Blog #15: The Final Goodbye

            We’re back and maybe for the last time.  So this is where the end begins.  From the first day of class when our teach told us about this project to the day he told us that it was finally over there were mixed feelings all around.  I know that I was kind of dreading it but now I really don’t know what I’m going to do with my Sunday nights.  Even though this semester is over this blog is still going to be up, the real question is if we will keep writing. 

Some of the big parts that have really opened my eyes throughout this semester through the readings we have done, the discussions we have had and all the other blogs that we have read.  One thing that I really enjoyed was when we had to watch Forest Man.  That short film was eye opening and crazy to think that this man made a forest from a desert pretty much.  He had an idea and decided to do something about it.  He did everything he could to make this beautiful forest out of nothing but he kept with it no matter what.  That is showing true dedication and it makes me wonder what if everyone cared about something that big, who knows maybe the world would be changing in a better way a little bit faster.  Another piece that I can still remember was How to die in the Anthropocene.  This reading felt more like a story being told rather then a reading throwing all this information to you.  It was also interesting to see how the author described his views on dying in the Anthropocene.  Emotions are also a big part in this class and talking about those were big in trying to understand everything and in listening and figuring out other peoples views on certain things.  Not only the reading on emotions but the discussion that we had in class that day over the reading was also one of the big things that I enjoyed and found very interesting.  I honestly didn’t really thing much about emotion and how that all played a part of this class, but after that day it certainly made me thing a little more on how I felt on certain issues.  That was probably one of my favorite days because I didn’t realize how everyone felt about one issue and how maybe people agreed with them.  It opened my eyes in helping me realize it is okay to feel more then one thing on a subject, even if they are total opposites.

            I think I have learned a lot about blogging, more then I thought I would.  Looking back to the first post to the last I have realized that even though I may not be a great writer I have learned a lot from reading other people’s blogs and researching random topics that come up during a family dinner.  You would be amazed on all the things you could find if you actually look up half the things people talk about.  I know I was when I looked up the idea of a bio urn.  That was probably one of my favorite parts of this project was finding things that could relate to your topic and still be very interesting to read and write about.  The bio urn was also one of my favorite posts because it was so unique (to me at least) and it was in idea that came up in an everyday setting and something I didn’t really believe until I actually looked it up when I got home.  Who knew you could actually become useful to the environment when you die.  Also it is still something my family talks about at random dinner conversations today.  Just earlier today my mom mentioned it to my grandma and she was amazed and didn’t think it could actually happen.  Another interesting thing I thought that was really cool was watching that movie on the “Tiny houses”.  I told my mom about that and she actually really liked the idea.  Yesterday while we were walking around Ikea we saw all these things that could be put into her “Tiny house”.  It was lots of fun kind of joking around with her about it all. 

            This blog has brought to me, and I’m sure everyone else too, an eventful semester.  I can’t believe how much everyone has grown through writing this blog and through exploring new projects. 

So this is the final farewell, maybe.  Until the next time I write or someone writes.  Thank you for all the support and reading even if you hated it. 

Blog #14- How tiny is too tiny?

 
           This week we watched a really cool and motivating film called Tiny.  It is on Netflix but it was sure a movie I had not heard about before taking this class.  It is about people that build their own little house on a trailer pretty much.  Their house is only 100-200 square feet and some are even smaller then that.  They do this because they want to live in a smaller place and enjoy the environment more then the inside of their own home.  It forces them to go outside more and spend more time outdoors since inside is much smaller then a normal house.  There are probably more then just that reason too.  I think that whoever came up with this idea is really cool because although you are living in a box pretty much it makes you think about all the things you buy the things you bring home and how to use things that you would use everyday.  Also the layout of these houses are pretty coll.  I’m one of those people that goes house hunting for fun and goes and looks at model houses because they are bored.  You get so many ideas from these and after watching this movie I got so many ideas on how to use things and how to store them so that they are not in the way and they are hidden. 

The other thing that was pretty cool is how they build it.  They have to get a trailer and then build a house on top of it.  Oh, and they have to make sure that it won’t move in the middle of the night, or during a thunderstorm.  Also they have to make sure that it is sturdy enough to hold everything and that they outside won’t get ruined if there’s a huge snow storm or earthquake even.  It will probably be hard but if you are up for it then I support you no matter what!  It is a great thing and a pretty cool one at that.

This is at rue story about living small but exploring big.  It is a whole new world when you watch it and it kind of makes you wonder how they do it and how they make it work.  It can amaze you to just think about how people are okay with it; I know it amazed me when I watched this.

This Post Lacks a Creative Title

To start this post off, I’m going to let y’all in on a little secret, and it may just surprise you. I have no strong emotion towards climate change. Obviously, I wouldn’t have any positive emotions towards it: joy, happiness, exuberance. None of those would make sense. But, I don’t have any real negative emotions towards it as a whole either. I have no guilt, because it’s not my fault; no extra fear, because our world was never safe to begin with; no despair, because I have hope. The best emotional reaction I can give towards climate change is apathy; strange, considering my hopeful career as a climatologists or climate scientist. I should be the one who is consumed by some sort of passion towards this, since the new phenomena of weather that is occurring is the very reason I chose that field.

Margaret Klein claims in an online article (Links to an external site.) that “Many people claim not to have an emotional reaction to climate change. Some of these people who lack the education, exposure to fact-based media, or intellectual capacity to comprehend the threat of climate change, and thus truly have no emotional reaction to it.” Well, I certainly don’t fall into any of those categories. The courses I have taken in climatology, while not making me an expert by far in that field, also don’t allow me to declare ignorance of this fact. And I certainly feel that I have the capacity to understand the threat of climate change. My professor believes so, at the very least. According to Klein, that leaves only one other possibility: I’m in denial.

Klein states that “climate change apathy should be regarded in the same way as people who claim to have no reaction to their recent divorce, the death of a parent, or being raped.” Now, I haven’t experienced any of these (and by no means am I attempting to make light of these events), but I did have an uncle pass away not more than a few weeks ago. While this was a trying time for his wife and children, I didn’t respond much to the situation beyond the initial “this sucks” reaction. The same goes for climate change. Yes, there are a lot of bad things that could happen to the world, but no, I don’t feel anything towards it. It is a fact of the world, and therefore cannot be helped. My personality type doesn’t really mix well with emotion; to get me to do something, appeals to reason work a whole lot better. I know I’m not the only person like this, and I also know that there aren’t necessarily a lot of us around. Our lack of emotion doesn’t mean we don’t care. People don’t need emotion to take an action, nor is emotion necessary for someone to be passionate about something. So there is no need to be upset with someone for not having an emotional reaction to a situation; when it comes to science and similar fields, or any point when a cool head is better than an emotional one, lack of emotion is considered a good thing.

If you do want me to give an emotional reaction, or at least a passionate one, then just talk about geoengineering. The topic is just something that really interests me, and more importantly, the people who advocate it interest me. Someone who just brings up the topic as a possible scenario hasn’t done anything to provoke my ire. It is still considered a possible solution, if a not yet viable one. It would be unfair to all parties to not talk about it in a scientific discussion. Having to talk to someone who is defending it, however, is when I view the person in question as irksome. Bruno Latour told us to love our monsters, and monster is an apt name for what could happen if geoengineering is pursued. Any resultant disasters would most likely not be small in scope; the globe has over 7 billion people, and the purpose of geoengineering is to affect the whole globe. Ergo, there are over 7 billion people who could be negatively affected by geoengineering. That is a number of people that I am not comfortable jeopardizing. In addition, the way to correct geoengineering is, by design, more geoengineering. Logically, this move seems unwise; emotionally, it must be terrifying.

Blog #13: Why do emotions matter

            We’re back with yet another topic to discus, so get ready!  This past week we have been talking about emotions and how we feel about climate change as well as other issues that we live with daily. So tonight we are going to talk about how those emotions play a huge part in what we can do in our environment today to help those issues and hopefully try and stop them sooner rather then later. 

            When you hear the term deforestation what emotions do you feel right away?  I know for me I feel sad because when you think of it and how many trees we cut down on the daily and how much of all the rainforests we are destroying.  It is a sad thing when you realize how many homes we are tearing down every minute.  It makes you wonder what we would do if something like that were to happen to us and our homes how would we feel.  I also feel worried because of the fact that trees make oxygen and if we keep going at the rate that we are then how are we going to have enough oxygen to survive for centuries to come.  Just thinking about the next generation after us and how they are going to do it and if they will even have rainforests to go look at.  I’ve been to the amazons and it is just beautiful and everyone should have to opportunity to go look and one of the natural wonders that this world has to offer us.  There will be people that will not have that opportunity because of everything that we are doing now and what we have been doing. 

            Emotions can cause you to feel many things towards an issue and they might even help you realize things that you could do differently to help the issue.  It’s one of the little things that will help you realize how to live your life and how to be the best you can be! 

            Hopefully this made you think about how you feel towards deforestation and other issues.  Till next time readers.

Individual Inquiry #3: The Precautionary Principle

            I think that the precautionary principle is a good thing and could benefit us if we have enough people on board with it and helping everything/everyone out in carrying it forward.  When I think of climate change it worries me and kind of scares me thinking of the future so it is the perfect time to let people know about this principle.  We have proven that we are harming the environment with all the big companies and industries that we have now so since the precautionary principle says that “when an activity raises threats or harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically”.  If we think something is harming us or our home then we have the right to help it and fix it.  That is why I think it is necessary now in days so that we don’t make things worst and hopefully start reversing the damage we have done.  Or at least start to if anything. 

            Even though there might be risks for the outcome of this principle and things might go wrong it is still worth a try.  There are risks for everything that we do and yet we still do them.  Same thing here its just us helping the things we really care about. 

            Its worth a try so why not just see if it works and go from there!