There are many ways in which Science & Global Change helped me to understand the world and environment in ways that I did not know before. It has given me a lot of knowledge that I have thought about in other classes as well as in my everyday life. For example, a time where I have encountered a misunderstanding in scientific information was in my oral communications class. In science and global change colloquium we learn about things like public mistrust in scientists and general misinformation that may be present in popular media. For my class, I had to create an argumentative presentation and I chose to argue for the increased use of nuclear power generation. The research I did on the subject really lined up with what I learned in class about how public perceptions can sway political legislation. In the case of nuclear energy generation, the public perception is that it is an extremely risky method of generating electricity that creates waste that is highly damaging to the environment. The truth of the matter is that nuclear energy is only dangerous when mismanaged and underfunded. With the correct oversight, nuclear energy is the most energy dense method of generating energy and may be as safe as, if not safer then, current methods of generating electricity with the addition of not having its efficiency not be tied to region or time of day. My SGC experience has led me to be more cognizant of logical fallacies and aware of how biases can affect actions. The knowledge I gained from SGC also was very applicable to how I viewed current events and news. How carbon emissions affect global temperatures and how that can have a wide range of consequences is something that I had gotten a deeper understanding of through SGC. One example of a news source that I saw outside of class was how recently I saw that water is now being traded on Wall Street as a commodity along with things like gold and oil. Dr. Holtz and Dr. Merck were very clear in the wide range of consequences that rising temperatures would cause and something as scary as water, a basic necessity, being privately owned was among them. Having taken the class and seeing how current events line up with what we've learned in class just emphasizes the importance of taking action. SGC really has reinforced my priorities and made me prioritize climate change as an issue.
Being in a living learning community was also a great experience for me. I consider all of them friends I've made at UMD to be a tree stemming from two people I met in Centreville Hall. I have very fond memories of doing homework in the lounge with those who lived on my floor. Being around my friends who are also working really helps keep me on task and productive. There were also many times where I've engaged with floor-mates in discussion on topics they cover in their other classes. I remember debating one night with one of my friends in Centreville over an issue they were discussing in one of her philosophy gen-eds. Overall, I really enjoyed staying in Centreville with other like-minded individuals. I learned a lot off of them academically as well as from their own experiences with their different backgrounds.
I think I contributed an above average amount to scholar colloquiums. I admittedly may not always have paid attention every second; but, I put effort into responding to questions and discussion topics. I'm the type of student that feels bad when teachers don't get engagement from their class--an outcome that seems a bit more common during online learning. Sometimes I don't have any additional thoughts to contribute and I sit there as a question goes unresponded; but overall, I think I have contributed many times to colloquium in classes both online and before. I remember one particular instance, before COVID, where during colloquium the class split into discussion groups. I was in the group with Merck and, after answering most of the questions when I noticed he was getting mostly silence, he thanked me after the colloquium was finished for participating.
A way in which scholars challenged my beliefs is how it made me so much more conscious of my own habits and carbon footprint. One day we completed the carbon footprint assignment and learned about how energy and space inefficient setting aside land to create feed for livestock was. I was forced to confront how eating meat is affecting the earth. Although I do believe that large entities and corporations should be held mostly responsible for the majority of climate change, I do think that changes to diet would be helpful in minimizing the impact humans have on the climate (though I am holding out for the day good meat alternatives or synthetic meats become widely available). I think it would be best if when I come to a point in my life where I cook for myself that I look into meat alternatives for cooking.
Finally, I do think the knowledge that I've learned in SGC will affect my future. I'm not quite sure where I will end up doing in the end. Computer science is a flexible field though after all. Doing work related to climate change would be something I would be interested in but as of right now I'll probably jump at whichever opportunities that become available to me. The lessons in logical fallacies and the hypothetico-deductive model will be something I will always be cognizant of in the future. What I've learned about regarding climate change will continue to inform my opinions and beliefs long after I've graduated.