Being in the Science and Global Change Scholars program here at UMD has given me some great background and insight into the topic of climate change. I've learned how and what affects climate change, not just learned surface level information on it. Not only that, but I've been given the tools to help evaluate scientific processes, understand scientific texts, how to conduct research, and so much more. I've learned so much beyond just climate change, and I believe what I learned will help me in my future academic endeavors.
Something that I've witnessed relating to what I've learned in class, is errors in the critical thinking skills of other people. At one point in the SGC colloquium, we learned about common logical fallacies, and worked on activities that helped us understand and recognize them. I think it was really interesting learning about logical fallacies, because it made me so much more aware of the common uses of these logical fallacies in everyday life. For instance, some of the political issues that have been going on recently have made me increasingly aware of these logical fallacies. Since I've been very politically engaged as of recently, I've talked to people and seen videos of people who employ these fallacies without even realizing it. When it comes to people arguing their stances on political issues, a lot of people rely on fallacies to emotionally sway others to their side. It's also made me more observant when discussions are taking place in my other classes. I found the lessons on logical fallacies to be very interesting, but of course, they are a very small portion on what this class actually is about.
Something that I learned in colloquium that I've been able to apply to events outside of class is information about the Anthropocene. One event that happened during my time in SGC was Biden's approval of the Willow oil-drilling project, which will release massive amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere and damage the environment and ecosystem in the area surrounding it. What I've learned in SGC, especially about the Anthropocene, has helped me understand the dangerous implications of this oil-drilling project. Of course, I already understood that oil-drilling is bad, but I never really understood just what exactly made it so bad. Whereas I might not have been as concerned about this oil-drilling project before being in SGC, it certainly concerns me now. The amounts of CO2 released during this project will have extreme consequences on global warming, which is a pervasive threat as of now. It was interesting applying this event with what I know about the Anthropocene, which is the current geological period we are in where humans are the dominant influence on the climate and environment.
It also made me think about how this project will increase the greenhouse effect, which is the amount of the energy from the sun trapped in the earth's surface, which warms the earth. It will also impact ocean acidification, which is something we've talked about in several lectures. Since more CO2 will be in the atmosphere from this oil-drilling project, the ocean will absorb more of it, raising the pH of the water and hurting sea life. I just found it really interesting how many repercussions certain events can have on climate change, and I wasn't even aware of some of these repercussions until joining SGC.
One item from class that helped me apply my knowledge of the anthropocene outside of class was through one of the excursions I attended, which was an SGC requirement. This semester, I went on an excursion at the National Museum of Natural History in DC, and there were many exhibits that went into great detail about climate change. I was able to understand these exhibits and apply what I learned in colloquium to these experience. I felt like I gained a greater understanding of the museum because of what I had learned in SGC.
Another item from an SGC supporting class that I took was from GEOG140, which is a class titled: Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, Floods, and Fires. In that class, there were discussions about how natural disasters are becoming more common because of climate change. As one can assume, the contents of that class are very applicable to what I learned in the SGC colloquium classes. Just the fact that human activity and our impact on the climate can snowball into all of these climate disasters is very alarming.
I really enjoyed being a part of a living-learning program through Scholars and SGC. Last year, during my Freshman year, was when I benefited the most from this living-learning experience, because practically everyone on my floor in my dorm was in the same Scholars program as me. As a result, I got to know everyone on my floor really well, and met some amazing people in the program. Before entering college, I was most worried about the idea of having to make new friends and meet new people in college. But being part of the SGC LLP, I felt like I was given so many opportunities to get to know people, and it really helped me with the transition into college. My favorite SGC experience was participating in the service day, which happened the day after we moved in as Freshmen. It really allowed me to become comfortable with the people in this program, and made it so that I didn't feel anxious about participating in other similar SGC events.
Honestly, being in Scholars hasn't made me challenge any previous beliefs or opinions, but has instead reinforced my already existing beliefs. I already somewhat advocated for the environment and reducing climate change before being a part of SGC, but being in it has strengthened my opinions even further on these issues.
The Scholars program, as a whole, has helped me become a better student in general. I became more informed on not only current issues, but also developed and improved my own critical thinking and academic skills. I know these skills will easily transfer over into other things I do in the future, whether it be future academic endeavors, future careers, research, etc. The Science and Global Change Scholars program has made me a more conscientious person, and I find myself paying greater attention to current issues, especially relating to climate change and the environment. As I near the end of my time in this program, I've realized that I'm really going to miss the people I've met so far. I don't think I'll ever have professors even half as enthusiastic as Dr. Holtz and Dr. Merck again.