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 (Here is an archived version in case you have trouble accessing the original.)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 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.
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 2019 or 2020, 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 2019 or 2020, 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.
Lecture videos
There are four required lectures this week:
First, please watch both of the following lectures by Ken:
1) “Why the generation that caused the climate crisis is not acting” (Climate and Generation, #2)
2) “What a new generation can do to mitigate the climate crisis” (Climate and Generation, #3)
Note that you are not required to post comments to these videos, even though there are hundreds of responses to them. These posts are from 2019-20, when responding was a requirement of the course, which it is not in 2020-21.
Second, please watch both of these “Deep Dive” lectures by Ken:
1) “The uninhabitable (or at least unwelcoming) earth” (The written comments to which Ken is replying can be found here.)
2) “Before the Flood and An Inconvenient Sequel” (The written comments to which Ken is replying can be found here.)
Note that you cannot post comments to these videos, but that there will be questions on this lecture material on the weekly quizzes.
Weekly Assessments
Please note that assessments need to be completed by 6 AM on Monday, January 18. GauchoSpace will close the lecture quizzes at that time and any film comment made on YouTube past that point will be considered late.
Weekly Quiz
After completing the week’s reading and watching all four of the above lecture videos (the two short lectures and the two deep dives), please go to GauchoSpace and take the short quiz for this week, which is located in the weekly section.
Reading Response
After reading the “2°C: Beyond the limit,” please watch Ken’s video on YouTube introducing it, 2°C: Beyond the limit, and comment on this introduction.
If you cannot view the above video on YouTube (for example, if YouTube is blocked in your country):
1) The two lectures have also been uploaded to GauchoSpace (GauchoCast).
2) A forum has been opened under this week on GauchoSpace for you to make your comment there (rather than on YouTube).
Please note that six of your reading responses this term (i.e. 3 of the first 5 and 3 of the second 5) should be made to a comment made by another student in the class, regardless of whether you are making your comments on YouTube or GauchoSpace.
Film Response
After watching one of the above films, please watch Ken’s video on YouTube introducing it, “Fire in Paradise,” and comment on this video on YouTube.
Note that while Ken’s introduction covers both of the above films, you only need to comment on the film that you watched. However, if you have already watched both films, please feel free to comment on both. If you cannot view the above video on YouTube (for example, if YouTube is blocked in your country):
1) The two lectures have also been uploaded to GauchoSpace (GauchoCast).
2) A forum has been opened under this week on GauchoSpace for you to make your comment there (rather than on YouTube).
Please note that six of your film responses this term (i.e. 3 of the first 5 and 3 of the second 5) should be made to a comment made by another student in the class, regardless whether you are making your comments on YouTube or GauchoSpace.