Andi Kolari
Professor Vejdemo-Johansson
HON 223 Seminar
11/22/2021
Research Description
The aim of this research was to develop an understanding of how climate change will impact the Earth past the year 2100 if no climate action is taken. By analyzing patterns in climate change, and years of pre-existing data, scientists were able to analyze the impact of climate change in multiple distinct areas. They identified tangible impacts to vegetation and human well being. Based on these results, they were able to then analyze the impact this would have on society directly, such as ensuing food shortages, necessary human migrations, and others. The scientists analyzed these societal factors throughout many different regions.
Abstract and Research vs Article
The abstract and research actually have quite a different focus than most of the article. The abstract does what one expects an abstract to do. It gives a very brief overview of what goal the scientists were trying to accomplish. In the case of this experiment, the goal was to identify impacts of climate change on Earth by the year 2500. They explained this, and their results, and that is essentially the entire abstract. Part of the reason for their goal was to stress the importance of taking climate action, by showing the radical changes between now and 2500 if no action is taken. As such, the scientists behind this study did something extremely novel. Using the data they collected, they created analyses of individual regions across the globe. Then, after conducting these analyses and reaching conclusions on what these areas would look like, they actually passed their data on to artists, who then created artistic representations of what the data suggested the individual regions would look like by the year 2500, as to really motivate people to take action on climate change. The article primarily focuses on these artistic interpretations, only occasionally focusing on the raw data. Since the art is so much easier for an average person to digest, the article focuses on that, only devoting a few sentences to explaining how the scientists did it, and the numerical/analytical results of the experiment. Likewise, the differences between the actual research itself and the article are very similar. The research paper is composed of five sections, not including introduction and conclusion. Of these 5 sections, none are entirely devoted to the art. In fact, the art is only present in section 5, and exists only to enhance the individual regional analyses conducted by the scientists. In contrast, the art really is the entire focus of the article. The job of the research is to be research, and as such, it is held to extreme scrutiny. Every conclusion the researchers reached in the lead up to their primary conclusion is substantiated, whether that be through the findings of their research, complex mathematical analysis, etc. In contrast, the article really is more focused on the art, and conveying the message that action must be taken on climate change, using this fusion of art and science as a tool to do so, but mostly focusing on the art.
Sources Cited
- Lyon et al. Climate change research and action must look beyond 2100. Global Change Biology. Published online September 24, 2021. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15871.
- Gramling, Carolyn. “How Will Climate Change Reshape the World by 2500?” Science News, 18 Nov. 2021, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/climate-change-projections-2500.
