An Investigation Of Student Beliefs On Climate Change Myth Or Reality

An Investigation of Student Beliefs on Climate Change- Myth or Reality

Mustapha Yoosuf-Akinlaja

Advisors: Dr. Frances Staten, Dr. John Nwoha and Dr. Lurie Thomason

Grambling State University

Abstract

Climate change as a reality or myth has received considerable attention in the non-scientific community to the extent that it has become confusing for the public to discern truth from fabrication. This study uses the statements of Donald Trump on climate change to investigate whether African-American college students agree or disagree with his changing views. Preliminary findings suggest that the sampled students are against President Trump’s comments and overall stance on Climate Change.

Introduction

Most people find it difficult to differentiate

A recent article published by NASA illustrated a vivid evidence of the impacts of man-made global warming. For example, global sea level rose about 17 centimeters (6.7inches) in the last century. The rate in the last decade, however is nearly double that of the last century. Global temperature has continued to rise, with fifteen of the sixteen warmest years on record have been since 2001. The oceans have absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 700 meters (about 2300 feet) of ocean showing warming of 0.302 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969. Furthermore, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass. Data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment show Greenland lost 150 to 250 cubic kilometers of ice per year between 2002 and 2006, while Antarctica lost about 152 cubic kilometers of ice between 2002 and 2006. The combination of rising sea levels, global temperature rise, warming oceans and shrinking ice sheets are usually the causes of the extreme weather events around the world, like the Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria, Hurricane Katrina and so on. Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that ninety-seven percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree that the climate-warming trends over the past century are

Gender is the collective social differences between males and females, as determined by culture. Gender is one of many components of vulnerability to climatic change. Changes in the climate affect genders differently, magnifying existing gender inequality. Both women and men are affected by and vulnerable to climate change and global warming, but women often bear more of the burden. This higher vulnerability is mostly not due to biological or physical differences, but is formed by the social, institutional and legal context. Subsequently, vulnerability is less an intrinsic feature of women and girls but rather a product of their marginalization. Accordingly, a study by the London School of Economics found that, in natural disasters in 141 countries, gender differences in deaths correlated to women’s economic and social rights in those countries. Due to their social standing, women in developing countries are not generally taught survival skills like swimming or climbing, meaning they are more likely to die in a natural disaster. When women have fewer rights and less power in society, more of them die due to climate change, but when there are equal rights for all groups, death rates are more equally