The Rising Chatter Around the Rising Global Temperature

By Kylie Campanelli 

There are many ways people speak about the environment, some verbal and others not. Some talk about it like it is their greatest love; something they hold extreme value to and would do anything to protect, while others talk about it like it is only a concept discussed in a political debate. There are those who refer to the environment as something that has no value besides what it can give to the people, and see it as ours for the taking and using, while others speak of the environment as if it is a person, with feelings and human characteristics and rights. Other times it is seen as a faraway land that is ‘out there’, far from human worry or impact. There are companies that are willing to pay millions of dollars to tear down forests and build office buildings in their place, while others would pay millions to preserve the same forests and the species that reside within them. There are advertisements on TV, on the radio, in newspapers, and countless other places constantly communicating to the public the idea of what the environment is, and its value, in different lights.

Communication matters. No matter what light the environment is discussed in, it is fair to say it influences how other people think about it and regard it. When someone who is less educated about what is really happening in the forests of Alaska hears someone exclaim that the deforestation occurring there is devastating, they too might begin to form the opinion that it is indeed, devastating. However, if the same person instead heard someone raving about how the deforestation is a great thing with many benefits, their perception might mimic this instead. The same concept goes for someone who might happened to see an advertisement promoting fracking, or burning fossil fuels, or any other prevalent environmental degradation, versus one that opposed it, and this could have serious consequences. These consequences are especially prevalent and cause for worry when it comes to one frequently analyzed and discussed issue; global warming.

They planet’s temperature is rising each year. There are countless amounts of scientific evidence to support the idea that the global climate is changing, and that human action is indeed the cause. We are burning copious amounts of fossil fuels on a regular basis, which results in the emissions of dangerous and warming gases, like Co2. Our increasing use and burning of fossil fuels, as well as our rapid conversion of woodlands to spaces used for urban development, in the last several decades, has directly correlated with the increasing amount of green house gases in the air. These gases trap heat from leaving our atmosphere and insulate the planet, causing it to warm. The global temperature has risen 3.5 ° C in some parts of the world in the last century and is expected to rise 0.2 ° C every decade for the next several. This temperature change has caused sea level risings and changes to weather patterns. As global ice sheets react to the increased temperature and melt, coastal cities sea levels rise and thus flood over them. For cities far from the coast, there is a concern for drought and desertification, as higher temperatures lead to less regular precipitation. These are all observable physical changes that are beginning to, if not already have, effect people’s daily lives. 

Yet, there is still much doubt surrounding the existence of global warming. It is hard to believe that people would not see these effects and want to immediately take action, though, there is still a large population of people who believe global warming is not a real issue, or if they do believe it is occurring, they do not believe it is human caused. One may wonder why this is. Or one may even wonder how people develop opinions on global warming anyway, whether they believe in it or not. Numerous different types of print and video have entertained the idea of global warming in recent times and each of them delivered their messages and opinions of global warming, and peoples relationship to the environment in general, in many different ways. 

To first look at books concerning our relationship with the planet, we can look at Communicating Nature by Julia B. Corbett and The End of Nature by Bill McKibben. Each author delivers a similar message about the way we regard nature and the environment but each use different tactics. In the first chapter of Communicating Nature, Corbett discuses the way people think of the environment and the concept of “nature”. They often see it as something “out there”, meaning they disassociate the environment and ideas of what “nature” is from the vegetation they see around them in urban settings on a daily basis. This allows them to preserve the surreal idea that nature is only lush tropical rainforests and thick woodlands filled with animals and an infinite amount of plants, and that these places are located in a far off land that is not affected by the litter they leave on their sidewalk or the pollution that comes from their car. This thinking also relieves them of responsibility of causing adverse effects to the environment, which is one of the greatest arguments in the cause of global warming; humans footprint in the whole thing. Though she does not discuss global warming in detail, one can still see how these ideas and the topic can correlate. Corbett does a fantastic job describing the different portrayals and theoretical ways people relate to nature, and sheds light on a perspective that can further explain why one may not concern them with global warming.

McKibben does something similar to this with his work, but he focuses more so on specific changes that have occurred rather than peoples regard to it. He also describes his feelings on how the woodlands and forests aren’t as unpopulated as people think. He says that each person who abuses the resources of the forest, are now present there even when it is empty and silent. This suggests that people are closer to the outdoors than they think. It, like Corbett’s idea, analyzes people’s involvement in the degradation of nature and the responsibility they take for if, and both clearly communicate their idea, that we all are at fault. 

The films Everything’s Cool, released in 2007 and directed by Daniel Gold, and Earth 2100, released in 2009 and directed by Rudy Bednar, are two other media sources that also center around peoples relationship with the earth, however, they focus more closely on global warming. Both films deliver the same message, that global warming and global climate change are both very real and cause for concern, but they do it in very different ways. Everything’s Cool feels more like a classic documentary, composed of mostly real-life tapings. It includes interviews by numerous scientists, but follows researcher Bill McKibbens throughout the length of the movie. They discuss why Americans should be concerned about global warming and the stigma around it in politics. 

Earth 2100 feels somewhat like a documentary, but much less so then Everything’s Cool. It ultimately feels more like a regular movie. Earth 2100 aired on television, while Everything’s Cool premiered at a Sundance film festival, so it was meant for a different audience. Earth 2100 incorporates interviews from experts in the field, but the majority of the movie is displayed in animated cartoons, almost like those of a comic book. It is also very impacting. It tells a fiction, yet highly possible, story of a regular American that faces many hardships as the global climate changes in the future. It delivers a very important message, but it is almost hard to watch at some times. Earth 2100 actually depicts and acts out a “worst case scenario” situation, while those in Everything’s Cool really only discuss it. The two films, as stated before, definitely appeal to different audiences, but I believe they both are ultimately very successful at delivering their message. 

Finally, to acknowledge an opposing view, we can look at an article found on townhall.com titled “5 Scientific Reasons That Global Warming Isn’t Happening.” In the article John Hawkins, the author, presents five different ideas on why global warming is not happening and why those who are following the trend of the idea, are in the wrong. Though I disagree with the information he presents, it is unavoidable to admit that he is not completely unsuccessful with his delivery of his message. He produces interesting and believable facts to support each claim that could easily appeal to someone lacking in a background of substantial environmental knowledge. I think this post and his writing serve as a prime example that we must be careful when it comes to believing all of the information given to us, especially on public media sites.

Ultimately, we can see that there are numerous different opinions on people’s relationship to the environment, global warming, and human’s part in global warming, available. The majority supports the idea that we are causing the change and that we should act quickly to retard it, however, there are contradicting ideas out there. In conclusion, I believe analyzing the different pieces of literature and ideas of discussion, leaves one to realize that the way topics of nature are communicated are extremely important, and that there are numerous ways one can go about this and be successful. However, if we are looking to save our environment and the world we live in, we may want to start choosing to receive certain messages more prominently than others.