Teachers and Turtles : Global Warming

When we think about Global Warming we can consider many aspects of the topic. We can consider its credibility or whether we can do anything to reverse it. We can choose to ignore it and say we never knew or we could take responsibility for our actions and decide to stop being so greedy with our money. These possibilities are endless so for these blogging purposes, I will explore only two aspects of this issue.

First, is to tackle the question of whether Global warming even causes that much of a problem. When I was reading an article from the New York Times concerning Marine Turtles who have temperature-dependent sex determination as one of their traits I came across some interesting information. This link will take you to the site where they discuss how although the warmth of the water at incubation of the turtles makes results in there being more female turtles born than males.http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/science/marine-turtles-mating-habits-make-up-for-male-shortage.html?_r=1&ref=globalwarming If this was the end-all then the already endangered species would accelerate in its deterioration and eventual disappearance from the face of the earth (or rather the depths of the sea). However this is not the case, surprisingly although the turtles are disproportional in gender at birth, they seem to level out by the time they are adults. There are many theories for why this is the case but nevertheless, the point is nature is able to right itself and continue breeding in equal numbers. If these animals do this, is it not possible that other aspects of nature are able to as well? Why can’t our fields adapt to the new climate changes without any major money spent by us or with new inventions and solutions to implement new cultivating techniques to make enough food or the growing population?

Next, I looked at an article outlining how it feels to be a person who is under fire for supporting or denying the theory of global warming. Science teachers have the job of educating their students on certain topics which do not have concrete evidences to back them up and a growing base of scientists who do not believe or condone the theory of global warming. This constant opposition to the theory of Climate change and global warming makes the teacher feel targeted and unsure of themselves. They shouldn't be persecuted for their job.

"Some of the denial is literal (It’s not happening! The science is bad!), some of it may be interpretive (it’s maybe happening but people aren’t to blame), and some of it stems more from the implications of climate change (it’s happening and maybe humans are responsible, but someone else is to blame and/or there’s nothing I can do about it)."

-http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2012/02/so-whats-a-teacher-to-do/
         
            The topic can yield many unpleasant feelings and yet still exudes hope for the future. If the turtles were able to correct themselves in the real world then this provides ammunition for those who say that Humans are not causing global warming nor that we have an obligation to do anything to help it. The more tangible evidence that we are able to compile adds to the increasing credibility of these allegations.