Sunday, November 1, 2009

Field Notes

First of all I like the fact that Kolbert mentions that the book evolved from writing three articles for the New Yorker Magazine. It is good, in journalism, to think about where stories can take you. Often times journalists find themselves upon ground breaking research gaining insight into the most pertinent of current events...and eventually you get good enough to be the authority on it! It's funny where inspirations are born. To me this is where real journalism is born. An individual, experiencing and documenting a worldly concern with the most reliable and hands on approach. This woman is literally investsigating for herself, becoming part of the problem and going distances to live the truth of the information.

"In the same way that global warming has gradually ceased to be merely a theory, so, too, its impacts are no longer just hypothetical," this quote really lays to rest the point the author is making. We have come a long way in research and it is not the time to pretend that global warming is just a conspiracy. The writing is clearly authoritative, and I like the anecdotal flow where the author throws in bits of what she has learned through experiencing another culture. So at the same time that the writing is scientific, it seems like travel writing!

The last quote really set in the element of fear. People truly do need to consider other perspectives when it comes to issues like this. There is no real inititative to change, but maybe, just maybe fear could drive people to save themselves.

I guess it just seems that by the time scientists finish researching and figuring just how and what effects global warming it will be too late.

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