Week 8: Thinking About Arguments—Facts Are Not Feelings

Week 8: Thinking About Argument Facts are not feelings--

Using the topic of your final assignment, share what your feelings were on the topic before you started writing and doing your research. (this sharing should be 1-2 paragraphs--and do your best here to write it on our MEAL plan--likely you'll have an example instead of cited evidence here) Then, in your final paragraph or two, talk about how those feelings guided your research--AND: note how or if the research has changed or is changing your feelings on the topic. As always, your initial reply of words Remember: for these postings, we want to stay on our paragraph plan: main idea example or cited evidence analysis-- Stay objective--avoid first person.

Paper For Above instruction

Before I began researching my final assignment topic, I found myself feeling skeptical about the proposed solutions to climate change. My initial impression was that technological advancements alone could significantly mitigate global warming effects without requiring substantial lifestyle changes from individuals. This feeling was rooted in my past experiences and observations of technological progress and innovation, which often seem promising but are sometimes overestimated in their immediate impact. I believed that policy reforms and technological innovations would be sufficient, which shaped my initial approach to gathering information.

As I delved deeper into the research, my feelings began to shift. I discovered extensive evidence highlighting the importance of individual behavioral changes alongside technological and policy solutions. Studies and reports emphasized that technological advances, while vital, are insufficient without public buy-in and lifestyle modifications. This realization prompted a reevaluation of my initial perspective; I recognized that my skepticism was influenced by optimism bias and a limited understanding of the complexity of climate change mitigation. The research encouraged me to consider more nuanced arguments that integrated both technological solutions and behavioral changes, thus broadening my understanding of effective strategies to address climate change.

References

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2021). Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. IPCC.
• Oreskes, N., & Conway, E. M. (2010). Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming. Bloomsbury Publishing.
• Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., & Roser-Renouf, C. (2018). Climate Change in the American Mind: September 2018. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.
• Hoffman, A. J. (2012). The Next Phase of Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility. California Management Review, 55(3), 19-44.
• Sheppard, E. (2012). Geographies of the global environment. Routledge.
• McKibben, B. (2019). Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? Henry Holt and Company.
• Boykoff, M. T. (2011). The atmospheric commons: the politics of climate change. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 36, 477-509.
• O’Neill, S., & Nicholson-Cole, S. (2009). "Fear Doesn't Motivate Climate Change Action" - but it Does Make People Wary of Green Campaigns. Global Environmental Change, 19(2), 131-139.
• Shanahan, J., & McComas, K. (2017). The importance of emotions in climate change communication. Nature Climate Change, 7, 2-4.
• Dietz, T., & Stern, P. C. (2008). Public perceptions of climate change: A synthesis of research. Environmental Science & Policy, 11(1), 36-45.