Program(s):
There’s a discussion in the United States that surrounds the issue of where our planet’s climate will be heading next after the way that we have been treating it since the Industrial Revolution. While there are skeptics for every argument, there is not much to say against the issue of climate change and the way we are damaging this place we call home. While in India, I want to do research on the way that Indian’s view climate change and the way they are presented information about it. In the U.S., intense rhetoric is seeped into the seams of the debate with a doomsday spin. I want to explore how climate change is presented in the context of media sources and receive feedback people’s interpretations.
While this may be an easier task in Delhi, I believe that I can do research, including keeping up with news and interviewing people, in all of the cities we will be staying on our adventure.
I hope to speak to a variety of people about my topic because I find it to be very important to have a range of opinions on a topic. However, I don’t know how feasible this will be seeing as it is the upper and middle classes that speak English and I barely speak any Hindi. I think that it might also be interesting to interview scholars and have their take on the situations. After briefly speaking with Sunil, I received some interesting feedback about the issue of climate change and he focused more on the issue of garbage as pollution rather than CO2 emissions or other more obvious causes of climate change.
I would like to try to visit different research institutes that work on gathering information on CO2 so that I can gather CO2 and weather data from them. I think that it could also be interesting going to a library or a university to interview people who are more likely to be informed/scholarly.
For my career, I dream of becoming a news anchor. Focusing on this topic for my research will provide me with experience in doing some of my own field work research. I would love to take videos of my interviews to practice my interview style and have some work to show when I apply for jobs. Of course I would only record the people that I am interviewing with their consent first but I think that it could be very beneficial later on if I have videos of my interviewing style.
List of specific activities I have completed on this project:
Delhi:
Sept 10: One article collected titled “Save protected forests, says HC” that also included the Air Quality Index
Sept 14: Full page spread on “Earth Care Awards 2015” which included a variety of articles relevant to my research
Sept 19: Only Air Quality Index
Sept 21: Two articles collected – 1 on a fine for polluting the Yamuna and 2 on a Public Transportation plan making air cleaner that included the Air Quality Index
Sept 22: Two articles collected – 1 Air Quality Index and 2 On the Road to Progress
Sept 23: Visited the Center for Science and Environment and met with Arjuna Srinidhi
Oct 12: Interview with Arjuna
Chennai:
Oct 3: Two articles collected - 1 Recycle and Reuse and 2 India's Green Vow Revolves Around the Sun (Additional article about the drought that has been hitting India)
Oct 5: One article collected - Green in India (Additional article on the delay of the monsoon season)
Oct 6: One comic collected - Line of No Control