Climate, Children, and The Motivation To Do It All
Climate change is a science of the long term. The problem with this is that our minds are programed for the short term. Matthew Nye, unrelated to the illustrious Bill Nye, my environmental communication professor once mentioned that human risk assessment favors middle sized objects. In a wave of realization, I understood why it was hard to grasp the dangers of climate change: “Climate change is not a bear chasing you!”
Climate Central successfully combatted this short term, middle sized bias in a short 35-second video clip. The clip is essentially a pulsating circle of bar graphs. The bar graphs are temperature anomalies of over a hundred countries around the world from the year 1900 to 2016. The video begins by pulsating between light blue and yellow indicating a stable climate. As the clip progresses, red is introduced, indicating a warming climate. The use of color in this clip drives home the point of our dangerous climate trajectory. Antti Lipponen, the creator of the graph, said, “There are no single countries that clearly stand out from the graph. The warming really is global, not local.”
As discussed in the more recent readings from The Best American Science and Nature Writing of 2017, climate change is having a huge impact on global sea ice and glaciers. An Article from E&E News, titled Can We Refreeze the Arctic? Scientists are beginning to ask, discusses some ways that scientists are trying to combat these climate effects. One of the stranger suggestions being tested was covering glaciers with blankets, reflecting the sun to slow melting. The methods mentioned by the article fall under the term geoengineering. Geoengineering (as I understand it) is the physical manipulation of environmental conditions. The article went into great detail about possible ways to fight climate change using geoengineering. These included the aforementioned blankets, artificial snow, pumping sea water onto sea ice to thicken it, and sucking carbon out of the air. While the article was fairly simply formatted, with one picture and small text, it produced a compelling narrative. It leaves you with a sense that perhaps there is an unconventional answer to the problems that climate change poses.
With the potential rise in sea level from melting glaciers, a buffer from storm swells is needed for coastal cities. The Nature Conservancy proposed a solution in a recent article titled It’s Not Too Late to Save Coral Reefs. The article states that a healthy reef can reduce wave force by 97%. This could be a valuable asset as climate change introduces more powerful storms. The article explains that reefs have shown remarkable resilience under close management. It goes on to say that healthy reefs can increase profits for fishing and tourism. The article employs several images of healthy thriving reefs as a visual aid. The colorful fish and high biodiversity can draw in readers and stakeholders to not give up in the fight for coral.
These methods for fighting climate change, increasing biodiversity, and informing the public are important. However, without the support of future generations, the efforts will fall flat. Luckily, San Francisco has had a break through on that front. A recent $20 million gift has allowed every child in San Francisco elementary schools to receive free visits to the California academy of science. The article in the San Francisco Chronicle explains that with this gift trips to the academy will be covered for students in kindergarten to 5th grade. In addition to field trips the academy will offer unlimited free visits to the students and free family nights as well. The article features numerous quotes from educators saying things like watching the kids explore is like watching them see magic. The director of science for the San Francisco school district, Jim Ryan, says that “Through these types of partnerships and generosity we will raise a generation of science-literate and civically engaged San Franciscans.” The article states that kids are natural scientists, and there is no greater reward than watching the young minds blossom.
While young minds blossom through the exploration of science, some of us find it hard to motivate ourselves to explore anything. In an article on Medium by Elle Kaplan, the science of motivation is discussed. A trend in Kaplan’s articles is that the titles tend to make some wild claim followed by “backed by science” or something similar. The title of this article is The Secret To Your Self-Motivation Lies In This Surprising Science-Backed Habit. The article discusses the science backed way that you can be self-motivated. The key is positive thinking, celebrating small victories and rewarding yourself. The article is backed by the science of the journal Psychology Today and Harvard professor Ron Siegel. It says that procrastination comes from an age-old instinct to avoid failure when failure meant endangering yourself. In our modern age using methods such as visualizing the feeling of success could lead to more motivated people and a more productive society.
By motivating ourselves to get up and get out into the world, we can begin to educate ourselves. Through this education we can give our knowledge to others, passing the torch of activism. Inviting younger generations into the discourse and giving them the motivation to do something about it could be the difference between a blanket over a glacier and the bear of climate change catching up to us.
