Climate change, energy by

An Atlantic article, arguing that the labelling of an entire geological epoch as the ‘Anthropocene’ is invalid.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:37:23 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Get students to look at the reasons for and against this point of view, and think about the consequences of applying this label in terms of how we understand the world. Ultimately, is the article right in contending that the Anthropocene term serves to “inflate humanity’s legacy”?

A Wired article, exploring how a new approach to gathering data may fundamentally change the way we understand and deal with climate change.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:39:09 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE How is the ICOS doing things differently? Why is this so important? Will it manage to convince those who are determined to deny that climate change is either not being worsened by human actions, or is not an issue of importance - in other words, is reliable data enough?

KEY TERMS Reliable data, Solidarity, Internationalism.

This Guardian interview with Katharine Hayhoe discusses the nature of scientific knowledge, and why people are skeptical of the work of climate scientists.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:40:31 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Hayhoe’s key point is that 'A thermometer is not liberal or conservative'. What do students think she means by that, and is it always true? Secondly, why does Hayhoe believe many people are unwilling to accept the idea that human activity is the reason for the changes in the earth’s climate? Assuming she’s right, how can this be resolved?

A Recode interview, which explores the claim made by a group of biologists and ecologists that social media is threatening humanity.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:40:47 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Why is Joe Bak-Coleman and the other authors of the paper so worried about what’s happening? Then think about their suggestion of treating social media as a ‘crisis discipline’. What does this mean, and how does it shift our understanding of social media? What are the challenges of exploring the effects of social media? Are they right about its risks? Finally, what do students think are our individual and collective responsibilities as knowers when it comes to using social media?

KEY TERMS Crisis discipline, Information ecosystem

Two articles - from the Guardian and the Conversation - look at what we can learn about climate denial from the movie Don’t Look Up.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:41:04 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE (See the Conversation article here) Students will gain a lot from watching the movie, as it deals with many TOK-friendly ideas. Why does Kalmus believe the film “captures the madness I see every day” - and what is this madness? How can movies such as this one help climate scientists to do their job, despite being fictional? Looking at the second article, what are the “five myths that fuel the rejection of climate science”?

KEY TERMS Accurate, Gaslighted, 100% certain, Public communication

A New Statesman article, speculating that Van Gogh would have loved activists covering one of his sunflowers paintings in soup.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:41:14 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE How have people reacted to a recent protest by Just Stop Oil activists? Why does the writer feel that Van Gogh would have approved of their protests? What relationship does the article say art has with ethical issues in general, and environmental ones in particular? Overall, do you agree that “Art demands that we think, and challenges us to question the status quo”? How far should we apply this?

KEY TERMS Abstraction and experimentation, Radical, Sites of protest, Bigger picture, Alert

A Vox article, exploring where the line is between climate pessimism and complacent optimism when it comes to the state of the environment.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:41:20 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What examples does she give that support optimism about the future? How does Hannah RItchie’s conceptual framework assess the future, and what characterizes each quadrant? In what ways can we become more optimistic about the future? Overall, how does our mindset determine the reality of the effects of climate change? How can we ensure that our outlook supports rather than undermines effective climate action?

KEY TERMS Doomer culture, Accurate vs. useful, Truth, Paralyzing anxiety, Progress, Complacency trap

A Newsweek video and a Guardian article, examining - depending on your perspective - NYC’s ‘woke war on pizza’ or ‘attempt to improve air quality’.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:41:25 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE From the Newsweek video/article: What is going on in New York City, and why? From the Guardian: How is this issue more complicated than the way Scott LoBaido portrays it? What key pieces of additional detail do they provide about what’s going on? Why has this issue become so polarized? Does it seem possible to arrive at some sort of resolution? To conclude: How do our political perspectives prompt us to take ‘cognitive shortcuts’ when exploring issues? What are the consequences of doing so?

KEY TERMS Protest (Newsweek), Distorted account, Misleading, Expert, Misconception (Guardian)

A Verdict article, looking at how climate change has left Tuvalu with “no alternative but to pioneer the concept of a digital nation.”

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:41:30 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What threat is facing TuValu? How are they intending to use AI technology to help them respond to this threat? What does the article mean when it says the project is more “palliative than preventative”? To wrap up: What constitutes a country’s cultural heritage, and what should we do in order to safeguard it against existential threats?

KEY TERMS Preserve and maintain, Digital nation, Cultural heritage, palliative vs. preventative True conservation

A BBC Future article, exploring the phenomenon of anthropomorphising threats and disasters that face society.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:41:37 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What has recent scientific research revealed about the human “penchant for personification”, and which philosopher does it link to? How does anthropomorphism produce a sense of psychological relief in terms of dealing with uncertainty? In what ways can anthropomorphism protect us from health risks, and how have authorities drawn on this? What insights does this tendency provide us about religion? To wrap up: “humans cannot help but populate the world with imaginary beings created in our own image.” What does David Robson mean, and how does this impact on us navigating the world?

KEY TERMS Personifying natural phenomena, Conscious intent, Humanising language, Cope with the uncertainty, Psychological relief, Imaginary beings

A Vox article, arguing that our mindset when approaching the climate crisis is now in a much better place.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:41:43 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What is the ‘finite pool of worry’ theory, and why is it no longer accepted in relation to the climate crisis (hint: use the terms ‘periphery’ and ‘core’ in your answer)? How does Lorraine Whitmarsh measure public perceptions of the climate crisis, and how difficult is this to achieve objectively? How might ‘habituation’ affect the way we view climate change? To wrap up: What responsibility lies with us in terms of creating the right mindset to understand and tackle the climate crisis?

KEY TERMS Finite pool of worry, Evidence, Intuitive sense, Availability heuristic, Interpret, Direct experiences, Peripheral vs. core issue, Habitation, Mere exposure effect, Collective delusion

A France24 article, analyzing whether Doha’s claim to be the first ever carbon-neutral World Cup stands up to scrutiny.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:42:58 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What claims is the Qatari government making about the World Cup? Why do some experts feel these promises are “absolutely not credible”? What examples does the article provide to support this view? What does this indicate about the difficulties evaluating whether organizations are really carbon neutral - or just greenwashing? Overall, to what extent should we accept the environmental credentials claimed by governments, businesses, and other organizations? What evidence should we use to evaluate these?

Key terms Greenwashing, Credible, Transparency

A Guardian article, arguing that indigenous peoples were shut out of the Cop26 discussions - “literally and figuratively”.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:43:30 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE To what extent to which indigenous people should be included in - and even leading - discussions, given that their ‘ecological civilizations’ are the models for all future societal development. Why have their ideas not been listened to more? How should inclusion in the debates be decided - based on expertise? Proximity to the problem? Culpability? Should the politicians be running the show, or climate scientists? How democratic should the summit and its discussions be? To explore who is calling the shots - and who should be calling the shots - you can check out the representation issue further in the Independent, CNBC, and EcoWatch.

Key terms Spin, Manipulated numbers, Glossy sponsorships, Power

A Conversation article, looking at what the world can learn about conservation and trust from indigenous societies.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:43:37 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Focus on ‘TEK’, and what its three elements mean. What does the article say are the key differences between indigenous and industrialized approaches to resource management? What can be learned from it? How should we balance avoiding stereotypical views of indigenous societies as being ‘at one with nature’, with a willingness to learn from them? Overall, how important is it to be willing to learn from other societies and cultures about the world - and what happens if we are not?

Key terms Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), Stereotypes, Framework to understand, Trust, Deference, Respectful, Accountable

This Guardian article explores how indigenous stewardship of land offers a better way to manage carbon emissions.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:43:42 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What are the differences between smaller-scale, indigenous societies, and larger-scale, industrialized society in terms of the way we produce and use our knowledge about the natural world? Can our values ever support the responsible stewardship of the environment?

Key terms Stewardship

A Sky News video, looking at the relationship between the Kogi people of Colombia and the natural world - and what we can learn from them.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:43:48 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Who are the Kogi people, and why are they in the news? How different are their beliefs about the natural world to those of us belonging to large-scale, industrialized societies? Why does their approach to the environment have less of an impact than ours? Overall, does having a spiritual relationship with the natural world help us to understand and protect it more effectively?

Key terms Advice, Interconnected, Voice, Living entity

A Science News article, looking at the way indigenous reindeer herders are working with climate scientists to understand Arctic warming.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:43:54 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What is the relationship between knowledge and culture?

KEY TERMS Collaborate, Predicting, Call to action, Implications, Paired knowledge, Encoded

A Guardian article, looking at a report that says we should take a far more qualitative approach to measuring the value of nature.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:45:03 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Why has a report by 82 leading scientists concluded that the wider benefits of nature have been ignored - and what are the consequences of this? What balance between qualitative and quantitative methods should we use to evaluate the natural world? Why is this an important question for the future of humanity? Overall, how should we draw on different academic and cultural perspectives in order to establish a fuller understanding of the natural world?

Key terms Spiritual, Cultural and emotional values, Qualitative, Experts, Super-quantitative, Good science

A Smithsonian article, exploring how two California artists are helping people to ‘personalize their eco grief’ via the creation of neologisms.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:45:19 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What is the Bureau of Linguistical Reality, and who is behind it? How does it try to relieve people’s ‘climate distress’? Why do you think it has managed to make such an impact on people around the world? Using their methods, rethink your starter response, and come up with a neologism to summarize your feelings about climate change. Overall, how does language help us to understand and deal with our emotions?

Key terms Lexicon, Word making salon, Neologisms, Climate distress

A Vox article, exploring how ‘mud libraries’ are the ‘backbone’ of climate science.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 08:45:40 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What counts as good evidence for a claim?

KEY TERMS Language, Scale, Critical pieces of this puzzle

An FT article, which explores whether we have become too fixated on the numbers attached to the climate crisis.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 15:57:33 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Why can conveying the dangers of climate change via ‘magic numbers’ lead to problems? How has the Covid pandemic influenced the way climate messaging is carried out? Why are some scientists arguing that you have to link climate change to ‘everyday experiences’? Overall, how do we ensure that big ideas in science are communicated with resonance?

KEY TERMS Magic numbers, Exactitude, Cut-offs, Awareness vs. fear, Deadline-ism

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A Forbes article, demonstrating how the labelling of a phenomenon (climate change) as an ‘emergency’ changes the way we perceive that phenomenon.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 15:58:40 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE Whilst few experts doubt the link between human activity and climate change, persuading people who are not familiar with the scientific data (or are not persuaded by it) is another matter. How has language (specifically, the word ‘emergency’) helped to change perceptions of this issue? Thinking more widely, what is the role of language in helping to communicate scientific understanding? What are the pros and cons of using words and phrases that are emotive?

KEY TERMS Political language

A BBC article that examines the relationship with cognitive biases, and our ability to tackle challenges such as climate change.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-03-04 15:59:17 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE How do our biases help or hinder our navigation of the world?

KEY TERMS Cognitive biases

A Vox podcast and article, looking at why the ‘much ridiculed’ Gaia hypothesis, which claims that the earth is a living entity, should be taken seriously.

theory_of_knowledge — 2024-05-02 13:25:32 UTC

UNPACKING THE SOURCE What is the Gaia hypothesis, and why was it mocked by many members of the mainstream scientific community? What are Ferris Jabr’s four arguments for the Earth being ‘alive’? How widely accepted are they? How does seeing the Earth as a living organism impact on the moral urgency of the climate crisis? To wrap up: “I think open-mindedness is fundamental to any scientific thinking or scientific process. And we have to be open to the idea that a century from now, or even sooner, all of this will be wrong.” How does the Gaia hypothesis illustrate this approach to knowledge?

KEY TERMS Hypothesis, Fringe, Mainstream, Open-mindedness, Moral urgency

theory_of_knowledge — 2026-06-08 10:22:26 UTC

Check out our key concepts here, which will help you to apply a critical thinking lens to this topic, and articulate your ideas about it. These concepts are highlighted.