The topic which enhanced my attitude towards my major was the one concerning the effects of global warming. I knew of the basis of what was happening, but I did not realize the magnitude nor how quickly the effects were going to start occurring. This class was an eye opener on the severity and the dangers of rapid global climate change. I learned a lot about what the actual issue was and how it was going to affect the whole human population in the near future. It was scary to think and have these effects described to me. Since I declared my major in biochemistry, I have had the goal in pursuing environmental research. Having this colloquium had affirmed my desire to pursue my degree in biochemistry and do environmental research, specifically on the effects and what can be done to slow down or lessen the degree of climate change. I choose biochemistry because you first need to understand the molecular aspects of the problems to later address the bigger issue. This is important to do for the sake of the environment. This class has connected me even more to my major and future goal than I already was.
Some news related item that I had encountered outside SGC was the massive effects global climate change has on desertification. Having the lecture on the deforestation and the effects the type of land masses around deserts had made it easier to understand what the news reporters were trying to say. The lands around the desert are already arid meaning they do not get a lot of water, having destroyed the ecosystem by cutting down the few trees or vegetation or by simply raising the climate’s temperature decreases the amount of water they are getting making desertification occur faster. I found the lecture on the winds, the Coriolis winds, useful in understanding this phenomenon. The dry places will become dryer cause the desertification to expand and the wet places will become wetter. This lecture allowed me to comprehend, not only that it is happening, but why it is occurring and why it is a problem. The problem of desertification will just continue to expand as the climate gets warmer. This will displace people and will affect agriculture. Without agriculture, there will be less food, forcing the human population as a whole to do very poorly.
SGC also helped me realize how many logical fallacies are involved in a lot of different papers. For example, the lecture on the different logical fallacies and scientific toolbox helped me analyze papers I read from then on out. I was not aware how subtle the messages were and how prevalent they are in different writings. I had to do a project on violence for one of my classes and I had to do research on different solutions for it. In the research I did, I found a lot of vague data/ results for their solutions. Mostly all the solutions I researched were small in sample size and limited their test subjects. You could clearly see the bias, not wanting to let go of their hypothesis, in a lot of these papers. This was very interesting to find.
One of the supporting courses that helped me develop an understanding of climate change was Geology 120 which is environmental geology. This class did not focus on climate change, but it was integrated into the themes of the class. This class focused on the basis of earth’s geology. It helped me understand how the Earth processes naturally occur. By understanding the Earth’s natural process, it is easier to understand how people alter them. The class discussed a lot on how human affect the natural process and what can be done to stop them, climate change being one of the main themes. It helped develop a deeper understanding on climate change. Another class that helped develop a deeper understanding is Chemistry 237 which was organic chemistry 1 for chemistry majors. We discussed organic molecules which are the ones containing carbon. The class touched a lot on the sequestering of carbon through different reactions. I found this class interesting in that they mentioned how chemistry and the solutions to climate change go together.
In SGC I made new friends that I was not expecting that hopefully I can keep and share more moments with. We did a lot of group assignments and group discussions in SGC. I enjoyed them and listening to what others thought and what they had learned. I think the group projects on the effects on how climate change is affecting different ecosystems and the project on different methods of solving climate change were really interesting and fun to do. It was fun to work together with a team you already know and get an understanding on how those themes worked. It was interesting to research the topics and gain a deeper understanding. Having a team was good because you could have an intellectual discussion with your other teammates how the theme worked and why they are important. I really enjoyed the group discussions as well because you got to talk to people you wouldn’t have otherwise. You got to listen to other’s perspectives and keep an open mind on how things work.
I think I have contributed to SGC through different discussions and being able to work together with others to get projects done. I made sure to participate in class discussions to keep the conversation flowing. I am not a big fan of awkward silences and conversations. For discussions, I prepared myself by taking notes on the topics and understanding how they worked. I also made sure to work well with others and encourage my classmates to do their best. I helped out classmates in what I could such as the website or explaining concepts.
Being in the SGC program had challenged a lot of previous thoughts I had concerning different science themes. One of the topics that SGC made me rethink about was the severity and the time scale of the climate change. I thought it would take a lot more years for the effects mentioned in class to occur, but as I can see now there are a lot of things that need to be fixed starting now. It opened my eyes to the severity and the closeness of the effects that are going to occur in the near future. It made more consciously aware of the effects global climate change is having now and in the future. As we got more in depth in the second semester, more of my thoughts and knowledge started to change.
I think the whole class is something I will use again in the future because global climate change is something that's going to affect every one of us. It is not limited to just future generations, but the ones present today. I think the lessons I learned here on how the basis of climate change starts and how it is developing into a bigger problem is essential for my career. I want to be an environmental researcher as mentioned above and thoroughly understanding these topics would be crucial for my investigations and my pursue in my future career.