Week 2: How Climate and Environmental Issues Arise

Key Takeaways

Contributions by Charly Z.

Using the right sources

• When checking for credibility, think about: Who is the one talking? Are there credible sources linked in the article?

• Authors often use clickbait and catchy titles to catch the readers attention. Headlines are a prime example.

• One way to evaluate sources (articles, videos, reels, etc.) is the SIFT method:

  • Stop -- Pause before sharing/believing the source

  • Investigate -- Who wrote the source? Who funded it?

  • Find better coverage -- Is the information reported elsewhere?

  • Trace claims -- Where does the original information come from?

• Other ways to identify misinformation are using fact-checking sites or asking librarians about trustworthy sources

Difference between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources

• Primary sources are raw data-- original sources of information before evaluation

  • They are usually first-hand accounts and viewpoints at the time of the experience, experiment, or incident

• Secondary sources are analyses or interpretations of primary data. They offer no new data

  • They are usually written after the event

• Tertiary sources are those that compile information on a particular topic

  • They are references, usually composed of a list of primary and secondary sources

Factors that led to the current ecological crisis (climate change + environmental degradation)

• Transition from pre-industrial (agricultural) to industrial society during the Industrial Revolution led to dramatically more fossil fuel use over time

• Unequal energy use in high-income countries, for ex. the U.S.

  • U.S. accounts for 4% of the current world population but contributed to 17% of global warming

  • The U.S. has the highest per capita energy use that means that on average, each U.S. citizen uses much more energy than residents of other countries 

• Certain communities are treated as expendable, so polluting facilities like landfills, power plants, and factories are placed there- these are known as sacrifice zones

  • this is a reality both within and between countries (ex. high income v. low-income countries)

• Polluting facilities are necessary parts of extraction economies, which is a way that society is set up that depends on constantly extracting natural resources and labor

• Companies want to keep regulations on their business low so that they can make more money

Announcements

• Mark your calendars! Optional UC San Diego tour on Monday, July 13 from 10 AM - 3 PM. There will be a sign up form soon.

• Make sure to sign up for a one-on-one. Check your email for the sign up link

Key Takeaways

Contributions by Gianna F.

What is an Environmental Hazard?

• Environmental hazards are anything in the world created or worsened by human activity that can harm our health. Sometimes they can be invisible, build up slowly, or happen all at once

• Five environmental hazards that will be the focus of this fellowship are: Flooding, air pollution, extreme heat, water pollution, and soil erosion and pollution

• Exposure to an environmental hazard varies across several factors such as location and income

  • Low-income communities often deal with more environmental hazards than high-income communities due to decisions about infrastructure (ex. using monocultures that need a lot of fertilzer to grow crops or poor sewage treatment and trash disposal systems)

  • Cumulative burden describes when people living in a given community face more than one environmental hazards

How to Read an Abstract

• An abstract is an overview of a research paper

• A well-written abstract allows you to decide whether a source fits your project or not

• You don't need to know every word in an abstract. Some of the words may be defined in the full paper

• There are key terms that you can look for in an abstract to determine what part of the paper is being described. For example, action verbs like "reveals" signal that you are reading about the findings from the paper.

Announcements

• Optional "Day-in-a-Life" UC San Diego tour on Monday, July 13 from 10 AM - 3 PM. Sign up HERE

• The 4th annual Heat and Human Health Summit at UC San Diego School of Medicine is on Saturday, August 15. Register to attend or see last year's program. One benefit to attending this free conference is connecting with other students, trainees, and doctors who are passionate about planetary health topics.

• Please complete the survey and consent forms sent to your email by July 7th.