Earthrise
Reflection
The photo Earthrise was surprisingly an afterthought. Snapped casually
by an astronaut, this photograph was taken on a lunar mission that had no
intention of looking at the Earth. At many points in this project, I too found
myself wandering off course with a sudden burst of inspiration. Small
afterthoughts grew into significant plans and I consistently re-evaluated
the purpose of my work. Here I hope to reflect on my experiences and
explain the themes and discoveries unearthed by this project. While there
will forever be more to do, I am comforted by the progress made in
introducing a new perspective of climate change.
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Imagination
Upon completion of each stage of this project, I found myself reflecting
on my discoveries and how they innately connected with class concepts.
Initially, I was drawn to the theme of imagination and asked members of my community to share their interpretation of climate change and design innovative solutions to approach its repercussions. Although understanding the facts and statistics behind this global problem is essential, imagination also plays "a critical role in thinking through our representations of environmental change and offer[ing] strategies for developing diverse forms of environmental understanding" (Yusoff and Gabrys 516). While some found creatively designing solutions fun, many called the task daunting. Citing their inexperience in STEM, participants offered up already existing solutions or timidly qualified their creative responses with "I don't really know's" and "I don't actually think this would work." In some cases, participants were even more direct and stated the question was “asking a lot since I don’t have a science background.” It became quickly apparent that people perceive climate change as an entirely STEM-oriented concept, and "there has been scant attention as to how [...] the arts and humanities could contribute to future narratives" on climate change (Yusoff and Gabrys 516).
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Approaching this misconception, I guided students and adults through Yusoff and Gabrys’ claim and shared Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner's work as an example of using art, poetry, and culture as a means for discussing climate change. As my audiences watched Jetnil-Kijiner's "Rise" and "Dear Matafele Peinem," their eyes literally opened wide in awe. All at once, the Earth was personified by Jetnil-Kijiner's voice, highlighting the connection between the humanities and environmentalism. I encouraged viewers to consider the imagination employed by Jetnil-Kijiner as she selected meaningful words, camera angles, and music to convey her message. Together, we identified how Jetnil-Kijiner introduces the ice and rocks of Greenland to the shells of the Marshall Islands. This union foreshadows a future of the gulping tides that will rush from Greenland ice caps to the shores of vulnerable islands. While these geographic changes are rooted in scientific change, Jetnil-Kijiner uses poetry, symbolism, and imagination to expose the dangers of climate change.
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Following these examples, I instructed my classroom audiences to use this new perspective of climate change and approach the topic from a humanities perspective. Students were asked to “meme” the photo of Earthrise, incorporating a thought bubble that represents what the Earth would say to us if it could talk. Excited about the use of memes in the classroom, students got to work drawing and creatively designing slogans for the Earth. Reflecting on their work reveals their use of intertextuality as many used existing meme formats to engage in dialogue with the Earth and environmentalism. Others employed even more creativity as they developed their own artistic and meme formats to share their message. Please visit our meme page above to experience the creative, hopeful, sad, pointed, witty, distressed, clever, punny, and altogether wonderful collection of these students’ imaginations.
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Urgency and Response-Ability
From the collected surveys I also evaluated the theme of "urgency." A distinctly central point in youth responses (and distinctly absent in adult), Haraway's term allows for significant generational comparison. As seen in the collection of surveys, the majority of students attempted to answer the final question regarding proposed solutions for climate change. Similarly, many reinforced the temporal demands of addressing these issues sooner rather than later. Contrastingly, many adults refrained from designing solutions, claiming the question was too advanced, stressful, or difficult to answer.
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Haraway's sense of "urgency" does not allow us to push off these difficult questions. Instead, it demands immediate attention and recognition of our "response-ability" as a human race. Another linguistic tool from Haraway, this term "response-ability" again exposes generational variance in climate change understanding. She shares how "response-ability is that cultivation through which we render each other capable, that cultivation of the capacity to respond” (Haraway 257). This term recognizes responsibility as more than an acknowledgment of our actions, faults, and impact. Instead, it also insists that humans have the "ability" to "respond" to these repercussions and implement solutions. This response is required now and climate change cannot remain a theoretical concept veiled in complicated scientific text. By sharing Jetnil-Kijiner’s work and sharing memes in the classroom, I hoped to demystify the complexity of climate change and show students and adults alike that everyone is affected by and responsible for aiding in the repercussions of climate change.
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Thankfully these attempts yielded a small victory as three sixth grade girls approached me after one presentation. Excitedly, they shared their memes and told me that they had a newfound appreciation for science and climate change! They said that our discussion made the field of environmentalism more approachable and that they were now excited about STEM and its links to culture, art, and even memes. Now, three girls in a classroom of 60 kids may be a small number but I was overjoyed by this response. Just by helping these students engage with a new perspective of climate change, we gained three bright and passionate supporters to protect the Earth.
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Acceleration
I must admit I had many expectations as I began this project. I expected students to wow me with their innovative solutions for climate change. I expected adults to feel confused or intimidated by my questions. What I did now expect, however, was a common theme of acceleration amongst the youngest responders to my survey. Complimenting the concept of "urgency," David Rojas cites Deborah Danowski and Eduardo Viveiros de Castro 's thoughts on acceleration, "the growing momentum of the destructive forces unleashed by the physical interaction between the capitalist system and the Earth System" (Rojas 27). This ever-growing momentum was referenced frequently by student surveys, as participants proposed short term goals to "buy us time" before long-term systemic change can be implemented. Students developed this interesting approach to momentum, suggesting that there is a need for making seemingly inconsequential differences in our independent lives (i.e. fixing a leaking faucet or recycling). These differences, they argue, could save them enough time to grow up, enact policy, and begin cleaning up this global mess. As I reflect upon these responses I applaud this new approach to acceleration. While Rojas finds the roots of this word in catastrophe and malicious sacrifice, I see a new interpretation growing in the younger generation. I see children, already more akin to our Earth and its vulnerability. I see the future: delicate, hopeful, and a little greener. A new Earthrise.
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I would like to sincerely thank the schools, community members, and members of Honors 146 for their contribution to this project. Without the support and engagement of these groups Earthrise would not have been possible.
