Author: Daniel Tramel Stabile, Fourth Year, Philosophy

Amount Requested: $2,695

 

This project is predicated on the theory that, at times, the scope of certain political debates must be reframed. The dialogue surrounding climate change is an example. On one hand, we now see that the earth’s temperature is rising at an extremely rapid pace—the consequences of which may be severe. And there is a strong consensus that human beings are in part to blame. More importantly, we know that it is direly urgent that we begin to take immediate action to correct the problem. This sentiment prompted David A. King, Chief Scientific Advisor to the British Government, to proclaim: “In my view, climate change is the most severe problem that we are facing today—more serious even than the treat of terrorism.” But on the other hand, we observe America’s politicians continually skirting the issue, eschewing a proactive attitude to fix what has become a strikingly apparent problem. As many of our nation’s leaders continue to argue that we need “sound science” before taking corrective action to control and eventually reverse global warming, the temperature in the Arctic Circle is unbelievably high—in July of 2003 it hit 82 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

The disjoint here between a theoretical awareness of a problem and the concrete motivation to try to fix it is created, in large part, by a lack of political pressure applied to our politicians. One obvious solution is to make climate change a primary issue in the consciousness of ordinary Americans. To do this we need more than scientific facts and figures. And we need something much more personal than that.

 

The objective of this project is to interview (and to record, using sophisticated audio equipment) the people whose lives are most deeply affected by the change in our world’s climate and to take photographs of palpable environmental damage caused by global warming. To this end I propose traveling to Iqaluit—a small town near the Arctic Circle in the Nunavut region of Canada. It is in this area where the physical effects of global warming are most clearly evident: hunting has become dangerous (more than one resident has fallen through the thinning ice), the glaciers are turning brown, and people are now wearing t-shirts during the summer—something that is entirely unprecedented.

 

Only after the climate change debate is brought “down to a human scale” will Americans begin to take interest in the problem. The work (both audio interviews and photographs) will be presented on CampusProgress.org, a widely-read, national newsmagazine with a progressive environmental agenda. From the raw interview footage, an “audio essay” will also be created with intent to showcase on public radio.

The Climate of Man by Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

CampusProgress.org (including Treading on Thin Ice)