Climate Science Research

I started out my climate science research by going to google and typing in the words, "climate science." I also typed in phrases such as, "climate patterns" and "the science behind climate change." I found lots of good and reliable sources. So, I started looking at them and taking notes. So far I have looked at three websites: Nature, Scientific American, and the Committee on Climate Change. It is so interesting to see how many different perspectives there are when it comes to the issue of climate change. I always thought that science was definite and that there was one right answer, but this proves that there is not one right answer. There are so many reasons that scientists believe are contributing to climate change. As I continue my research, I plan to keep all of my information organized. I also want to be able to see if I can find any trends with all of the research that I find.

The Scientific American website claims that "Scientists are more confident than ever that humans have interfered with the climate and that further human-induced climate change is on the way." The Nature website says that real reason behind climate change is because of the greenhouse gas effect. They also claim that it is not possible to predict long term impacts. The Committee on Climate Change thinks that there is some sort of unidentified heat source in the climate system that is building up. This little bit of research proves that there are so many different hypotheses for what the real reason behind climate change is. 

Climate Topic

After looking at all of the different topics, I am most interested in the "Climate Science" topic. I want to learn more about this topic because I think it is important to first know about the basics of climate before going into the issues with the subject. Therefore, I would like to research about the science aspect behind the word climate.

Climate

1. Rain
2. Tropical
3. Environment
4. Global Warming
5. Plants

Climate is the general weather in a region. For example, in the south it is generally warmer than the north. In the west, it does not rain as much as it does everywhere else in the country. The climate also affects what types of plants live in the region. For example, in places such as California and Florida, there are many palm trees because of the warm climate.

How does the climate of one region affect another region? What are some of the specific climate patterns?

Dust Bowl Exhibit

The Dust Bowl in the 1930s was one of the most tragic days in United States history. It is similar to disasters nowadays such as the BP oil spill and the nuclear leak in Japan. In my opinion, the dust bowl was just as bad as these events. Animals suffocated and became blind, kids got dust pneumonia, and properties were ruined. All of the crops that farmers started to over produce were ruined. This paired with the Great Depression resulted in a great loss of money. These farmers had lost a tremendous amount of money when the dust bowl “took” these crops. I think it is important that the people of the present and the future learn about this event because it could happen again in the future. I want to create an indoor exhibit to show how the dust bowl affected people’s lives in the past. When you enter the exhibit, to the right will be a “gallery wall.” This wall will contain pictures of the houses and the region during the 1930s. While people look at these pictures, songs and stories that were made about that time will be playing. Songs such as “Dust Bowl Blues” and “Dust Bowl Refugee” by Woody Guthrie will be playing. These songs were both created in the 1930s so that people not in the regions affected could understand what the people in the region were going through. On this wall I would include the famous picture titled “Migrant Mother.” This picture would make most people feel sad about all the events that took place. This photograph is one of

the most famous pictures from the dust bowl.

 I would also play some stories from the people during that time. People remember specific things from the dust bowl so I would put them on a recording and play them while people look at all the pictures. On the left side of the exhibit there will be multiple podiums with newspaper clippings from that era. This will allow for people to understand the wide range of emotions during this time. The newspaper clippings would come from this archive. In the middle of the exhibit I would have a life-sized car to show the method of transportation that some people utilized to flee the dust bowl. As we learned in the last section, cars were becoming more “popular.” Therefore more people had one and it made fleeing the dust bowl a lot easier. I would most likely have a car like the one shown below on display. People would often flee to California and start a new life. These people were not treated equally in California though.

Towards the back of the exhibit I would have a little square with dirt in it. This would allow people to touch the dirt and really understand what it would be like with dirt everywhere and on everything. The last thing in my exhibit would be a computer with all of the “missing” information. I would have some of the theories about the causes of the dust bowl on this computer. For example, NASA believes that the “Jet Stream” was responsible for the Dust Bowl. Usually the Jet Stream flows west and creates a lot of rain in the Great Plains but here the jet stream changed and traveled farther south. On the other hand, some people think the dust bowl was completely manmade. These people believe that the dust bowl was caused from “poor farming practices and [a] lack of environmental understanding.” I would also have some interesting facts about the dust bowl on the computer. Some of the interesting facts include that the dust bowl, at times, reached all the way to Washington D.C. and that the dust bowl created a plague of grasshoppers and jack rabbits. I think the most important thing to know about the dust bowl is that after the dust bowl the government tried to enforce proper farming techniques but ultimately these did not succeed. It is also important to note that the farmers during the 1930s were not thinking about the future. They were concerned about growing lots of crops and making money off of them. As a result of this, the dust bowl occurred. I hope that after seeing all parts of my exhibit people will learn how valuable it is to know about the dust bowl.

This is a floor plan of how my exhibit would look

All Sources Used:

Dust Bowl Causes

Dust Bowl Facts

Dust Bowl Weather Questions

Dust Bowl Weather Facts

Dust Bowl Economy

Dust Bowl General

Dust Bowl 10 Facts

Newspaper Clippings

Woody Guthrie

Migrant Mother

Dust Bowl and Migration

Reading about the 1930s

Read about the Great Depression (Links to an external site.).  According to this article, what was wrong with President Hoover's response?  Why did people blame themselves when things went wrong, and how valid or invalid was this response?

President Hoover underestimated the stock market crash. He thought it would be over shortly and that the government should not get involved. Men started to blame themselves because they were not able to provide for their family. Men thought that it was embarrassing to have to ask for financial help. This response was valid. Now, some children were even looking for jobs to make money since some of their parents lost their jobs.

Read about Black Sunday (Links to an external site.). How would you have felt if you'd been there on that day? What kinds of fears, concerns, or questions would be going through your mind during, and after, the event described?

I would have been so scared if I was there on Black Sunday. I would not have known what to do or what to say. I cannot even think what it would be like to lose all of your possessions in a dust storm. How do you "act" in a dust storm? What is it like?

Read about The Drought (Links to an external site.).  What areas were affected by it?  What caused it.  The author ends this article with a pithy quote.  Do you agree or disagree with this historian's perspective? Why or why not?

The Western States in the United States were affected by the Drought. It was caused by a mix of a lack of water and a misuse of the land over the years. Since crops were "popular" during World War 1, so much was being grown on the land that the topsoil had worn out. I disagree with the historian's perspective. I think that even if the United States was "more careful" in the past years, it wouldn't have "changed" the outcome. I think it is not right to say that if the citizens were more careful and thought about the environment in every decision they made, then this would not have happened. 

Read about Mass Exodus from the Plains (Links to an external site.).  Were does the migration of people out of the Dust Bowl rank in terms of other migrations in US History?  What made life hard for people once they arrived in California?

The migration of people out of the Dust Bowl was ranks at the very top in terms of other migrations in US History. By the 1940s, more than 2 million people had moved out of the plain states. About 200,000 of those people went to California. It was hard for the people once they arrived in California because most of the farms were not privately owned. None of the people from the plain states were familiar with the types of crops grown in California. Also, they lived in shacks with no plumbing and no floor. 

Speeches

1. Overall, how did the speeches go?
I think the speeches were great. Everyone connected their 5 facts and it was very clear.
2. Was there anyone who stood out in particular? Why?
I think Madison was a great speaker. I loved the vocabulary she used throughout her speech.
3. What is something I learned for next time?
I learned that most people need to make more eye contact to their audience. I think that when a speaker makes eye contact, their speech is a lot better.

Economics and Advertising with the Radio

After researching about the radio in the 1930s, I learned that the main reason the radio was a great advertising medium was because it was free, most everyone had access to it, and it was a way for people who could not listen to hear the advertisements. In an article on Ad Age I found that since radio advertisements worked so well and more people were buying the products, it created a phenomenon called overproduction. Overproduction means that companies are producing lots of items at a lower cost. In another article on Ad Age I learned that by 1939, Proctor and Gamble was the leading advertiser. The company was spending about $11.2 million in magazine advertisements, radio advertisements, and in newspaper advertisements. General Foods was second in line. They were spending about $7.2 million in advertising. I am so amazed at how much money these companies spend just n getting people to buy their products.

This is a radio from the 1930s

Mini Book Review Part 2

In The Life of Bill Cardio, by Thomas Beckman, the readers will find out a lot about new technology. I have to say, this book may be hard for some people to read. But, it is well worth it! If you chose to read this book, you will learn so much about some of the new products in the twentieth century.

Mini Book Review

The Disenchanted, by Janvi Patel, is about a person who decides to read a magnificent piece of literature and how it changes their whole life. From the great pictures to the amazing use of slang, this book is truly moving. I recommend this book to everyone.

My Mini Book

I wrote a mini book about the press for women's rights. I used 12 slang words from the 1920s. My story was about a girl named Betsy who was learning about women's rights in the twentieth century.