Abstract

It is important to teach young children about being responsible global citizens at an early age when their brains are still developing and their habits have yet to be formed. Good habits are easily sustained throughout their lifetime if they are continually practiced and reinforced from an early age. Through our project of teaching a 1st grade class about recycling, my group learned that young children are eager and capable of learning of environmental education at a young age. My paper looks at the ways in which environmental education can be taught to children and why it is crucial to do so. The way to ensure that the future of the environment and ultimately the future of mankind is protected is to make sure that environmental education is taught earlier. The students of today are the key in ensuring a sustainable future.

-Atusa

Abstraction

What drives us to consume? This is a question that not too many people are concerned with, but they should. Consumption is one of the biggest problems that we deal with when talking about climate change and global warming. The thing is that few really address the issue because it is viewed as a lifestyle change and very few people are really willing to radically change their way of life. The discourse shaped by media today not only drives consumption but also promotes it. One way to curb consumption would to be limit it, but not by choice but rather through regulation. By slowing consumption we slow the down our impact on the earth, by doing this we will consume less natural resources and at the same time reversing climate change. Just regulating a few things will ultimately save us in the future.

-Blaise

Abstract

Green building is currently on the rise. As populations increase, the amount of CO2 emissions increases, thus playing part in global climate change. Green building is a way of building that is more energy efficient, resource efficient and contains less toxic materials. With groups such as the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild, O’Brien and Company and the United States Green Building Council communicating the positive outlook on the concept, the general public is viewing it as a good thing to participate in. Different companies such as Seattle City Light are offering incentive programs for making a household more green. Different rating systems such as LEED, Built Green and Energy Star allow people to interact and be actively giving back to the environment. By using these rating systems, contractors and consumers are held liable for what they are putting into the environment. Due to the excellent means of communication by advocacy groups, companies and organizations, green building is a trend that will become a standard that more and more people accept.

-Danica

Abstract

Conventional industrial food production poses significant threats to environmental, societal, and individual health. The organic food movement has emerged in response to the dangers of conventional food production, and is slowly gaining popularity in the public sphere. Organic standards have been relatively successful at providing consumers with a level of transparency in food production that has not been seen in decades. However, lingering cultural fallacies defining organics as ‘yuppy” luxuries of personal preference, rather than a necessities for a sustainable future, are still a highly prevalent in the public sphere. In order for the organic production to compete with conventional industrial practices, a shift in public conceptualization of the true importance of organic food production must be achieved. This paper explores one method of expanding such contextual knowledge within a community, through the distribution of succinct yet informative pamphlets on the value of supporting local, organic food production in Seattle’s University district. To increase the viability of the pamphlet method of communication, descriptions of what a more high tech advocacy project might look like are provided, where the pamphlet is only the first step in a larger advocacy plan. Drawing on results from reader feedback, it is concluded that although the pamphlet was somewhat effective in increasing contextual knowledge on the importance of organic foods, it could be improved in certain structural areas, and would be significantly more effective if combined with a website.

-Mollie

Abstract for Paper

While the community should care about climate change, the damage has been done. Now it is moving on and dealing with the affects and educating people on the effects of climate change. Now people need to be aware and more caring about how they can help salmon. And why it is important to be conscious about climate change and its effects on salmon. There is a plethora of reasons and effects that climate change has done to the environment and primarily salmon. These reasons and effects are important to know and understand, especially how salmon effect many people in different ways. To name a few, it affects the local economy of the Northwest, local tribal groups, commercial fishermen, other species in the environment, entire ecosystems. The environment and ecosystems of salmon is very delicate balance and when something it thrown off by precipitation, rising temperatures, and so on. These scientific observations and direct affects, the public sphere needs to take this account and begin helping with restoration efforts and being more consciously Green.

-Mary Jane-

Some cool stuff

1. Some info someone sent me about a documentary screening-

EARTHLINGS: "Viewers will never be the same." -Carty Harill, 944 Magazine

When: Thursday, May 27, 7:00pm
When: HUB Room 106B
Admission: FREE
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=121805137842368
http://www.earthlings.com/

Please join Campus Animal Rights Educators as we host a screening of Earthlings, one of the most controversial, eye-opening and powerful films of our time.

Narrated by Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix (GLADIATOR, WALK THE LINE), EARTHLINGS is a ground-breaking documentary focusing on humankind's absolute dependence on animals used as pets, for foods, for clothing, in entertainment, and for medical or scientific research. With the use of hidden cameras and some never-before-seen footage, EARTHLINGS chronicles the day-to-day practice of some of the largest industries in the world - all of which rely entirely on animals for profit. Powerful, informative, controversial and thought provoking, EARTHLINGS is by far one of the most comprehensive documentaries ever produced on the correlation between nature, animals, and human economic interests.

An optional discussion will take place after the film, and there will be free Mighty-O Donuts.

This will be an event you will not want to miss,
C.A.R.E.

2. An article from the stranger about seattle's new organic butcher...

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/mystery-meat/Content?oid=4040872

Help rate my project... Take a quick quiz!

Hey anyone,

For my project, I made a pamphlet trying to convince people to support organic food production. If anyone would like to view the pamphlet and then take a quick survey evaluating its effectiveness, I would really appreciate it!

Here's the link to the pamphlet on flickr- http://www.flickr.com/photos/50242054@N06/

Here's the link to the web survey- http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CCXH5XT

Please let me know if either of the two links isn't working for some reason. Thanks!

-Mollie

Working Against The Machine

After what I thought was a successful interview, my contact has not yet emailed me back. This has become a trend with the person I am working with in HFS. My idea seems so simple and easy to implement, and she herself also admitted that it was not that hard to implement, yet it is still not being done. As a student I am noticing that if we want change and we have ambition enough to go out and seek it, why then can it not happen? It seems like all these people who want the next generation to take over the world, don’t want to give up the power they have. If someone came up to me with a good idea that was simple and had basically no up front costs to my self, why would I not adopt it? This post is not just a rant but more of a question. How do I get the people up top to seriously take the time to notice my idea and enact it? Do I just keep bugging them or do I have to talk to some one else? Or do I even go commando on them and just steal the cups without there authority?
-Blaise

Interesting Interview

After my interview with a guy from Re-Store, I was able to learn about another aspect of green building that I will be able to talk about in my research. It was cool how things worked out. Originally, I was supposed to interview another guy who specializes in solar energy, but since he cancelled, I needed to meet with some else. The guys from Re-Store are the ones I had initially talked to about setting up an interview. Anyhow, after talking with Tim (works for Re-Store), I came to the conclusion that green building is not just about the technology of it, but rather the idea and purpose. Re-Store is a non-profit organization that prevents pounds and pounds of materials from going into landfills. Re-Store takes the materials and sells them back for re-use. The “green” concept becomes involved when people build different things with used or recycled materials. This saves trees, landfills and the rest of the environment. Overall, it was really interesting learning about what this organization stands for. I encourage everyone to take a look at the website (Re-store.org)!

-Danica

Oil Oil Oil Oil

In lieu of the oil spill coverage, I saw the newest article (posted 10 minutes ago, so 12:10am) and it was saying how there is no end in sight for this oil spill. Even though we are spilling (pun INtended)into the third week of coverage, it is getting closer and closer to deciding that this is the biggest disaster and has surpassed the Exxon Valdez. Which is so unfortunate with the way the seas and oceans have been behaving lately. Climate change is already affecting so much, then to have the biggest oil spill in the history to hit, its just another blow to the precious balance of the oceans.

The article mentions how the "dome" pumping station didn't help and wasn't a success, stating "The failed containment efforts and an unfavorable turn in the weather suggest the three-week-old crisis could be dialed up a few notches". This situation isn't getting any better and there appears to be no end in sight. The spill is dumping around 5,000 barrels of oil a day. "The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration projects that, with brisk onshore winds expected from the southeast, the points of potential contact of the spill with the mainland will multiply between now and Wednesday." This is such a tragic event that I hope gets better and they find a solution that works. It's so fascinating to read about this and see what is going on, but at the same time it's heartbreaking to see all the plant and wildlife in jeopardy and dying. Hopefully there will be an end in sight...but for now, just putting our best efforts forward.

article can be found at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1016775020100510?type=marketsNews


-Mary Jane-

Projection for me Project

The interview that I finally got was very successful and gave me lots of information. This provided me with the background knowledge that I needed for my project and writing my paper. I want to do an advocacy/research paper. We'll see how that turns out, but right now that's kind of what I want to do. As for the effects of climate change on salmon I have come across some interesting diagrams and figures.

I want to include those in the signs I hope to put up for my advocacy part. I'm thinking I want to post signs in local parks, someone gave me an idea of putting signs up at Ballard Locks, I was also thinking about around the Duwamish River parks and whatnot (that's where I did my public event), and various areas around Seattle and parks. I think these informational fliers will discuss and show how climate change is affecting salmon runs and how salmon are important to this area.

I also want to continue to look at tribes in the area and what they're doing to help salmon runs and their predictions for the year. The interview I had was very helpful in figuring out what tribes and cities are doing, how this is effecting everyone in the long run and how its effecting other species and plants, entire ecosystems. As I dig into this I want it to get the word out and show what is happening to our prized salmon.


-Mary Jane-

Addition to my project

I have adjusted my project just a little bit. Instead of just talking about effectively communicating to the public about environmental issues, I am also going to talk about water contamination problems in our community as well. Since water contamination is a problem and since everyone uses water I think it will be a good addition to my project. As we have seen in other articles, people mostly care about what is directly or in some way affecting them. Also, I want to talk about the effects, hazards, causes, and solutions to help out with our community. Trying to write a 10-15 page paper on effective communication and various ways to communicate, wouldn’t get me the results I am looking for. So now I am challenging myself to go deeper. I think that this is a great issue to bring up because many people are not aware of these issues and after my interview and research there is a lot that should be discussed and I would love to help bring awareness to this issue. If there are any suggestions please let me know since I just added this I really want to cover any questions or suggestions for my presentation and for my paper.
-Tiara

Paper Time!

This week we got more in depth about expectations for our papers. There are three people in my group and we have decided to go our separate ways when writing our final project papers. We were too nervous about combining our writing styles and having the final paper be apparent that it was written by three separate people. We thought that since our final paper would be over 25 pages, a combined paper might end up getting repetitive as well. I personally think that our papers could be done better separately. We have all come to the final decision that this is what we are doing. I have started to do a bit of research on the background of teaching environment in elementary school. I plan on getting the bulk of the research out of the way this week and beginning my paper. I'm also meeting with the communications writing center this week to work an a communications question.

-Atusa Rezaee

Help!

I know this is really terrible, but I haven’t quite yet been able to clearly define what I want my “communication question” for my advocacy project to be. I have this broad idea of what I what it is floating around in my head, but I seem to be unable to put it nicely into just a sentence or two. Plus I’ve never done an advocacy project or formed a “communication question” before, so I’m not entirely sure I’m on the right track. I could really use some feedback!

Broad Ideas for my “communication question”:
-What is the most effective way to get my message across to people? Will my efforts be most fruitful if I focus directly on one group of people who are already inclined to take your advice, given the project’s time constraints? Or is it better to try to get the message across to as many different types of people as possible, especially those who are not quite as likely to be interested in my issue, but might be most greatly affected?

-Mollie

Pamphlet Outline

As I’ve begun really working on my pamphlet, I have discovered a need to outline my main objectives of what I want to include on a structural level. Any feedback would be much appreciated!

Pamphlet Structural Outline:

1. Personal value questions to take the accusatory pressure off/relate my ideas to the lives of the readers- why does it matter to them?

2. Values- Mention why my issue is important for upholding the 3 core values- family, community and legacy.

3. Framing- Who is my audience? How do I frame my writing in such a way that appeals to this group of people?

4. How do I make it easy to read, informative, and succinct at the same time? What is the proper trade off between quality of information and total length?

5. How do I make it visually appealing?

-Mollie

Consumption, Consumption, Consumption

I think Consumption is the most important aspect of climate change that we can focus on right now. Most people it seems do not really see the connection between their consumption and climate change. This is part of the problem. It is my belief that the rapid consumption of resources drives climate change. What is happening is that people consume more than they need. What my project plans to be about is the everyday signals that drive us to consume. We think of our world as being socially constructed; then what in that construction has led us to global climate change? Some people say that climate change is just a natural variable in the long time line of the earth’s history, but the CO2 levels have never been this high in all of recorded and geological history. Really what my goal of this project is to raise awareness about our consumption. Through this advocacy campaign I plan to show students on campus the power of consumption and what reducing their consumption can do.

-Blaise

Earth Song

Hey Everyone,

We all know MJ is unique and had a passion for the world. Collectively something can be done. I think Earth Song by MJ is great! If you haven't seen/heard it before you should for sure have a looksie



-Danica

Project Outline

I am choosing to do the research paper on aspects of green architecture. I am going to first discuss what green architecture is in general. I feel like many people have heard the term before including myself, but don’t really have the understanding of what it all entails. Green building is more than the structure itself, I want to explain the methods and planning that goes into building. After giving a general basis of the different aspects, I am going to focus more on how green building can preserve energy. I will talk about some of the materials that are being used such as solar panels that help use natural energy. The person I am interviewing specializes in solar paneling, and I plan to ask him the basic details of what makes them energy efficient and want him to break down the mechanics. I also want to look at windows and how they can be used to trap the heat from leaving the house which allows someone to run the heat less or keep it at lower temp so they are not losing as much heat. Then I want to talk about the financial aspect of green building and why it is not necessarily available to everyone and if this is something that will change in the future. Finally, towards the end of the paper, I want to talk about ways of learning about greening building. Essentially, communicate with the reader and relay information of where they can learn more about the subject.

-Danica

next steps

I met with an environmental communication specialist from King County Mary Raybourn on Thursday. The interview I planned would be around 15 minutes but ended up lasting over an hour, which was great because I was able to obtain so much more information. I’m trying to mainly focus on how to get this information out to the community about environmental issues and how to make it more widespread, not just directly to one group of people. My argument is explaining the importance of getting everyone regardless of race, gender, or class involved with environmental issues and solutions to help fix these environmental issues that we are facing. Talking to Mary we discussed the importance and reasons why certain groups have not been notified or lack of education within the environmental standpoint. She also stated that her and other environmental communication specialists from other companies are putting their heads together to try and help everyone receive the same information on how to help our environment. Next on my list is to research possible solutions for getting this information spread out to everyone, find out the most effective ways to communicate this information, and information put in a less dense way so that all people can understand.
-Tiara

Outline

So far I have not had much success with my interview-ees. One replied they didn't know who I could contact for information. Two haven't responded and another one said that they would get back to me. I may need to ask for an extension. Or I may just go down to Pike Place or something and ask the people down there how they think salmon impact the culture of puget sound and what's important to take care of them. I am in the process of contacting a fishery, but they haven't responded either. This interview is proving to be challenging and I don't know why. I think I have tried contacting 4 or 5 people now. It's beginning to be a little frustrating. In other news of my project, I have done some research and found a few good websites that have given me information on how climate change affects salmon. And after the feedback from my group I got a little better direction of what aspects of the project I should answer. So now I need to look at how I can mention how salmon affect the market, rivers, other animals, how it's a keystone specie and what that means. I think the broader significance of my project is to teach people about salmon and how climate change is affecting its environment. And when salmon are threatened it affects many many people, consumers, buyer, cultures, etc. these issues are what I want to address. Next is just figuring out how I want to address these, who I'm specifically trying to talk to, and what media outlets I'm going to use.

-Mary Jane-

Preparing for the Communication Challenge!

At this point I am still working on narrowing my project research down. I wanted to stop by the communications writing center and ask for some help with this. Right now I am thinking that I was to test young children's knowledge on climate change. I think that it is really important that kids are taught about conserving the environment at a young age. This could be crucial to future generation’s awareness of conservation of the environment. I want to test how much knowledge they are able to comprehend when it comes to the greenhouse effect and global warming. I think that this project could be really interesting in the results that it yields. I am very excited to get going on the lesson plan and to be able to interact with the children. I have no experience when it comes to communicating with young children so this will definitely be a big challenge. I received a lot of great feedback from my interviews and am excited to put some of the tips to use. This class is all about communication of environmental issues and this project will be very important since it is a whole new type of audience that I am trying to communicate with. This will definitely test my communication abilities but I am ready for the challenge!

-Atusa

A more complete project outline

For my project, I plan to make an informative pamphlet discussing the importance of eating local and organic foods, and the dangers posed by the consumption and production of industrial scale food products to both environmental and human health. The pamphlet will also discuss reasons why organic and locally produced foods are so expensive, making them only available to wealthier consumers. Most importantly, the pamphlet will highlight the importance of individual involvement in political actions to change the governmental regulations and societal frameworks, which keep organic and local foods from being consumed by all income levels. I plan to frame the language in such a way to make the pamphlets information and overall message accessible to the largest amount of people possible. I then hope to distribute the pamphlet at supermarkets, farmer’s markets, and other food stores.
I’m also considering doing some sort of guerilla campaign around the city, using wheat paste to put up posters with similar messages as the pamphlet around the city. I’m not yet sure if I want to actually do this due to time constraints. I plan to decide whether or not I want to pursue this idea in the very near future.

-Mollie

next steps in project plan

One of my steps is doing my interview this week. I already got an ok from the lady I’m interviewing I am just waiting for her to set up an exact date and time. I already prepared my questions to ask the lady and am adding things as I think of them. My next step is to start writing my interview essay and making connections with the interview with my project. After going to the Bill Mc Kibben talk I was able to narrow down what I wanted to do for my project. I want to focus on how to educate people on these environmental issues and how to communicate this to the public. Some major questions that I would like to do research to find answers to are: What are the most effective ways of communicating these issues to the public? Who is educated on these issues and who do not know about it? Through the Mc Kibben talk he stated that people all over the world including the most poverty stricken areas know about the “350” movement, which is the maximum amount of CO2 parts per million in our atmosphere that would not be detrimental to our environment. I was surprised that so many people around the world know about this movement, but yet I’m guessing that the majority of people in the U.S. do not know about this movement, including myself prior to his talk.
-Tiara

NOAA and Politics?

So apparently NOAA is now entered the political realm. NOAA has released a document called "Scenarios for 2035" in which they outline some possible reactions from the political sphere on climate change.

Here is the article about the document

http://www.slate.com/id/2251547

Here is the document itself

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:-4nzpQieii0J:www.ppi.noaa.gov/PPI_Capabilities/Documents/Scenarios-5-28-09.pdf+noaa+scenarios+2035&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiJuO00OiwnWHpWtS2lOKijDNY10fp7VNfrQE3gH9KkXWAzRy4rIVsskl9PSvs_e7ad6LMfVa5_uNXTvTwKjd46yw8oMdlPDR2gIEIGB4wjxyGzY3fTu_zgnUNPQCeRgwMwD1c0&sig=AHIEtbSBg-SdUvHV3GmPpTquuaZKJulQ0Q

-Blaise

Tik Tok on the clock...

As the weekend draws to a close and a new week is starting I have put together a list of things that need to be done as steps to completing the final project.

First, now that I have developed a topic, I plan to start finding information to the questions I want to answer. What is green building? Where did it start? How is the word of it getting around (Communication)? What are the benefits? I hope that as I am researching other important questions to answer will pop up.

Second, rather than relying of just online data sources, I plan to go the library Thursday afternoon to check out a minimum three books on green building. There is always a plethora of online sources but there is always really good information that can be found in books as well.

Finally, as I begin to gather information, I plan to write a rough sketch outline of the paper. I want to have a rough idea of where questions will be answered, in what order, and how long the explanations will go. This will allow me to see gaps and where more information or sources need to be drawn in support. I would like to have this rough sketch at the latest by Sunday.

Tres Pasos

1. My first two choices for interview fell through/have no returned phone calls nor emails, so trying to find a third person to do an interview. Which I'm looking at interviewing someone who works for the Tulalip Tribes in Natural Resources. I found a figure on their website about how climate change is affecting local tribes and mentions the salmon runs and how the local rivers are being restored. I want to go somewhere around that route.

2. Develop my questions and refine my exact project as far publicly, academically, and commmuncation-y.

3. Do some research on the icon of salmon in the Pacific Northwest and how salmon runs are affected by climate change and what is being done to help salmon. In which I will refine more on how I can incorporate the communication perspective.


-Mary Jane-

The Next Step

Step 1

Going to line up my interview with Mr Meyering whom I met with on Earthday.

Step 2

Do some research on consumption, try to get some numbers and facts to go with my advocacy campaign.

Step 3

Contact Mr Meyering with my proposal and see if he accepts.

-Blaise

3 Concrete Steps

In the next week I plan to-

1) Schedule a time to meet with Lynne Jordan, the Development and Outreach Associate for the PCC Farmland Trust. She has already agreed to meet with me, now I just need to schedule a time and place that fit into her schedule.

2) Write a list of questions for my interview with Ms. Jordan that are relevant to my project topic (increasing awareness of the importance of eating local organic foods) and her job. I also need to read up on some interview skills and practice my interview, as I am notoriously bad at conducting an intelligible conversation under stress.

3) Construct a short “quiz/poll” asking elementary age students to identify a number of different plant foods (raw, unprocessed fruits and vegetables) and processed foods (like cheetoes or gogurt). The object of the poll will be to see if children are overall more capable of identifying whole or processed foods. I will then ask my mom, who is a third grade teacher, if she will be willing to let her students take the poll.

-Mollie

John Stewart says news is coming to him

Check this out



watch right around the 3:30

I think this kind of co insides with what we were talking about news and such. I wonder what he really means with he said the news box is coming towards him.

-Blaise

Project Goals

My 3 goals of this week are as follows:
1)Meet with Kara and Cindy on Thursday at 12:00 for a meeting. We want to start mapping out a rough sketch of our lesson plan. Also, I know we all have some great ideas about a project to do with the kids at the end so we will definitely need to make a decision on that. Once we make a decision, we can purchase supplies and set up the activity.
2)I receive an email from my interview subject and unfortunately they will not be available for an interview. I got some great feedback from Colin and am hoping to find an elementary school teacher who focuses on teaching the sciences. My main goal of the week is to set this interview up and conduct the interview next week.
3)I know that Cindy has been in contact with an old teacher of hers who has volunteered to let us teach in her classroom. I am hoping to set up a concrete date for our lesson plan. This is important since May will be very hectic with the end of school coming up.
4)HOPEFULLY get a head start on the project outline draft (in a perfect world)

-Atusa Rezaee

Hiskes Articles

The three Hiskes articles all discuss Obama’s decision to loosen restrictions on offshore drilling on the east coast. In the second article, the broad discourse seems to be centered on why Obama is choosing to loosen these restrictions. The major “signs” or interpretations of the discourse seem to be that either Obama is loosening the restrictions to encourage republican support of clean energy legislation, or that Obama is siding with the conservative resistance to clean energy. As the Corfee-Morlot article discussed, such interpretations are usually absorbed by the general public (and thus represented within people’s own minds) as “tidbits” or “sound bytes”. I suppose this article’s versions of such sound bytes could be “compromise” and “drill, baby, drill,” with the former representing the interpretation that Obama is attempting to compromise for support of clean energy legislation, and the latter representing the interpretation that Obama is siding with conservative clean energy resistance.

-Mollie

Project Plan

For my original project proposal, I was planning on designing an ecological education lesson plan for elementary-age children. I have decided to go in another direction because I think that my original project plan would have been difficult to complete in the given amount of time. I’m currently enrolled in two classes about farming; one which discusses the politics of the world food system, and another centered on the science and community potential of organic farming in urban areas. These classes have already opened my eyes to how little people know about where the food they eat comes from as well as the ecological, social and personal health costs associated with American eating habits. I hope to design a project that will raise awareness about the importance of “knowing your food.” I’m considering going to a few local farmer’s markets and asking people to take a quick survey about why they choose to buy food at farmer’s markets rather than grocery stores. I would like to do something similar at some grocery stores, but I’m not exactly sure any stores would let me do that, so I’ll be looking into it. I’m hoping to get an interview with a local farmer, however I don’t yet have anyone in mind. After I collect my survey results, I could make pamphlets to distribute outside grocery stores and farmers markets. I was also thinking of possibly taking a “guerilla” approach by wheat pasting signs and posters encouraging people to “know their food.”

-Mollie

Final Project Plan

I am planning to do an advocacy project on everyday consumption signals. Basically I will be looking at everyday singals that urge us to consume. Why they do this and how the signals are effecting people and the world. The comunication aspect is the signals that we recieve that make us comsume. I will be looking at ads, labels, enviroments were these signals are consumed. In an effort to reduce consumption I will try and get HFS to stop buying large fountain drink cups. I plan to do this using my internship and washprig to help sway HFS into adopting this policy.

-Blaise

Hiskes articles

I think the author makes a good point. At first when I read the title of the articles I assumed a kind of bias towards the article without reading it. but after reading all of them I came away with a more balanced view of what he was talking about. Given the title of the pieces it seems like the article was going to be focused on mudslinging but it actually wasn’t. Hiskes gave a pretty fair overview of what was going on and what was the plan. I really liked that he clarified that just because these new places are open to drill and explore for oil and gas, does not mean that the oil and gas companies will actually drill there long term.

-Blaise

project plan

I went to my event which was a book talk about global warming and our food that we eat. I’m also going to attend the McKibben talk on Tuesday night to see if I can go another route for my project plan. I set up an interview with a King County Hazardous Waste specialist. She deals a lot with water contamination, chemical exposure, etc. I want to ask her questions about how water contamination affects our health and why it is important to spread the word. I also want to find out more on the chemical exposure and who are exposed to this and where and the effects of this on the environment. I hope that the talk on Tuesday will help me tie these things together because I don’t think I can use my first event and tie it in with my interview.
-Tiara

Hiskes articles

In the Jonathan Hiskes articles I found them to be more clear and easier to understand than the Morlot article. First he basically overviewed Obama’s plan to open the Southeast and Alaskan coasts to offshore drilling, at the end of his article he then has certain sections such as “on gas prices and your money” that help clarify some questions that the audience might have. He asks questions to leave the audience thinking. His articles seemed pretty neutral which was nice because it gave the reader room to have their own opinions, yet still challenging themselves with the questions that Hiskes asks.
-Tiara

Pretty Much Final Project Idea :-)

With the world’s growing population, there is a need for more houses, buildings and infrastructure in general to support the population. This requires building materials sometimes taken from what little resources we have left or building materials that are not very environment friendly. For my project, I want to look closer into the new term called “Green Building.” For starters, I want to find out how the term is being communicated. Somehow, I have heard about it before, yet I have no idea how or what the concept even means. This means it is reaching outsiders which could potentially be a good thing. Within green building, I want to focus on energy efficiency. How do you design a building to make it the most energy efficient? I plan to learn more about solar panels, windows and other materials the help the flow of energy to disperse and be preserved. I am also interested to learn about whom these types of “Green Buildings” are available to in the social sphere and if it is something that will change in the future.

-Danica

Hiskies and his Writings

Jonathan Hiskies seems like a broad audience type of writer. In his articles, he is pulling a variety of information from others to draw on his points. He poses a lot of questions, often allowing the reader to engage in his thoughts with him. It allows the reader to begin to form their own opinions as they are reading as well. When communicating through writing, it is important for the writer to get his thoughts across, but he should also not be selfish in thinking the writing is all about him. Hiskies did a good job on thinking about the audience while writing his pieces. His stand on Obama’s decision on off shore drilling seems hard to pick out at times. He doesn’t seem to be an extremist either way which also allows the reader to engage with the writing and listen to his thoughts rather than being frustrated with his tone. Overall, he is communicating well. His writing is understandable and not overwhelming.

-Danica

Progression of the Project

For my project, I hope to do some sort of paper or presentation about the influence of salmon in this region and how it is a cultural icon. This icon effects the cities economically, socially, and environmentally. I want to look at how salmon runs are hurting due to climate change, intrusion from humans, and what is being done to help restore salmon runs and how it can remain an icon if salmon are disappearing. This also effects local Native American tribes, cities, and communities with depleting runs and rivers. I hope to investigate this and see how media can help salmon and give it it's help it needs.


-Mary Jane-

Functions of Hiskie

The articles by Hiskie use codes and functions of every day talk and language. It is educational yet relaxed and easy to read. The information about offshore drilling is informational yet opinionated in a respectable manner. He uses facts alongside his thoughts and concerns "I’m holding out hope that things appear worse than they are. Because the key isn’t how much offshore drilling is allowed. The crucial issue is whether oil and gas companies decide it’s worth their money to go out, find, and retrieve the stuff." This little section demonstrates his easy writing flow to whatever audience and provides some excellent information and facts that helps back his first person perspective. His coding and discouse are enlaced with facts, news, and perspective.

-Mary Jane-

Final Project: Making Progress!

Project Planning is well on its way and at some point in the next week Kara, Cyndy and I will meet to discuss our classroom lesson plan. We have already agreed to do some sort of project with the kids after we first test their knowledge about global warming. We want to inform them of their carbon footstep but in a clever and fun manner which I think will appeal most to younger students. We have all also decided to interview teachers in order to get a better idea of how to most effectively teach younger students.

-Atusa

Hiskie and Use of Language

After reading a few of Hiskies Articles, I noticed a common language pattern among them. In Halls reading he focuses greatly on the use of language and how it is a linguistic representation of the image that we are trying to portray. I noticed his use of single words with a period after them making up a complete sentence. Examples of this are “This is … stunning. Baffling.” and “What?” To me, this form of language represented a sign that he is appealing to a much broader audience and getting his point across as clearly as possible. As part of the language that he uses I noticed he incorporates many clever statements. His writing was very light and clearly understood. I would love to ask Hiskie about who his intended target audience is when writing his articles and how he thinks his writing style affects them. The discourse that he focuses on in his articles are that of Obama and big oil. He also frames the need for jobs, energy and gas prices, which Americans are highly focused on at this point in time. In my opinion his use of language to discuss offshore drilling provides a very successful and useful contribution to the public sphere.

-Atusa

Project Idea

People currently are suffering from generational amnesia. The nature that we see such as Discovery Park or Yellowstone National Park is what our generation sees as nature. However, what was it really like a century ago before most of us even existed? New standards of nature have been made and people’s visions about what nature or the wild should really be like are morphing. For a project I want to find a way to explain to people what they now are missing out on and what future generations will be missing out on in their time. I was thinking about doing this by somehow having important facts of “what was once here” in a popular park setting. The facts would somehow have to be eye catching and something that people will want to stop to read, engage in and begin to learn what our generation needs to do in order to slow the ever increasing loss of our healthy environment.

-Danica

Global Warming and the Public Sphere

Global climate change and/or global warming is a problem. Svante Arrhenius along with a few other scientists discovered the “greenhouse effect.” This concept of earth’s self warming is important to understand. Because of an increase in CO2 and other gases, more outgoing infrared rays(warming radiation) are blocked thus leading to more infrared radiation being sent back down to earth’s surface. However, this concept becomes complicated because there are so many other factors that could be leading to climate change such as sun spots or orbital patterns. The good thing is that as time as passed this concept has become more socially accepted as a problem. The media has helped spread information about what it is and why it is happening. Communication is important to risk perception. There is a large number of people who are still are unsure about global climate change due to conflicting information. An agreement needs to be made explaining that a large causation factor is due to anthropocentric activities such as CO2 emissions. The public realm needs to clearly understand the problem before there will be efforts made to do something about it.

-Danica

Project Idea

The more educated I become, the more I begin to realize how incredibly important quality education is to a healthily functioning society. Ecological literacy, or the understanding of the human connection to, as well as place within, the natural world, is a quality that I feel is largely missing from our society today. For my project, I’m considering designing an ecological literacy lesson plan that could be taught to elementary-age children. I know that organizations like the Dream Project already have teaching programs with similar aims, so maybe I could interview someone from that organization. I might also attend Islandwood’s “Enviropalooza,” which is a program aimed towards both children and adults in celebration of National Environmental Education Week. It might prove to be a beneficial experience towards my final project, as it directly pertains to environmental education.

Enviropalooza website: http://islandwood.org/events/calendar/enviropaloozaschedule

-Mollie

GWPS Response

I really liked the Global Warming in the Public Sphere article. I felt it gave a very informative summary of environmental communications in the last century or so. I decided to focus on the "discussion" section, which basically (well, in part) summarized the rest of the article, because I had a hard time choosing any specific part of the article to talk about. This way, I didn't have to! Anyway, I thought the analysis on the complex relations between science and the public sphere were very solid. Studying and understanding this relationship is absolutely essential to any success in ameliorating climate change, as it is social issue that can really only be understood through science. As the article states, communication between scientists and the general public is almost always an immensely confusing affair. The article's description of the public perception of a scientific debate about global warming nicely exemplifies how skewed media interpretation of anything science-related can become. Although I thought the article was really helpful, I can't say that I was entirely sure what the author's were trying to argue. The thesis, I gander, was as follows: “The insights provided by this article suggest that social research on global environmental change can move beyond descriptive and explanatory objectives to take a more practical and proactive role.” I agree with this statement, I think that studying how environmental communication functions in society is essential to preventing the immense difficulties that will undoubtedly result from a changing climate. I'm just not sure how, exactly, the author's are suggesting for social research to "move beyond descriptive and explanatory objectives to take a more practical and proactive role," when most of what I got out of the article was descriptive and explanatory information, rather than proactive recommendations.

-Mollie

possible project idea

I am very interested in climate change so I want to attend this book signing and talk by Anna Lappe who is the author of the book “Diet for a Hot Planet.” There is a book talk and discussion at 2:00pm on Saturday April 17, 2010 that I will be attending if it gets approved for this class. Basically the book connects the way we eat to global warming. I have not read the book, but I think that I will understand what is going on since I’m pretty sure she will be discussing the major things during the talk. This event is at the Elliot Bay Book Company on Capitol Hill. Here is the link to the flyer just in case anyone else is interested.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/28750309/Elliot-Bay-Flyer
-Tiara

climate change

-One article that I found was on MSNBC News. Basically the temperatures in the Arctic are increasing which is linked to the deaths of various species of birds. What happens is that due to the climate warming the snow and ice starts to melt which then causes avalanches. Many birds in the Arctic rely on the cliffs to nest. When these avalanches occur not only do the nests get destroyed, but opportunities for reproduction become scarce and many birds stay on the cliffs and end up dying due to the avalanches occurring at the places they were nesting. The birds that are affected, but do not die from the avalanches are often suffering a wing injury. Another cause for these birds deaths are mosquitoes. As the weather becomes warmer, it becomes easier for mosquitoes to multiply. The mosquitoes often attack the birds’ feet which eventually leads to death. I think that this is an important article because it shows how the climate changes affects animals and the dangers of the continuous warming climate. With increasing temperatures, many animals suffer. In this case, many different species of birds are dying which in the future could cause them to go extinct. It is important to recognize how our changing climate affects our world.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36202287/ns/technology_and_science-science/
-Tiara

Where'd all the Glaciers Go?

I found this article in the Everett Herald on two glaciers that have almost completely melted in Glacier National Park in Montana. They have shrunk more then 55% since the 1960's and will continue as long as the planet keeps warming. This results in less water in streams and rivers, which has proven harmful to salmon runs and water levels. This is a list of the glaciers affected "...more than 90 percent of glaciers worldwide are in retreat, with major losses already seen across much of Alaska, the Alps, the Andes and numerous other ranges, according to researchers in the United States and Europe" (Herald). Glacier's are extremely important to the surrounding biomes and for the biodiversity of streams, rivers, lakes that are around glacier's. It's amazing how much we depend on glaciers and water runs.


The story can be found at:
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100408/NEWS02/704089929


-Mary Jane-

The Dream Project

Along the lines of what Atusa was saying, maybe we could partner up with the UW dream project. They do outreach to some local high schools. Maybe it would be possible to add and climate change aspect to the outreach. "The program's dual-focus approach strives not only to help these high school students, but also to teach UW students about important social issues through a unique, hands-on experience". How about teaching the UW students about social justice and Environmental justice? I know the professor who is teaching it. It could be a possible interview/final project.

This is the Dream Project website

http://depts.washington.edu/uwdrmprj/

The professors name is Stan E Chericoff

Blaise

Environmentalism

I always thought that the most important thing Environmentalism could do as a social movement was expose how capitalism and our current economic thinking wreaks havoc on our environment. Given finite resources, it is impossible to have an indefinite one to two percent growth of GDP. It is an unhappy thought to think, but one day we will have to bite the bullet. I think Environmentalism is meant to show us that we need to switch our thinking of what is progress and what is really decline. I also think that it is strange that activists and scientists get distracted by other problems with the climate. For example things like acid rain and CFC's. These things could have been really damaging but we intervened and created legislation to mitigate them; but we some how are not able to produce the same results with climate change.

-Blaise

Final Project Idea

I talked with two members of the class from the other groups and we were thinking of collaborating to make a lesson plan for elementary level children. We want to inform then/quiz them on their knowledge of the environment, global warming, etc. Also, we would do a little project with them that they could display in their class or take home. I think it is really important to educate children about their carbon footprint as soon as possible so that they can grow up with the knowledge of how to be environmentally friendly citizens.

I found this site which I think could be very helpful resource in creating our lesson plan: http://climate.nasa.gov/kids/index.cfm

-Atusa Rezaee

World War II = Helpful?

While reading section 3 of “Global Warming in the Public Sphere” by Corfee-Morlot, et al., I was taken aback by a certain discovery. I consider myself to be well informed on a number of environmental issues but was completely surprised by how large of a role World War II played in the unveiling of the radiative properties of CO2 in the atmosphere. I had never heard of World War II’s technologies and wartime advances having such an impact on the original research of greenhouse gases. I found it ironic at how destructive wartime interests such as the use of weather modification as a strategic weapon for geopolitical warfare could possibly have a positive outcome in helping to advance the unveiling of the harmful effects of CO2 on our atmosphere. The technology that was meant to cause harm and wreckage actually opened up scientist’s eyes to a huge issue that we have come to know as global warming.

-Atusa Rezaee

Rio Rains

Think we have it bad in Seattle? Rio just recorded their worst rainy day ever! It rained about 11 inches in 24 hours. 89 people died in flash floods. This is another by product of global warming. The wets get wetter and the dry gets dryer.

Here is the whole article
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/32888/

-Blaise

Target Learns To Recycle

This just in! Target has now installed recycling bins for your old ink cartriages, phones, and mp3 players. not only that but they also have a place to recycle your plastic bags! They are using a company called reconnect for recycling electronic goods. Reconnect is a partnership between Goodwill and Dell. The only thing I would like to see on the reconnect website is where and or what they do with those computers and there exact process of recycling.

Here is the reconnect website.

http://reconnectpartnership.com

This is the Target article.

http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/04/06/target-goes-zero-60-in-store-electronics-recycling

Bio's

I set up a bios page for all of us, click the link and add yourself!

Blaise

Speaker Event at UW!

Entry: 2010 Atmospheric Sciences Spring Lecture - Atmospheric

Aerosols: Unsung warriors in the battle against global warming

When: 4/8/10 7:30 PM - 4/8/10 8:30 PM

Where: Kane Hall, Room 120

Speaker: Dr. John Seinfeld. Microscopic particles, called
aerosols, play a central role in the chemistry and physics of the Earth's
atmosphere. While greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide warm the planet,
aerosols, on the whole, cool the globe. The increase in atmospheric
aerosols since pre-industrial time means the Earth has not warmed as much
as it would have from the increase of greenhouse gases alone.

-Atusa Rezaee

New website

Hey. So I just found a great generalized website on climate change by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It's a great place to start looking at all the various possibilities and ideas for possible topics. One of my personal favorites was looking at the recent climate change. Due to the warm climate change, glaciers are melting which causes an increase in sea levels. Statistics from this website show that sea levels have increased about 4.8-8.8 inches during the last century. This is important because as the climate gets warmer, sea levels increase which decreases area of land.
Here is the website:
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/
-Tiara Fernandes

South Dakota

South Dakota exempted from climate change! You here that people? if you want to beat climate change move to South Dakota. They have recently passed a law that labels climate change as a myth. This to me just seems like a case of politics trying to sweep science under the rug. From my previous education I can refute almost all of the facts mentioned in the bill.

Here is the bill http://www.scientificblogging.com/chatter_box/south_dakota_exempted_laws_science

1)"The earth has been cooling for the last eight years despite small increases in anthropogenic carbon dioxide"

- infact the global average tempeture has risen in the last ten years one to two degrees. Predictions from current climate models guess that the tempeture will rise three more degrees in the coming years if nothing is done.

2)"historical climatological data shows without question the earth has gone through trends where the climate was much warmer than in our present age. The Climatic Optimum and Little Climatic Optimum are two examples. During the Little Climatic Optimum, Erik the Red settled Greenland where they farmed and raised dairy cattle. Today, ninety percent of Greenland is covered by massive ice sheets, in many places more than two miles thick

- That is correct. There is also an other age in which we had the same amount of carbon in our atmosphere it was called the eocene and happend 56 to 34 million years ago. Also the point about Erik the Red is mute because guess what people still live in greenland on the southern most tip, check out these pictures !

http://www.greenlandphotos.net/narsarsuaq/Welcome.html

3)"carbon dioxide is not a pollutant but rather a highly beneficial ingredient for all plant life on earth. Many scientists refer to carbon dioxide as "the gas of life""

- This is another half truth. Yes here on earth we are carbon lifeforms. Yes plants need carbon to grow. they take in carbon dioxide, strip the carbon off and then exhale the dioxide. The problem is that we are emitting so much carbon dioxide that the plants and the ocean can't keep up with our emissions. so the carbon dioxide sticks around in the air and traps heat in the atmosphere thus giving us a green house effect or global warming.

South Dakota does not seem to be convinced of the presence of climate change, so what do they do? Hide it from the kids that should be learning about it so they in turn do something to save our earth.

-Blaise

The Link Compost!!

Hey guys I added a Link compost to the blog. If you have a link in your blog post be kind and "Compost" it to the link compost.

Thanks Blaise

Green Team

Here is a funny video with Will Ferrel on going green

Green Team from Will Ferrell

-Mary Jane-

Stuff!

Hey guys here is a cute little video about the story of stuff. check it out

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

-Blaise