Tag: Climate change

  • Consuming Meat is Bring in the Heat

    Currently the Social Work and Advocacy in Action classes that Michael Gray teaches are working on something big.
    The reducing of meat consumption, in order to make our environment in better living conditions for the future.
    What exactly is it that students do in the Social Work and Advocacy in Action class?
    Students are given the opportunity to make changes in their community through research and action.

    Students have done surveys, such as what people know about climate change and how they feel about sexual harassment.
    The assignment they are given this time is that of starting a small change that will hopefully spread across everywhere else.
    So far in the project they have conducted a survey in order to gather information.

    One of the questions asked on this survey was, “If you knew that how much meat we consume is making climate change/climate disruption worse, would you make a change in how much you eat?” 58% said yes while 42% said no.

    There was several other questions regarding the choices students make, in order to make them think and chose more carefully.
    Other questions were asking if students knew facts, like how it takes 1,800 gallons of water to make a Quarter Pound hamburger.
    Besides asking if students knew statistics, the survey also asked, if knowing the information you have now, would you choose to switch up your way of eating to benefit our world.

    A small percentage said they would continue their ways.
    Based on the information gathered for the survey, Gray’s classes decided to take it to the next step.
    They decided to contact Long Beach City Council and Food Network to see if either of them are willing to showcase these new changes in order to impact society’s ways on a wider scale.

    Students are helping in different aspects of the project such as: video production, coming up with scripts, sending letters to both the council and tv networks and promoting this issue through advertisement.

    All of this is in the works, and have yet to be set in motion and completed.

  • The World is Ending?

    As of recently the focus on climate disruption is almost non-existent or ignored. President Donald Trump has also stated it as something he does not “believe in”. With even the President not even showing an interest in this, is concerning, as this situation seems to only get worse.

    According to statistics provided by NASA, there has been a global temperature rise of about 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit since the late 19th century. With the years passing, the climate only gets worse. Over the past 35 years, 2016 was considered one of the hottest years.

    Ocean life has had some awareness brought to it, in how plastic and trash easily gets into it, but yet after this knowledge being shared, results in fixing these issues are not as present. People advocate for these causes, such as World Wide Fund for Nature and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and yet the support is not nearly enough on a larger scale.

    Of course most people are aware about the glaciers and ice melting, but almost nothing is done in order to reverse these effects. Statistics on the effects of climate disruption are available for everyone to view, and about half a million of youth have taken action into this issue. Information gathered from the United Nations states 84% of youth believe more knowledge should be shared regarding climate, 73% feel the changes in our climate, and 89% say that the youth can make a difference.

    In what differences the youth can do is: go green, such as walking or different ways of transportation for the benefit of the earth, collaborating with others (maybe also coming together to form an organization), and finally partnering with the government, like the United Nations Joint Framework Initiative on Children, Youth and Climate Change.