ESRM / COMM 496 Blog Post #7: Class Wrap-up

https://content.thriveglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/news-1.jpg

To wrap up our class for the semester, share the URL of a recent story in the news (anywhere from CBS news to NPR) that touches on an adaptation or mitigation situation, strategy or policy. Provide the URL, a short 1-2 sentence summary and an explanation of how it relates to our class this semester. Please respond to this post to share your news story.

ESRM / COMM 496 Blog Post #6: Ice on Fire Wrap-Up

Please watch the last 15 minutes of Ice on Fire (we already watched most of it in class!) here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJFx_geNL5s

After, please make an argument (as a reply to this post) based on the documentary's modo: Game Over or Game On? Write 1-2 paragraphs (4-5 sentences each). State which side of the argument you see the world at and give an example from the documentary to support your argument. 

And the winner is...

Snowpiercer! 

Thanks to the ranked voting method of "single transferable votes" and thanks, especially, to your participation in this democratic process, we've collectively chosen to watch what Entertainment Weekly called "the coolest coldest most ingenious outrageous mind-blowing unpredictable audacious dangerous daring politically charged provocative thrill ride of the summer."   

Based on the graphic novel "Le Transperceneige" by Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette, Bong Joon-ho's film adaptation should help us discuss the representational challenges of climate change.  So please watch with climate change in mind.  As EW notes, it's a thriller, and in Hollywood parlance, that means violence, so be warned there are some fairly graphic scenes.   

The expectation is that you watch this on your own time prior to Wednesday's class session (it's available via Netflix streaming).  As you watch, I encourage you to take notes and come ready to discuss this as a particular  instance of a characteristically Hollywood vision of climate futures.  As a broad question, then, be prepared to talk about how fiction might influence our understanding of climate realities. Looking forward to our discussion, Kevin   

Climate Imagination: Joint CSUCI/UAS class

Next week we will stage an inter-state discussion of a feature length film that deals with climate change in a speculative and imaginative manner.

To insure we have the most engagement in this discussion, I'd like you to help choose the film we use to frame our discussion.  But don't cast a single vote; instead rank your choices, posting in the comments here your top choice as number 1 and your last choice as number 4.

Here are the contenders, with links to the trailers for each:

1) The 2004 Hollywood classic The Day After Tomorrow 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku_IseK3xTc

2) The 2008 sci-fi drama Sleep Dealer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW8oSRSzS7M

3) 2014's dystopian thriller Snowpiercer (not to be confused with the forthcoming TV series):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX5PwfEMBM0

4) And the much more optimistic 2012 narrative/fantasy film Beasts of the Southern Wild
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvqZzSMIZa0

Our goal will be to think critically about the ways that climate change presents narrative challenges, analyzing the ways American cinema is contending with the predicted outcomes and issues.  All of these films are viable texts in that regard, so choose the one you most want to watch (or re-watch!).

Our resident political scientist Dr. Glenn Wright will tally the votes--using an intricate and cutting-edge voting system--at dinner time Friday November 1.

ESRM / COMM Blog Post #5

Please read about the Paris Agreement and make a reply to this post with a piece of information about it here (who, what, where, when, how). Do read other's posts so that you can add new information!

Click here for  a good place to start.

ESRM / COMM 496 Blog Post#4

Please read about 'climate geoengineering' generally online and then post any example that interests you as a reply below. Use 2-3 sentences to describe the geoengineering technique you identify.

We will review the Moore et al. 2018 reading tomorrow in class!

ESRM / COMM 496 Blog Post #3

Lookup and revisit information on California's GHG Cap and Trade Program.
Focus on the current state of the program (cost, success, amount of GHG reductions, etc).
Summarize your information in a reply to this post and include a URL to an article or webpage with more information on California's GHG Cap and Trade Program.