Charlotte Cagliostro
Current Event #1
AP Biology
9/14/18
Citation:
Yong, Ed. “The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 Aug. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/climate-change-insects-crops/568978/.
“The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar”
Author: Ed Yong
In his article, Ed Yong describes the effects of climate change on insects. He shares the results of research conducted by two scientists, Curtis Deutsch and Joshua Tewksbury, which show that as the global temperature increases, insects will adopt new behaviors, which will lead to a significant decrease in the annual global crop yield. Insects will adopt a new eating routine because, at higher temperatures, they burn calories at a faster rate, so they will need to eat more in order to survive. This increased feeding on crops will significantly lower the world’s crop yield. The two scientists estimate that for every degree Celsius in which the globe warms, the portion of crops lost to insects will increase anywhere from 10 to 25 percent. Additionally, the increased temperature will result in dangerous conditions for plants; Deutsch and Tewksbury have concluded that the global warming will reduce crop yields by roughly five percentage points per degree of warming, not even including the insects' behavior. Factoring in both the increased insect appetite and the higher global temperatures, farmers’ crop yields could drop significantly in the future, which would have numerous repercussions, which would be most severe in impoverished communities and households.
The information presented in this article affects the lives of everyone on Earth. As the planet warms, farming crops will become much more challenging. For example, if the global temperature rises two degrees Celsius, a farmer who originally plants 100 tons of grain per hectare would likely only be able to harvest 84 tons. As it becomes more difficult to grow and harvest important crops like maize, rice and wheat, crop prices will rise, which will limit the number of household able to purchase the crops. This price increase will most directly impact the poor.
This article was constructed quite well; the evidence was presented in an understanding and informative way. Yong provided many facts and statistics found in the research conducted by Deutsch and Tewksbury, which served supported the article’s main argument. He also provided new perspectives from other scientists. These other researchers had different views regarding the degree that climate change would affect insect behavior and crop yield. However, Yong was able to integrate all of these different perspectives into his piece, which created a less biased narrative. Yong was able to develop a persuasive article, which makes the reader think about the future of our planet.
I liked how Charlotte was able to state main points as well as main statistics in the article. Especially, certain sentences that made this article become more important, for example: “The two scientists estimate that for every degree Celsius in which the globe warms, the portion of crops lost to insects will increase anywhere from 10 to 25 percent.” This fact really demonstrated how much the climate is affecting life present day. I also, liked how she wasn’t super factual and she was able to explain what the facts were actually saying and how they can affect us. She mentioned “ if the global temperature rises two degrees Celsius, a farmer who originally plants 100 tons of grain per hectare would likely only be able to harvest 84 tons...crop prices will rise, which will limit the number of household able to purchase the crops. This price increase will most directly impact the poor..” Statistics like these were effective being explained so the reader could feel sympathy for the not as fortunate. I also really was interested in the article Charlotte chose because it’s a topic that people tend to skip over, it is really crucial that we pay attention to the environment since it can hurt us in the future.
ReplyDeleteWhat I believe Charlotte would have improved on in her write up for the article was to include a couple of possibilities of ways we could improve the numbers in the statistics. That way when someone steps away from this write up they could find ways to improve the problem. Also I would’ve loved to see ways how the climate change could affect other conditions than farming, one question I would ask is “Other than insects and farming how else could climate affect human civilization?” By clarifying this question and going into details with the overwhelming conditions the reader would have a better understanding of how this could affect them in a normal day.
The one thing that really interested me is how much the climate could affect insects that would circle back to us. It is so fascinating how in the news today we avoid topics like these and focus on certain problems that should be irrelevant. These big changes could very much affect our livelihood on earth in the future,.
Anabel Maldonado
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
AP Biology C Even
13 September 2018
Yong, Ed. “The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 Aug. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/climate-change-insects-crops/568978/.
There are several things that I think Charlotte explained well. I think her critique of Yong’s article: “The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar” was very accurate. I completely agree with everything she said, especially when she stated “These other researchers had different views regarding the degree that climate change would affect insect behavior and crop yield. However, Yong was able to integrate all of these different perspectives into his piece, which created a less biased narrative.” Another thing I liked was Charlotte's explanation and examples given about how this information impacts all of our lives. From this in-depth explanation I know fully understand how climate change affects us. Lastly, I enjoyed Charlotte’s explanation of the risk factors and effects of high temperature increase has on plant conditions and insect behaviors. Before reading the article and review, I never would have know that “Insects will adopt a new eating routine because, at higher temperatures, they burn calories at a faster rate, so they will need to eat more in order to survive.” (Charlotte Cagliostro Review).
Two things I think Charlotte could improve upon was to include more information on the opposing viewpoint and other perspectives involving climate change. She briefly spoke about them when stating that Yong was not biased, however, other than that it was briefly mentioned. In addition, she could have mentioned other effects of climate change and how they factor into the global crop yield; because it was briefly mentioned in the first paragraph, but not explained in much depth.
One thing that I was very impressed by was how Charlotte related the information she had just learned to her audience. When she explained the sequence of events that can occur I was intrigued. She explained that as the Earth heated, crops would become much more challenging to maintain. As a result, many households would face food problems which ultimately impacts the poor the most. Front his new information, I will think of climate change in a completely new way, because I truly did not know it affected ALL of us in this way.
Harry Villanueva
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
AP Biology
9/13/18
Yong, Ed. “The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 Aug. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/climate-change-insects-crops/568978/.
In Charlotte's review of "The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar," she well executes an informative summary of the article. Her review breaks down the main points of the article in an organized manner. The points that she makes are well articulated. At the same time, I liked how Charlotte picked out some of the most crucial pieces of the article to share with the reader. For example, she relays the fact that "for every degree Celsius in which the globe warms, the portion of crops lost to insects will increase anywhere from 10 to 25 percent." To me as a reader, this was a tremendously eye opening piece of data that greatly sharpened my point of view over global warming in general. Another thing that I admired about this review was that it was overall very informative about impacts of global warming that I have never considered before.
Personally, I think that this review would have benefited if it briefly explained the ecological importance of caterpillars. The review well summarizes that caterpillars are suffering from the increasingly toxic effects of global warming, but does not necessarily give us a reason to care. To be fair, the review does explain that there will be food shortages due to the increased amounts of food that the caterpillar consume, however, the reader is not so sure why the absence of caterpillars would make much of a difference otherwise. Simply, Charlotte could have echoed some of the words from the last paragraph of the article to dance around this problem. Another thing that Charlotte could have improved upon is her critical opinion of the article. I think that Charlotte could have included a few words as to what the article needs to address further.
Overall, both the article and review go to show that this entire planet is being impacted by global warming, and as one species takes a hit, it is felt by the entire world. The article and review bring up the fact that the negative impacts on small creatures, like caterpillars, go a long way because of the dramatic effects that they can have on the human population. As a reader, I feel that the article and review suggest that even the smallest species on this planet need to be accounted for in order for there to be stability in this world.
This simply structured summary and analysis of Ed Yong’s article “The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar” provides a clear and concise explanation of the information presented in the article and offers alarming statistics that will have an effect on everyone’s lives. This review is well structured and easy to follow; each paragraph easily predeces the next, because in each paragraph, Cagliostro briefly mentions the topic that will be discussed in the next one. For example, in the first paragraph, Cagliostro mentions that the topic being discussed will affect many people before further explaining its effect on the world in the next paragraph. In the summary, Charlotte successfully explains a complex idea in simple terms. Sentences such as “Insects will adopt a new eating routine because, at higher temperatures, they burn calories at a faster rate, so they will need to eat more in order to survive.”(Cagliostro 1) are easily read and understood and are successful at informing the reader about the situation. This essay also contains an abundance of evidence that the topic being discussed will have a colossal effect on our environment and economy. For example, Charlotte provides the detail that less wealthy people will be affected the most (Cagliostro 1). While this was an impressive detail to include and was one of the main successes in the review, the piece would have benefitted from further explanation for this. Another way that this essay could have been improved is if a brief explanation of any opposing views and how the author refuted them were included. As the reader of this review, I was left wondering what the scientists who argued this evidence had to say after it was mentioned that Yong refuted opposing arguments in paragraph three of Cagliostro’s essay. Reading this review helped me realize what a big impact insects have on our everyday lives. Something so small and seemingly unimportant will affect each of our lives in astronomical ways due to climate change. This review has motivated me to explore ways that I can help to slow down climate change and save our future environment and economy.
ReplyDeleteCitation:
Cagliostro, Charlotte. Rev of The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar by Ed Young. 13, September, 2018. Bronxville AP Biology Blog
https://bronxvilleapbiology.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-very-hot-very-hungry-caterpillar.html
Yong, Ed. “The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 Aug. 2018,
www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/climate-change-insects-crops/568978/.
Yong, Ed. “The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 Aug. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/climate-change-insects-crops/568978/.
ReplyDeleteThe key elements of Charlotte’s review of “The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar” which rendered it particularly effective was her ability to capture the tone and information of the original piece, her aggregation of the conflicting viewpoints presented by the article into one cohesive voice, and her incorporation of her own personal interpretation of the article. Firstly, Charlotte was able to summarize the article using concise language and key statistics in a way that was representative of the original piece. This must have been particularly challenging giving the multitude of statistics and angles of analysis presented in the piece she chose. However, Charlotte only included facts that highlighted the key mechanisms by which climate change impacts insect eating behavior. This careful selection indicated her understanding of both the topic and the author’s point of view. Secondly, Charlotte incorporated several of the viewpoints voiced by the article in her review which produced a richer summary of the topic. For example, she explained the two related mechanisms responsible for crop yield depletion: increased insect appetite and rising global temperatures. Lastly, I was impressed by the way Charlotte infused her own perspective into her writing by choosing to emphasize the effects of reduced crop yields on the world’s poor. In my opinion, this point was underrepresented in the article, but Charlotte was able to expound upon it, thus shifting the focus of crisis from ecological to humanitarian.
Although Charlotte’s review of the article was particularly compelling, there were components that could be improved upon, namely the complexity of the topic and size of her summary. While Charlotte presentation of the statistics of the article was well focused and informative, I wish she had addressed the complexity and potential inaccuracy of these numbers that I was touched upon in the article. I felt that the research was a bit oversimplified in a way that neglected the nuances as well as the shortcomings of the data--for example, the omission of insect predators from the model which was used. Additionally, I would have liked to see more analysis and impact in her review rather than summary. I thought that Charlotte’s strengths were her incredible insight as to the implications this research had for the global population and I wish she had elaborated more on those points.
Reading this article, and then reading the unique humanitarian lens in which
Charlotte framed it opened by eyes to the impact that first world industrial practices have on the third world. I was particularly struck by the fact that, while countries like the United States, China and France (who are responsible for the world’s majority of carbon emissions) would feel the ecological effects of this development in insect behavior the most heavily, it will be third world countries in Africa, South America and Asia whose economies and people will suffer the most. I think framing climate change by its detrimental impacts on human life around the world creates a compelling case more responsible use of earth’s resources.
Yong, Ed. “The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 Aug. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/climate-change-insects-crops/568978/.
ReplyDeleteI think that Charlotte did a very nice job in summarizing the very important parts of the article. I think that the topic she chose was a pretty interesting one. The fact that global warming is going to affect us in such a direct way so soon is pretty shocking. She took all of the relevant information and described it in a concise manner that is easy for the reader to understand. She included facts such as, “Insects will adopt a new eating routine because, at higher temperatures, they burn calories at a faster rate, so they will need to eat more in order to survive.” and included specific statistics, “the portion of crops lost to insects will increase anywhere from 10 to 25 percent”. I also think that she related all of this information back to how it affects us and why we should care. She explicitly says that we are all going to be affected by this, as it will increase the prices of crops and will impact the diets of the poor the most. Also, in her last paragraph, she gives a really good feel of the perspective and accuracy of the article. She mentions how Yong used data from Deutsch and Tewksbury and also incorporated opinions given by other scientists on the matter.
Overall, Charlotte’s review was very nicely written and the only aspects of it that she can improve on are pretty small things. For example, I think she could have maybe included what the opinions of the other scientists were that Yong included in his article. I think it might have helped to educate the reader if they knew what the other side was. Additionally, Charlotte mentions that Yong included a lot of data and statistics within his article, so it would have been nice to know some more of those numbers.
After reading this review, I learned a lot of information I never knew before. I never knew that global warming was affecting behavior of bugs and that this is going to significantly decrease the amount of crops that we can harvest. I think that this really ties into the kind of topics we have been discussing in class, and I really liked how she chose such a relevant article to do her current event on. This is part of what really pulled me into her review. It really reminded me of the pillbug lab we did over the summer, in which the pillbugs reacted to changes in their environments, much like how the insects that eat crops will eat more because of the rising temperatures. Also, this reminded me of what was happening with the coyotes, in the way that we are destroying our environment and there are consequences. I feel like this was a really good example to see how animals react to drastic changes in their ecosystems and how humans are responsible for those changes.
Caitlin Mooney
ReplyDeleteCurrent Event 2
AP Bio
9/18/18
Yong, Ed. “The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 Aug. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/climate-change-insects-crops/568978/.
I read my classmate, Charlotte’s review of the article “The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar,".This article describes the effects climate change has on insects around the world. One thing I think Charlotte did a good job with is that she was able to incorporate quotes into her review. Not only did this enhance the credibility of her review but it added more scientific evidence to her review. An example of this is when she quoted, "for every degree Celsius in which the globe warms, the portion of crops lost to insects will increase anywhere from 10 to 25 percent.", this helped the reader understand the severity of the problem. Another positive aspect of this review was how she was able to summarize the article in a way that allowed the reader to understand such a complex topic. Charlotte was able to do this by describing how the hot temperatures affect the bugs and their habitats. Finally, I liked how Charlotte was able to compliment the author by saying that their article was an unbiased opinion on the topic at hand.
Although Charlotte did a great job on this review, she still has some room for improvement. One example of how Charlotte could have improved her review would have been to include a third paragraph about her thoughts on climate change and the impact it had on the insects. Additionally, as a reader, I think that Charlotte should have included more quotes from the article, if she had done this it would have helped the reader understand the point of view of the author better.
When I first saw this review I was surprised to hear about how much insects were being affected by climate change. This review was able to open my eyes to aspects of global warming I had not considered before, and it has helped me understand how much global warming is affecting all life on our earth. Before reading this article I did not truly understand how much global warming affected all life on earth, but now that I do I feel I must learn more about this topic and educate others about it so that we as a society can continue life here for generations to come.
ReplyDeleteMany aspects of Charlotte’s review that are well done. Charlotte’s summary includes enough detail to explain the main idea of Ed Young’s argument in his article “The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar” effectively, while still keeping her summary concise and to the point. She gives the names of the scientists who conducted the research and what these scientists were trying to prove through their research. Charlotte also included specific and facts from the article which supported the claims she was making, such as “The two scientists estimate that for every degree Celsius in which the globe warms, the portion of crops lost to insects will increase anywhere from 10 to 25 percent.” I like how Charlotte comments on how Young creates a less biased narrative in her critique paragraph. Charlotte writes, “These other researchers had different views regarding the degree that climate change would affect insect behavior and crop yield. However, Yong was able to integrate all of these different perspectives into his piece, which created a less biased narrative.” This is a good point because it is essential to consider whether the article is biased or not. A biased article may not give the reader an accurate and well rounded depiction of the topic being discussed.
Despite Charlotte’s exceptional review of Ed Young’s article, I believe she could have improved two aspects of her review, the first being that Charlotte’s relevance paragraph is slightly underdeveloped. Charlotte does not mention the presence of Caterpillars or describe how the caterpillars specifically create an issue. Charlotte mentions global warming, but there are many factors that contribute to global warming other than Caterpillars. The reader of this review can imply that Charlotte is referring to the behavior of caterpillars due to the warming, and that the caterpillars will make farming more difficult, but if Charlotte wants to make her article more clear, she should connect the two ideas by including a sentence about caterpillars. One other aspect of the review which Charlotte can improve upon is to include specific examples from the text of how Young includes different perspectives which creates a less biased narrative. Even though I believe that this is a very good point, Charlotte can make this point even stronger, more specific and more credible though the use of textual examples or by including the names of the other researchers referenced in Young’s article.
Charlotte’s article improved my understanding of the world and the environment today because it proves that everything in the world is connected including how our lifestyle is connected to the environment. As the reader, I feel that it made me consider how people cannot continue to ignore the changes that need to be made in our lives today in order to improve the environment and our lives in the future. This article also made me consider how a very small, almost unnoticeable creature in our environment can create such a large impact.
Cassidy Mullen
ReplyDeleteCurrent Event #1
AP BIology
9/14/18
Yong, Ed. “The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 Aug. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/climate-change-insects-crops/568978/.
Many aspects of Charlotte’s review that are well done. Charlotte’s summary includes enough detail to explain the main idea of Ed Young’s argument in his article “The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar” effectively, while still keeping her summary concise and to the point. She gives the names of the scientists who conducted the research and what these scientists were trying to prove through their research. Charlotte also included specific and facts from the article which supported the claims she was making, such as “The two scientists estimate that for every degree Celsius in which the globe warms, the portion of crops lost to insects will increase anywhere from 10 to 25 percent.” I like how Charlotte comments on how Young creates a less biased narrative in her critique paragraph. Charlotte writes, “These other researchers had different views regarding the degree that climate change would affect insect behavior and crop yield. However, Yong was able to integrate all of these different perspectives into his piece, which created a less biased narrative.” This is a good point because it is essential to consider whether the article is biased or not. A biased article may not give the reader an accurate and well rounded depiction of the topic being discussed.
Despite Charlotte’s exceptional review of Ed Young’s article, I believe she could have improved two aspects of her review, the first being that Charlotte’s relevance paragraph is slightly underdeveloped. Charlotte does not mention the presence of Caterpillars or describe how the caterpillars specifically create an issue. Charlotte mentions global warming, but there are many factors that contribute to global warming other than Caterpillars. The reader of this review can imply that Charlotte is referring to the behavior of caterpillars due to the warming, and that the caterpillars will make farming more difficult, but if Charlotte wants to make her article more clear, she should connect the two ideas by including a sentence about caterpillars. One other aspect of the review which Charlotte can improve upon is to include specific examples from the text of how Young includes different perspectives which creates a less biased narrative. Even though I believe that this is a very good point, Charlotte can make this point even stronger, more specific and more credible though the use of textual examples or by including the names of the other researchers referenced in Young’s article.
Charlotte’s article improved my understanding of the world and the environment today because it proves that everything in the world is connected including how our lifestyle is connected to the environment. As the reader, I feel that it made me consider how people cannot continue to ignore the changes that need to be made in our lives today in order to improve the environment and our lives in the future. This article also made me consider how a very small, almost unnoticeable creature in our environment can create such a large impact.
Ally Bruno
ReplyDeleteMr Ippolito
AP Biology Current Event #2
20 September 2018
Charlotte’s current event was compelling in terms of both its content and analysis. I believe that Charlotte did a wonderful job contextualizing the the article in the first paragraph. Her description of the studies and test used to explain the effects of climate change on insects where both clear and articulate. After reading her review, I had a strong basis of the articles purpose and importance. Another strong point in Charlotte’s writing was her analysis of the articles structure. I think it was very interesting and different how Charlotte pointed out the balance in Yong’s articles. She discussed how the main argument was evenly supported with evidence from older and new scientific findings. She also acknowledged how the different perspectives laid out in the article decreased the overall bias, which added to the professionalism and reliability of her article. Lastly, Charlotte did a fantastic job of structuring her own writing. Everything was very easy to understand and the review had a great flow without sacrificing the scientific facts which could have been wordy and confusing.
Although, I thoroughly enjoyed Charlotte’s article, I believe her analysis of how the information presented in her article effects on human life could have been stronger. While her discussion of global warming's effects on farmers I believe that she could have delved more deeply about the ways in which global warming could affect the rest of the world. For example, she could have included more insight into how the rise in crop prices could affect middle class households all over the country. Also, Charlotte could have pushed her work even farther by including more about the effects of insects as tat was the original goal of the article. SHe could have talked more about how insects have a correlation to humans and when they suffer, humans do as well.
One piece of the article that really stood out to me was how about 10-25 percent of crops will lost by farmers to insects because of climate change. This amount of waste was incredible to me and could potentially pose a major problem for the agricultural industry, which so many Americans depend on today. Not only would this cause a stint in cash flow for farmers but the economy as a whole. This is article was truly indicative of how dangerous the growing climate change problems is for families as well as the economy.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletea Dani
ReplyDelete10/09/2018
Yong, Ed. “The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 Aug. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/climate-change-insects-crops/568978/
Charlotte’s review of the article “The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar.” is very informative and insightful. Charlotte does a great job of incorporating data in her writing that makes her points stronger and more credible. Charlotte has minimal grammatical errors,and she is able to summarize and critique in a very to the point, eloquent manner, which shows not only her writing skills but her knowledge of her article and the topic of climate change surrounding it.
Charlotte has a few sentences which are a little “clunky”; some ideas seem as if they could have been expanded. Also, I would have liked to have read more of Charlotte’s opinion on the topic of the article, not just a critique. In the future, Charlotte can take her already well made points and try to expand them further to give the reader a better picture.
After reading Charlotte’s review, I learned another aspect of how climate change is affecting our world, specifically how our insects and crop growth relate to it. I was surprised to learn that even a one degree increase could cause a 10-20% decrease in crop production. This could have detrimental effects on an overpopulating planet like ours, and Charlotte makes the excellent point that this will first and foremost hurt people in poverty whose livelihood depends on farming.
Paul Magaud
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
AP Biology
Current Event #5
Yong, Ed. “The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 Aug. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/climate-change-insects-crops/568978/
Intrigued by the title of the article, I decided to read Charlotte's review of Ed Yong's "The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar." I was impressed by Charlotte's ability to summarize the main scientific points of the article in a concise manner. She very effectively incorporates the relevant statistics presented in the article in order to further the argument Yong makes. Charlotte also does a great job of, beyond just recounting the facts and statistics, connecting them to the impact those facts will have for the environment.
Although I enjoyed reading her review, I still think there are a few things that could have made the review even better. Firstly, although she discusses how the research could impact caterpillars and their lifestyles, I think she could have discussed how the research could impact human beings. This would allow for a more relevant and more engaging analysis. I also think she could have presented the other side to the argument, even though the article does not mention it in detail. This also would have added to the depth of the review.
The part of this article that resonated with me is how impactful climate change is on things other than ourselves. Both the article and Charlotte did a great job of describing that impact, and it stuck with me after reading.