Chronicles of Asu: Us v. Them

Moritz, Hughes, Seidita, Miller

What ‘We’re’ doing compared to ‘Them’

Earth's perpetual energy source: the magnetic field.

When we learned from John Tierney that “ideas can have sex with each other”, it seemed to make so much sense to us. As a class, we grasped this notion and pieced together different viewpoints based on what we all continue to think. It is an obvious realization, that people become smarter when they work together- ‘I become smart when I work with you’. But despite the fact that it is obvious, we still do ourselves well to be reminded of it. We think of the sky, and how it is always, completely blue, no matter what, even when clouds are covering it up. Again, an obvious notion, but one that we may need to be reminded of a few times before adopting it as truth. Of course combining classes was going to be extremely enriching for all of us. We have two opportunities when we do this: 1) we get to show off our thoughts and react to thoughts being showed off by people we haven’t heard before and 2) we have a very easy opportunity to create new ideas by hearing from new people. With regards to climate change, it seems pretty clear that our two classes have approached this education in a couple different ways. While Nancy Menning and her students observe how to ‘mourn nature’, we have obtained the education of what exactly is going down. Can we make a case that combining these two kinds of learnings has a negative growth on us? Well, not really, no. But combining the education to mourn nature and the knowledge of what is happening, we have one step of awareness and one step of action. That is a short, sweet and simple approach on our issue. Good. We can only move forward with better, more in depth ideas by combining our educations. It’s obvious, and now we know it.

When it comes to human behavior and its effects on the climate change, from the outside looking in, it appears that we are actually trying to destroy our atmosphere. Innovations have led to new and more efficient ways of doing things, however, they’ve also led to more efficient ways of increasing greenhouse gas emissions. As Phillipe Squarzoni explores in his graphic novel, Climate Changed, enlightenment about our situation hasn’t made much impact on reducing our destructive behavior. In fact, it has sparked ignorance and hypocrisy—even within the author himself. Upon becoming more informed about climate change he attempts to change his behavior by not taking a plane trip (to reduce his own impact on carbon emissions) one year and taking another plane trip the next.  Such behavior merely perpetuates the “ignorance is bliss” mentality of America that devastates our environment on many frontiers as a result of the emissions. Human nature today, in terms of the Earth’s survival, is nothing but destructive. So, in a way our job appears to be to destroy everything in our path, without giving a damn. Similarly indulgent behaviors perpetuate the enormous wealth inequality as upper class citizens strive for more financial advantages leaving the lower socioeconomics classes struggling. We’ve heard about the lasting effects of inequality by listening to the education deficits and negative effects in “The Problem We all Live With.” Effects, which take root in the next generation through their lack of quality education as a result of lower income living. Everything we work for, every new advancement is one step forward. Sadly, when we advance on one avenue we tend to take two steps back on many others. We merely perpetuate human livability of the problems that exist without making an impact on solving anything.

The concept of climate change is the story of the environment that we live in day to day and how it is being altered, essentially negatively. Climate change has the ability to produce a multitude of reactions. That is precisely why the concept is so hard to grasp, as well as so hard to reverse. Some grieve… Some ignore… Some even deny though it is quite evident that climate change is making it’s presence known. A major part as to why we’re not making positive change is because many people don’t even believe that events of climate change even exist. 46% of American teens believe that climate change doesn’t exist, according to News Staff. This is a result of improper strategies to help understand the process of climate change. Information is presented in school textbooks in a very confusing, controversial, and ambiguous fashion. It’s safe to say that our society wants to see the glass half full, even if that means disregarding things that are happening right before our eyes. Typically, we do “not take kindly to… scientists distressing the populace with visions of global destruction.” If the concept of climate change can’t be presented as a true and valid event occurring, as we speak, then how can we expect anyone to take action? As Nancy Menning’s seminar would phrase it, “death of nature” is something that must be mourned. Mourning the “environmental losses” we examine in today’s world is one example of how the concept of climate change is processed in the ‘brain’ of our society. Arguably, once one has mourned the environmental losses that have already taken place, then will we as a society be able to take action to diminish the “environmental challenges” that continue to come our way. The question lies in that, should we even have to mourn the losses of nature and if so, how does one go about doing so? The ability to mourn spirals off the ability to understand that you have lost something. We shield ourselves by being unrealistic, denying, and ignoring. These are the coping mechanisms we use to deal with the damage we’ve done. But, the problem still lies- no action will be taken if we keep it up. Thus, the ambiguity of reactions to the concept of climate change perpetuates the cycle of humans destructive behavior that will murder every last bit of our environment.

As time progresses, changes inevitably occur. Though, what happens when the changes are occurring so rapidly that the sustainability of the planet is in question? Then we 'stop', take a minute to see whats going on, and change directions. As it turns out, the biggest problem of why our climate is undergoing such rapid changes is due to the 'parasites' that inhabit the planet. These are not any ordinary 'parasites'. They take what they want from their host and will do it by any means necessary. Any area that these destructive creatures inhabit, ultimately, is on a path of demolition. As it turns out, it is us, humans, who seem to be the 'parasites'. We can consider ourselves diseases that are being harmful to our host. As a majority, we are a 'cancer' that will one day lead to the inevitable loss of this planet. However, as Jason Box stated, “I don’t think we’re fucked. There is time to build sustainable solutions." A window of opportunity seems to be in front of us. Whether or not we get through the window tells us which direction is best for us to go in.

And of course we aren’t ‘fucked’. Of course we have time. That said, the movement regarding fixing global issues and living up to our standards is in motion, and gaining steam. We have moved forward so quickly, in fact, that we actually have not just a man running for presidency, but a legitimate candidate in Bernie Sanders who is actively speaking of the issues at hand. There was not a man (or woman) like Bernie who ran things the way he is doing in the last election; the ‘let’s talk about this stuff!’ approach. We have a window of opportunity. Even if Bernie does not win, no matter, we still move in the direction. Would it even be worth saying that we won’t make it through this window? No. Of course not. We’re moving in the correct direction, and fast. So the more we combine ideas, share passions and grow together, the faster, in fact, the movement will move. That seems obvious. Now we know it. We move forward, as we do now.

Chronicles of Asu: Making Climate Change a more Tangible Experience

Miller, Seidita, Hughes, Moritz

Earth: Perfect in Desires

Philippe Squarzoni writes with an air of urgency in Climate Changed. His want for a ‘change of direction’ within our human society is extremely strong to the point that it weighs him down severely. We remember moments in our lives where we care for something deeply, and when it goes wrong, we experience it within our body as ‘heavy’, as if our heart itself tries to hold up a barbell. We feel slow, where it becomes tough to deal properly with the failings of our passions while they lay out of our control. Our group shares empathy for Squarzoni as himself, not the author of this graphic novel, but for his ‘heaviness’ of what has come of his passion. When we recall him in the book, we notice a small amount of times that he is able to even crack a smile. The experience of pulling up information and learning more about climate change surely has an effect on himself and we see it through the book within his personal experiences.

In this post, we dive into Squarzoni’s ‘personal panels’ as shown to us in Climate Changed in order link them with the story he tells: how climate change is slowly- but rather quickly- slipping out of our control. His ‘personal panels’ parallels his own life to facts of this book in order to make climate change as a whole a more tangible concept for the readers, who also happen to be citizens of the Earth and its changing environment. We chose three concepts to touch on. Squarzoni deals with the battle of wanting to take a plane trip to Laos and after deciding not to go, we see a while later that he flies to New York City. From this, we see the ‘indulgent behavior’ of ourselves that has gotten us into this environmental mess. It is Camile, Philippe’s wife and best friend, that brings to our attention that we all see the same image of Earth, as taken by the famous Apollo mission. This suggests that we shape our desires on the basis of what we want to experience. Finally, when Squarzoni returns to his childhood home, where ‘ignorance is bliss’, he shows us the changes to his house that make him upset. How will we feel if our ‘house’, Earth, gets changed to an environment that we don’t feel comfortable with? We may not get much of a say, suggests Philippe.

The reason why all this awareness that has been generated over the past decades have not made much of an impact is because of the lies people tell themselves in order to avoid being added to the equation for reducing human output. Many people believe that the lifestyle required to reduce personal emissions is unattainable and extreme. Others believe that they shouldn’t give up their luxuries or comforts because they, individually cannot make an impact. People are under the impression that their contribution to the cause will not make a difference and that other people will carrying the weight. We believe that just because there is awareness, impactful action is in motion and we do not need to lower our standards of living in order to contribute to it.

Squarzoni realized the importance in humanizing the challenging decisions that surround the idea of being more ecologically sound and makes these decisions more tangible in his novel. He demonstrates the very real hypocrisy occurring in the world by referencing his own life. By taking himself, an informed enthusiast, and showing his own hypocrisy, he makes our common hypocrisy more tangible and noticeable. Between his decision to not fly to Laos and the act of flying to New York two years later, Squarzoni shows the thought process of “I want to make a difference” to “why should I change my ways when no one else is?” He changes his views to fit his desires, as he successfully symbolizes through his wife’s story of the image of the Earth (168-171). We use the image that already fits our desires, much like how we select the philosophy that aligns with our intended actions.

It is important to see these everyday hypocrisies aligned with the ecological climatic and how it correlates to the behavior in Squarzoni’s detailed fact sections that follow the anecdotal contributions. They allow the uninformed reader to sort of track their own hypocrisies in their head as they read on about the author’s. In terms of fulfilling his purpose in creating a more informed and motivated public, these relatable sections function to accomplish that goal.

It is human nature to indulge in our desires. We perceive the world, our environment, and our circumstances in ways that leave us with the glass half-full. It is not that we’re being optimistic, but rather we are being ignorant for the sake of perpetuating our ‘indulgent behavior.’ The environmental predicament that we and Squarzoni have found ourselves in continues to be alive and well because people engage in environmentally destructive behavior solely so that convenience, accessibility, luxury, and living standard prevail. It is easy to ask, ‘who wouldn’t?’ Even Squarzoni finds himself a victim of essentially gliding downstream with the current as the shore erodes away. His, graphic novel, Climate Changed, provides us with a plethora of examples of how perception of reality is skewed. Squarzoni weave’s his personal experiences into this concept of environmental destruction. He states, “Our lifestyle in the developed world is like one of those christmas stories. In an enchanted, happy world without limits… Where the abundance is inexhaustible… Where the future is wide open… And our desires have no consequences… We tell ourselves tales…. That distract us, relax us, and make our minds malleable. Why, no, there’s no reason to question our consumption habits. Oh, yes, it’s possible to preserve the environment and also to reap the benefits of material goods” (Squarzoni). At this point, Squarzoni provides a panel with an image of himself as a young boy, with his sister, comparing the visual appearance of their stuffed animal dolphin to an actual fish lying besides it. He states, “When we put them next to each other, the two concepts are incompatible.” This statement refers to the environmental limitations compared to environmental ‘gifts’ for human usage in reality. As well, this statement runs parallel, using his childhood example, to demonstrate how everything is not always as it seems. But in fact, “A false representation of reality. But it fits our desires. So we stick to it.” Essentially, we perceive an image that suits our desires. This supports how one’s perception truly is their reality. But, in this case, if we are blind to what’s actually going on in our environment, how can we act responsibly? How can we make informed decisions? How can we change, slow, or reverse the downward spiral we our on? We can’t. Ignorance will not be bliss! Squarzoni offers us little hope if humans continue to formulate our desires on the basis of what we want to experience.

The realization that the things you hold dearest to you are fading is just too surreal.This is quite evident for Philippe Squarzoni. He uses eye opening facts to explain the severity of our societies destructive nature but he incorporates these problems through his everyday life. One key reference that he alludes to is a ‘tipping point’. An increase in temperature could be rather devastating. Imagine you have a plate and it keeps moving a few inches forward several times. Eventually, this plate would reach a certain point that would cause it to fall off the table. This is the ‘tipping point’. However, as you see it reach the end of the table you would be inclined to stop it. That is where the planet and the plate differ.  We have no idea of what this threshold looks like or if we have even passed this point already. What makes things worst is as we pass certain thresholds, “one of the processes determining climate could ‘snap’” (Squarzoni). We need to reduce our carbon footprint to achieve sustainability.

Philippe Squarzoni confides in only his wife, Camile, who seems to be his biggest supporter. She exudes consistent patience and actually seems to be a very good fit for him: rather quiet, gentle, like him. We imagine that her pain is shared when Philippe becomes more and more distraught in the process of writing this novel. Climate Changed is a perspective-changing read, its heaviness in detail and statistics brings to life the issue of climate change as a more tangible experience for world citizens to understand. It only a matter of time until we hit the ‘tipping point’ that sends us in the right direction toward sustainability. Perhaps we already have.