and construction of dams.

An article in the National Geographic News titled “Coal Mining Causing Earthquakes, Study Says” refers to the earthquake in Austria in 1989 were caused by humans. It was proven by Christian D. Klose of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York; that the quake was triggered by changes in tectonic forces caused by two-hundred years of underground coal mining. This article frames the story in a way that directly blames human for the earthquake that happened in Austria; however the framing strategy they used was hidden in their context, because the article did not directly say humans caused the quake, rather coal mining in general caused the earthquake. As you can see framing is a key factor in getting viewers and the audience to believe a certain idea or concept. The way a story is framed will affect how people will react and perceive the story.

In an interview Danny Glover, a Hollywood celebrity, blamed Haiti’s earth quake on global warming and climate change. "What happened in Haiti could happen anywhere in the Caribbean because all these island nations are in peril because of global warming," Glover said. "When we see what we did at the climate summit in Copenhagen, this is the response, this is what happens."

In this case study Danny Glover framed the news segment toward global warming to his viewers. He is not telling them what to think, however he is suggesting to them what to think about. The “what” Glover is mentioning is climate change and global warming in relations to the earthquake in Haiti. When the viewers watch his interview they will stop to think about global warming and how they can take part in order save the environment. Glover wants humans to be more concerned about the environment and do what they can to stop climate change. His message also subtlety implies people should go “green” and adopt greener alternatives such as hybrid cars and recycling.

Sources:

1. Top 5 Ways to Cause a Man-Made Earthquake
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/06/top-5-ways-that/

2. Some earthquakes may be linked to climate change
http://news.mongabay.com/2006/0628-earthquakes.html

3. Video: Danny Glover: Haiti Earthquake Caused By Global Warming
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/15/danny-glover-haiti-earthq_n_425160.html