Sunday, April 3, 2016

Even in a Warming World, It Will Still Snow Somewhere


Many of us are unaware of the common mistake we make of mixing up climate and weather when discussing climate change. The author even gives an example of a senator who mixed up the difference between climate and weather when trying to undermine climate studies with the flinging of a snowball in the Senate. In 2015, however, when that senator made the common mistake, it was cold in the East, yet the West and the rest of the world were strangely warm. This misconception made by him, and several other people worldwide, was incorrect to judge climate change based on one cold season in one small region of the world. Throughout the article, the author challenges the common question among all people, “If global warming is real, how can it be so cold in my back yard?” Gillis makes it clear that in order to understand climate change, we must look at the look at the long-term averages over large areas, rather than short-term temperature fluctuations. By observing these long-term temperature measurements since the 19th century, scientists have proven that global warming is a real and serious issue. The author also points out that even though it is projected that the “continued high emissions of greenhouse gases could lead to as much as five or six degrees of additional warming over the course of this century,” scientists still expect there to be cold winters even in warmer climates.
This article clearly draws the line between weather and climate, and how it has been scientifically proven that climate change is a growing problem. Gillis importantly reminds the reader that it is incorrect to assume that climate change is not a problem if it is an extremely cold winter; no matter the temperature measurements on a small scale, climate change is a real issue. Like the confused senator, society frequently tries to undermine climate change studies, often out of fear or disbelief of the more seemingly true consequences of global warming. This article confronts these misconceptions and proves to society that we must accept that climate change is valid.
This article was well written and its concise paragraphs were very easy to follow and understand. The author also seemed very well informed on the topic, but I wish he had included more expert opinions or studies on climate change in order to make his argument even stronger. Also, the author’s use of the story about the senator made his article slightly comical and relatable, and it was an intriguing connection to the scientific facts included in the article. Overall, this article corrected my previously held misconceptions about the difference between climate and weather, and it reinstated my views on the seriousness of climate change.

Citation:
Gillis, Justin. "Even in a Warming World, It Will Still Snow Somewhere." The New York Times.

The New York Times, 02 Apr. 2016. Web. 03 Apr. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/03/science/even-in-a-warming-world-it-will-still-snow-somewhere.html?action=click&contentCollection=Science&module=RelatedCoverage®ion=EndOfArticle&pgtype=article>.

3 comments:

  1. Hey Beth! I thought your review was really great and brought up a lot of relevant points. One thing I liked was the article you chose because many people today still do not believe in climate change. You clearly explained the difference between weather and climate change and how “it’s cold right now” isn’t a decent argument. You also did a great job of incorporating facts and stories so that it was interesting and easy to read.
    One area I would improve is that the font and spacing was distracting while reading. It started off very spaced out and then turned into smaller text with smaller spacings. I would also maybe add about how climate change will affect us and our children.
    I learned a ton about climate change from your review, I am incredulous that there are still people who think climate change is a myth.

    The New York Times, 02 Apr. 2016. Web. 03 Apr. 2016. .

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  2. Ellie Briskin
    Current event 16

    Gillis, Justin. "Even in a Warming World, It Will Still Snow Somewhere." The New York Times.
    The New York Times, 02 Apr. 2016. Web. 03 Apr. 2016. .

    Awesome job with this review, Beth! You summarized everything clearly and seemingly with ease, covering all of the main points of the article without including any extraneous details. Not only that, but you were able to establish a connection to how this topic affects human beings today, something that many people struggle with in these current events. Understanding global warming of course more than applicable to all of us! Any knowledge we can glean on the topic is a huge win for humankind, and the more people comprehend how serious it is the more likely they are to cut back on their irreversible environmental harmful effects . Thirdly, your writing style was very easy to read and follow, yet remained extremely informative. This is an extremely hard quality to find in nonfiction writings, which are usually either much oversimplified or much overcomplicated; this hints at a real knack you have for writing intellectual reviews!
    Beth, it's so hard to think of any area which could benefit from improvement! But if anything, you may benefit from some more outside information in general. I’m still not fully clear what I should do to help the very real situation of climate change, a fairly big issue. Secondly, although the style itself was great, the professionalism of the article could have been improved slightly. Little things like saying “the author argued…” without explicitly introducing the author or explain who he was weakened your argument a little.
    But on the whole, this review was astounding. Your writing and analysis blew me away. It really taught me a lot about the importance of climate change and why we must acknowledge it, a topic I was of course aware of before but not very knowledgeable about. After reading this, I'll be sure to take into consideration the difference between weather and climate, and never make the mistake of assuming that humans are actually living in a sustainable fashion. Of course, this also makes me think about my own carbon footprint and effect on the environment, and forces me to strive for the umpteenth time to treat the earth well for the sake of all of us. Overall, I chose this article because of my lack of knowledge of the topic, and am extremely glad that this is the one I read. Thanks, Beth, for giving me such a great read!

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  3. I thought that Beth did a great job reviewing her article, and chose an interesting topic to discuss. I appreciated that she identified a common misconception that many have about climate change (that people mix up climate and weather when discussing climate change). I also liked that she connected it to a mistake made by a senator, proving that anyone can make that mistake and that people need to realize the differences between weather and climate change. Beth clearly and concisely discusses the importance of understanding the line between climate and weather, especially while climate change is becoming an increasingly important issue in our lives.
    I thought that Beth’s review of the article would have been stronger if she had included quotes from the article -- this would have added credibility to her argument. Also, I would have liked it more if Beth had identified the science behind the growing concern of climate change. This would have helped me to more clearly understand the topic and hand, and get a better understanding of the difference between weather and climate change.
    I thought that Beth did a great job reviewing this article, as the topic is an issue of growing importance today. I’ll make sure to differentiate between weather and climate in the future.

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