ENGLISH 23
(A.K.A. CLIMATE CRISIS 101)
Week #2
The climate crisis as a local, burning issue
Weekly Assignments
Reading
Please read “2°C: Beyond the limit” which is a December 2019 article in The Washington Post by journalist Scott Wilson. (Here is an archived version in case you have trouble accessing the original.)
Note that this article is based on “The [Washington] Post’s analysis” of temperature rise in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties since 1895. According to the explanation of “Methodology” at the end of the article, data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forms the basis of this study. However, there are no peer-reviewed corroborating studies that support the conclusions that undergird this article regarding the above-mentioned temperature rise. This is not to say that Wilson is wrong, but simply to make you aware of this potential issue.
After reading it, please comment on it in the weekly Canvas reading discussion.
Films
Please watch either the documentary Fire in Paradise or The Story of California’s Camp Fire, as Told By Paradise High School according to these guidelines:
1) If you have not taken Eng 22 (Intro to L & E) in 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023, please watch the documentary Fire in Paradise. It is an October 2019 episode of the long-running PBS series Frontline. It currently streams for free directly from PBS.
2) If you have taken taken Eng 22 in 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023, please instead watch The Story of California’s Camp Fire, as Told By Paradise High School. It is in August 2020 documentary produced by The New Yorker magazine. It is available on YouTube.
3) Since we will be considering each in class, feel free to watch both videos.
Trigger warning: These films, which takes viewers inside the 2018 California Camp fire, put a human face on the climate crisis. Hence, they definitely can be unnerving. As one student noted after watching this film, “Fire In Paradise is one of the most scary and heartbreaking things I have ever seen.” If you have experienced or reacted to the trauma of a wildfire (or any fire, for that matter), you might not want to watch these films. If you decide not to watch one of these film, please contact your TA for an alternate assignment.
After watching one of the above films, please go to Canvas to make a comment on it.
Lectures
The following two lectures will be delivered live in Campbell Hall during the Tuesday and Thursday class periods. If you miss class or would like to review them (for exam prep, for example), here they are. For your convenience, they can be accessed below as either PDFs, audio podcasts, or YouTube videos.
Please note: Lectures marked as 2023 are from last year. The 2024 lectures will be uploaded once they are delivered.
Reading 2, 2°C – Beyond the Limit (2024)
download as a PDF / watch as a video / listen to as a podcast
Film 2, Fire in Paradise (2024)
download as a PDF / watch as a video / listen to as a podcast
In addition, please watch, read, or listen to the following short lectures:
CO2 (2024)
download as a PDF / watch as a video / listen to as a podcast
How the “greenhouse effect” impacts weather (2024)
download as a PDF / watch as a video / listen to as a podcast
Extreme Weather (2024)
download as a PDF / watch as a video / listen to as a podcast