Human Dimensions of Global Change

In my opinion, I don’t believe the majority of individuals understand their impact on Global Change.

Global Change is understood when disaster strikes close to their home such as flooding, erratic weather, and drought. For example in North America, in the summer when the water reservoirs  become too low, then the city would regulate household water consumption such as watering the lawn can only be permitted on odd days to conserve water supplies. It is not until these circumstances, that we understand that water supply is not infinite, but indeed finite.

Global Change seems to be a faraway issue that is hard to relate to as it is communicated through scientific terms and findings. There are many graphs on how global climate change is affecting us that looks disconcerting, but we do not know how to read or interpret the graphs.  

Global change is talked about in broad terms such as global climate change, war and conflict, drought, but global change can be felt in smaller scales such as soil in your yard becoming infertile and increasing sickness in your family.

Global Change is distorted through political agendas. Most people relate to Global Change as global warming, because most government initiatives and marketing campaigns are aimed at reducing carbon emissions to maintain the business as usual scenario. However, global change encompasses issues such as soil erosion that can lead to depletion of food resources.  

From our first learning portfolio entry, we learned that people learn in many different ways. People learn through their experiences, using metaphors and analogies to communicate how they learn. To bring the issues of Global Change closer to everyday individuals, I believe there needs to be improvement in the communication of Global Change in order to gain public awareness and support for the issue.