Over the past several weeks in class, I have learned a bunch about global warming and its effects on the world and its inhabitants. After hearing all the presentations, it seems about 75% of our class is a believer in global warming, but there are still quite a few that think it’s just a hoax. I understand that there really isn’t any solid evidence that global warming is taking place; however there isn’t really any evidence that it’s not either.

What I think it honestly boils down to is that we are all getting caught up on the term ‘global warming’. Some people hear it and think too literally or they hear it just as a negative term so they automatically shoot it down in their head. It is said that by this August, it will be the 37th anniversary of the term and it makes me wonder if the term is now more helpful or hurtful. The founder of the term is Wally Broecker, who did his 1975 Science paper titled “Are we on the brink of a pronounced global warming?”. It is highly doubtful that he pondered about the term holding up to the vicious and intense controversy that came about over the years. (Although some say there were earlier papers that also used the term “global warming trend” back in 1961.) There is criticism that “‘climate change’ was invented by ‘warmists’ to hide a perceived inconvenient truth that global temperatures aren’t actually warming” (Hickman).

To me, it sounds like people are getting too caught up on the term and overlooking what’s happening right in front of our faces. There really doesn’t have to be a name for it. The only thing that we may be able to agree on is that there is extreme weather taking place more and more often, so we must ask ourselves what can we do to fix it? It is then and only then, that we may be able to start making some progress and mend the situation to make the world a better place.

Hickman, Leo. “Is It Time to Retire the Term ‘global Warming’?” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 5 Aug. 2010. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2010/aug/05/global-warming-birthday-new-name>.

I’m sure it is well known by now that there are many types of visual communication. I believe that one of the strongest forms of visual communication can be interpreted through body language. You can tell a lot about someone by the way they carry them self, their position when speaking or listening, or even when they make simple eye contact. All these things can bring across a different message and not only with people, but with animals too. For example, I made the connection in my companion animal science class that a dog gets most of his or her cues from the owner. Praise can be rewarded by a pat on the head, opening your arms in a congratulatory way, or even smiling will tell the dog that you’re pleased with them. On the contrary, when an owner is not pleased with their dog, it’s almost as if the dog knows instantaneously that they’ve done something wrong by the owner’s body language. Pets work to please their owner so experts recommend this type of communication as opposed to rewarding with treats because it’s actually more rewarding for the dog.

Another type of visual communication is sign language. I think this is a very interesting and unique form of communication that everyone should learn about. There is actually a class at Iowa State that offers basic communication using sign language that I intend on taking. Sign language allows people that cannot hear well or at all to communicate using symbols with their hands. I don’t know much about sign language, but I realized that I use sign language with my dog at home as silly as that sounds. It is a different form of sign language, but I’ve found it works about the same way. If I want my dog to sit without using a voice command, I simply put one finger up and she knows to sit. This is of course done with a lot of practice, but it’s a really neat form of visual communication.

Communication is everywhere and is used with tons of different people at different times. It’s important to utilize different types of communications so you can always communicate effectively. This is my last blogging assignment of the semester and I’ve learned a lot about all kinds of communication and how to communicate effectively. With that said, this is Ashley “signing” out!

It is a common misconception that global warming is all about rising temperatures and the heating up of the Earth. This may be a contributing factor, but it is not the only factor. In fact, warmer summers might actually lead to colder winters.

According to Time Magazine, “a warmer Arctic may actually lead to colder and snowier winters in the northern mid-latitudes. Even countries like Britain - suffering through the coldest December on record- deal with low temperatures and unusual snow, the Arctic has kept on warming, with Greenland and Arctic Canada experiencing the hottest year on record” (Walsh). Even though this statistic references Britain, it can still relate back to the United States and the Mid-West. For example, just a couple years ago, the mid-west experienced a mild summer and a harsh winter. On the opposite side, we experienced a mild winter, which researchers say they are predicting a hot and harsh summer due to climate change.

So even though rising temperatures are affecting the Earth and its inhabitants, it’s important to consider the other end of the scale with things like blizzards and snowstorms. A clever analogy is used by a meteorologist named Jeff Masters who writes, ” ‘this pattern is kind of like leaving the refrigerator door ajar - the refrigerator warms up, but all the cold air spills out into the house’ ” (Walsh). As a result, the chilling atmosphere from up north may lead to frosty nights and severe weather hazards during winter seasons.

Walsh, Bryan. “Holiday Blizzard: More Signs of Global Warming.” Time. Time, 28 Dec. 2010. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. <http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2039777,00.html>.

This week something marvelous happened. J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books, opened her free online website called Pottermore to the public! As you can clearly see by now I’m a bit of a Potter dork and I’m totally okay with that. On the site, you are able to create a wand, get sorted into a “house”, duel other members, and even create potions. Users are also awarded house points to compete in the annual house cup competition between the four houses. Most importantly though, members are able to read exclusive content from J.K. Rowling that wasn’t in the original Harry Potter Books!

Another feature that Pottermore offers is the option to comment on different chapters in the books, and chat with members inside and outside of your acquired house. This is a great form of visual/electronic communication because people are able to converse with other Harry Potter fans literally all across the globe. I’ve even come across someone who claims to be from Antarctica which is pretty neat! An important challenge with chat rooms is how to keep the users safe. For example, on Pottermore, there is only a certain amount of content that can be revealed about the user to other members using the site. The most personal information to view is where a person is from and it only reveals the country. This keeps the website a safe and friendly environment so people of all ages can enjoy the fun and interactive experience of Pottermore.

The presentations in class this week on global warming has inspired me to do some research on the presidential candidates’ stance on global warming. With President Barack Obama as the democratic candidate and former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney as the likely republican candidate, they both have similar and contrasting views on global warming.

From what I read, Obama “requested $770 million in federal funds to combat the effects of global warming in developing countries” (Cover). According to the Congressional Research Service, the government has spent a total of $2.5 billion on Global Climate Change Initiative since 2010 on overseas anti-global warming efforts in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. If Obama’s proposal is approved by Congress, it would bring a total of $3.3 billion total towards foreign climate change. However, I am not finding anything that President Obama is doing “locally” in the United States about the issues on climate change. This is concerning since the United States is the number one contributor to global warming. It seems like Obama has all the right tools to research climate change, but isn’t really enforcing anything. A climate scientist named Michael Mann describes Obama’s plan as follows, “He appointed all the right people to the various agencies… It’s like he had this all-star basketball team, but he wouldn’t let them go out on the floor and play” (Huffington Post).

In contrast, Mitt Romney’s stance seems to change quite frequently. In his 2010 book, No Apology, Romney wrote, “I believe that climate change is occurring… I also believe that human activity is a contributing factor. I am uncertain how much of the warming, however, is attributable to man and how much is attributable to factors out of our control.” Later in June of last year, reporters quoted that Romney suggested the United States should “reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may be significant contributors.” Then recently at a fundraising event in Pittsburgh, Romney stated, “My view is that we don’t know what’s causing climate change on this planet. And the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to try to reduce CO2 emissions is not the right course for us” (Davenport). Romney’s inconsistency is really making me doubt his view on this subject and now many of his other views that he claims to have a “stance” on. Overall, I think both parties have a lot to work on with the issues on global warming and climate change.  

Cover, Matt. “Obama Requests $770 Million to Fight Global Warming Overseas.” CNSnews. 26 Mar. 2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. http://cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-requests-770-million-fight-global-warming-overseas.

Davenport, Coral. “Mitt Romney’s Shifting Views on Climate Change.” CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 28 Oct. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20127273-503544/mitt-romneys-shifting-views-on-climate-change/.

Post, The Huffington. “Michael Mann ‘Disappointed’ In Obama’s Global Warming Record.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 31 Mar. 2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/31/michael-mann-global-warming-obama_n_1392683.html.

Presentations are a very effective form of visual communication. A presentation can be informational, persuasive, or for entertainment purposes. A way to help make presentations more effective is to us the very helpful Microsoft Office. Microsoft Word, Power Point, and Excel are the three main tools that make up Microsoft Office. There are many things one needs in order to make their presentation successful. This reminds me of a time when I was younger and gave a presentation to my parents on getting another dog.

I have loved animals all my life (which is why I’m majoring in animal science). And I saw a dog online that I wanted desperately, so my friend and I got together one afternoon to make a presentation to my parents on why we should have another dog. We used Microsoft Word to make our key points like our other dog in the house won’t be as lonely if we get another dog, and how we would be saving an animal’s life. We also used pictures to make our case more effective and threw in the fact that the dog was even housetrained. We taped all this to a cardboard box and presented it to my parents. My mom was sold right away because hey, I was little and cute and she loved animals just as much if not more than I do. My dad, on the other hand, was a tough egg to crack. We ended up taking my other dog up to meet the dog I wanted, but they didn’t get along so we didn’t end up getting him. My dad said if they had gotten along though, we could’ve taken him home.

What I’m getting at is it’s important to have good presentation skills (where I lost this ability as I got older I have no idea, but I’m working on it). Using pictures and graphs for visual communication is a great enhancement to a presentation and I found it will help make your point immensely.

Besides flooding, I am also researching how climate change and global warming are affecting the U.S. With the upcoming 2012 presidential elections, it is important to hear how the candidates will convey their opinions on the matter, if the recognize the problem, and what they will do in attempt to mend it.

Global warming and climate change are impacting many countries around the world. Some may be unaware or do not take the problem seriously, but what I’ve found on the U.S. is as follows:

• Climate changes are underway in the United States and are projected to grow. These include increases in heavy downpours, rising temperature and sea level, rapidly retreating glaciers, thawing permafrost, lengthening growing seasons, lengthening ice-free seasons in the ocean and on lake rivers, earlier snowmelt, and alterations in river flows.
• Crop and livestock production will be increasingly challenged. Agriculture is considered one of the sectors most adaptable to changes in climate. However, increased heat, pests, water stress, diseases, and weather extremes will pose adaption challenges for crop and livestock production.
• Threats to human health will increase. Health impacts of climate change are related to heat stress, waterborne diseases, poor air quality, extreme weather events, and diseases transmitted by insects and rodents.

All these facts, brought to you by the United States Global Change Research Program, expresses how much we really should be concerned with global warming and climate change. Not only for the United States’ benifit, but for the benefit of our planet and the future population as well.

“Integrating Federal Research on Global Change and Climate Change.” Global Climate Change Impacts in the US (2009). Web. 07 Apr. 2012. <http://www.globalchange.gov/publications/reports/scientific-assessments/us-impacts>.

So far, I’ve talked about visual and electronic communication, but never combined. I’d like to take this time to fuse the two and determine if combining them makes for one successful product.

One company that started combining visual and electronic communication was Apple. There are iPods, iPads, iPhones, and many other products that intertwine the two types of communication. These products allow the user to interact using touch screen features and also allow them to play games, listen to music, and even surf the web. The electronic part allows the user to make it easy to travel and have many types of communication on hand. With that being said, I find that with these two types of communication united, they really do make for one prosperous device. There are many other products that have a type of electronic or visual communication and there may even be products that have both, but none have been as successful as the Apple products. All in all, with these two types of communication combined, they both have the power to change the way we communicate forever.

I’ve been following global warming closely during the past couple of months, and I believe I’ve decided to do my assigned research paper on flooding, in regards to global warming. I’m from Davenport, Iowa so I practically live right on the Mississippi River so people from our area have to watch the total rainfall really close. This is the main reason why I’d like to focus on flooding for my research topic.

It is found that “Just in 2007 alone, monsoons sparked catastrophic floods that displaced 10 million people in India; England and Wales saw their wettest summers ever recorded in more than two centuries of recordkeeping; China’s heavy rains in early June killed 120 in flooding and landslides” (Deneen). This speaks a lot since there are predictions that there is to be even more precipitation in years to come. “There’s a 90 percent chance that we’ll see more frequent heavy rainfalls and heat waves this century…” (Deneen).

With that said, it is likely that things are going to get worse before they get better. However, with scientists watching closely, we should be able to predict what’s coming and with everyone’s help, we could possibly slow the progress of global warming as well.

Deneen, Sally. “Flooding and Global Warming.” The Daily Green. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. <http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/definitions/flooding>.

This week was extremely busy for me. It was Greek Week here at Iowa State and there was so much to do and see. One of the really popular events was called Lip Sync, where all the Greeks get together to perform a voiceover skit with dancing to describe all the fun things that ”going Greek” has to over. Doing this skit without literally speaking shows just how important visual communication really is.

I’ve been dancing since I was three years old. My parents put me in dance class so I wouldn’t have stage fright (even though I don’t think that worked out too well) and I danced until I was a freshman in high school. In that time, I realized how much dance was an act of visual communication. The dancers can portray different emotions that allow the audience to feel what the dancer wants them to feel. For example, ballet is a very graceful and passionate dance that engages the audience and depending on the song, it can be very slow and calming or quick and intense. Theater is the same way.

I went to my friends play last week and I really enjoyed it. It called Death takes a Holiday, and the actors did a great job with developing the plot so the audience could relate to it. It made me think just how much I value my my life and my family and friends. It was amazing to think about just how much dance or a play can be interpreted by different people and in different forms of visual communication.