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>.
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.
ReplyDeleteOne 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. .
Ellie Briskin
ReplyDeleteCurrent 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!
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.
ReplyDeleteI 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.