Civil Engineering
College Park Scholars-Science and Global Change Program
Email: rvemula2@terpmail.umd.edu
SGC has been integral to my development as a student. Coming into SGC, I already believed that climate change was the biggest problem of our generation. However, I had difficulty proving this to other people because my proof was rooted in logical fallacies. My proof mostly consisted of non sequiturs and appeals to pathos, like images of polar bears on tiny blocks of ice or sad orangutans that were displaced by deforestation. While this might work on middle schoolers and some high school students, the adults I spoke to were less receptive to this kind of rhetoric. They would have been more receptive to appeals to logos, but I did not know how to use appeals to logos at the time. SGC has taught me new proof of the urgency that we should be treating climate change with. While sad animals might not be effective in convincing people of the urgency of climate change, the effects of climate change on our future economy and national security might be more convincing.
Recently, I saw multiple videos where people were expressing their existential dread after realizing that there isn’t much time left on the Climate Clock in New York. This brought back memories of my own panic when I was in middle school upon hearing that we only have 11 years left before climate change causes irreversible damage to the environment. Hearing numbers like “11 years” all throughout my childhood was part of what made me care about climate change. However, after 3 semesters in SGC, I am not impacted by this idea of impending doom the way I used to be. Not because I don’t see the urgency of climate change anymore, but because now I can recognize this as rhetoric that is meant to inspire people to take action and to learn more about climate change. I also don’t feel as panicked anymore because I have a better understanding of how climate change would affect human society and the achievable ways that we can stay within ideal ranges of warming. I feel like my understanding of climate change has evolved past this kind of rhetoric, and it made me realize that for a lot of people, their understanding of climate change hasn’t progressed past popular rhetoric of impending doom and sad animals.
A scientific misapplication that has always bothered me is the idea that vaccines cause autism. Even when I was younger, I could recognize that a lot of the talking points used by anti vaxxers were not rooted in science. Through SGC, I can now identify exactly what is wrong with their argument. The main evidence used by anti vaxxers who believe that they cause Autism is personal anecdotes and a fraudulent study by disgraced former physician Andrew Wakefield. This study has been retracted by the publication that it was published in because it came to light that some of the test subjects were either not real or did not have autism, even though Wakefield claimed they did. He then theorized that there was a connection between autism and gut health, and then drew a connection between gut health and MMR vaccines. This study was unimpressive and would not have gained any attention had it not been for Wakefield’s subsequent press releases where he created doubt surrounding the vaccine industry, appealed to people’s emotions by presenting himself as the only one who cares about your children’s health, and insinuated that vaccines are not natural. This was all based on anecdotal evidence from a small test sample, some of which was made up by Wakefield. All of these are logical fallacies that are still used by anti vaxxers today.
In GEOG140, we learnt about different types of natural disaster and the appropriate response to each type of natural disaster. Increased temperatures also increase the intensity and frequency of storms. Hurricanes like Milton and Helene will only become more common in the future. After seeing the destruction that these hurricanes have caused, it might be easier to conceptualize the amount of damage these storms cause and the amount of resources that go into recovery. Having an understanding of the recovery process shows us the impact that even a slight increase in global temperature would cause. We also learnt about Secondary and Tertiary disasters, which also helps us understand the danger of storms.
In ANTH240, we’ve learnt about the history of humanity and how cultures develop. Culture is often influenced by rhetoric. We specifically looked at how the theory of evolution led to the establishment of racial categories in our culture. While scientific discoveries like the skeletons of human ancestors and their cultural artifacts, these discoveries have the potential to be misused. The theory of evolution and the discovery of Neanderthal skulls gave undue credence to theories that some races were less intelligent and less evolved than whatever race was in power at the time. This is why it is important to be conscious of the way that scientific discoveries are communicated because they have the potential to cause harm.
Learning alongside my fellow SGC Scholars has enhanced my understanding of climate change. Even though all of us are passionate about the environment, we all have different interests and different ideas for solutions to climate change. I have had conversations with my classmates about topics like the future of nuclear energy and vegetarianism that have opened my eyes to solutions to climate change that I wouldn’t have paid attention to before because I am not knowledgeable in that field. It was also helpful to have like minded peers in all of my classes that I knew were responsible and had the same values as me. They’ve given me support that it would have been difficult to find from my classmates had I not been in SGC.
I’ve enjoyed participating in colloquium. The regular small group activities allowed me to connect with my peers and understand all of the concepts we discussed. I actively contributed to scholars through these discussions. They brought me into contact with peers who had different passions and interests, which means that they were intrigued by different solutions to climate change from me. When they told me about the solutions they were interested in, their passion was infectious. This lead to me learning more about climate change solutions I wouldn’t have cared about otherwise. Over the course of these 3 semesters as a scholar, I’ve become more open and knowledgeable about new climate solutions.
Scholars has changed me as a person and I see myself using the skills I gained through this program in the future. It has given me the tools to fulfill my goal of being a part of the movement to address climate change. Now, I know how to recognize logical fallacies in my daily life, and how to deal with them without using logical fallacies myself. I have a variety of examples of the impact that climate change will have on human society, so now no matter what the person I’m talking to values, I have an example for them. In my final semester, we learnt about solutions to climate change, which I can implement in my future career as a civil engineer. Overall, I will look back fondly on my experience in Scholars and look forward to using the knowledge and skills I’ve gained through it in my future.