Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd and Students Speak on Politics Concerning Climate Change
ATHENS, Ga.– “My sixth-grade science project is what got me into meteorology,” said J. Marshall Shepherd, sitting in his office with NASA memorabilia dispersed throughout, including a scale model of a satellite he worked on. “I made the weather instruments out of things around the house. After that, I knew I wanted to work in weather.”
Shepherd is a climate and weather scientist who earned his PhD in physical meteorology from Florida State University. After working for NASA for 12 years, he accepted a position at the University of Georgia (UGA) and is now the Associate Department Head of the Department of Geography as well as the Head of the Atmospheric Science Program.
One of the many things he is known for is his TED talk “Slaying Climate Zombies,” which talks about the importance of educating and raising awareness about the facts of climate change.
The Issue
Climate change has become a very controversial topic in recent years, especially leading up to and after the 2016 presidential election. From FOX news to MSNBC, climate change has been debated back and forth.
"A lot of the misinformation and climate skepticism that you hear is not rooted in science. It's just rooted in special interest and, frankly, economic reasoning," said Shepherd.
According to research conducted by PEW Research Center, only 18 percent of conservative Republicans and 24 percent of moderate Republicans believe that climate scientists understand very well whether climate change is occurring compared to 31 percent of moderate Democrats and 68 percent of liberal Democrats.
"Science and facts, in any area, should never be devalued," said fourth-year political science major Josh Hudson. "Climate change is too impactful and detrimental to be continually delayed by partisan debate."
Internationally
On June 1 of this year, President Trump announced that the U.S. would be pulling out of the Paris Agreement, stating that re-entry would be considered after the 'negotiating of a new deal.'
"I think it was a wise decision for the United States because it was said that the Paris Agreement would have cost the U.S. somewhere around almost 3 million jobs by 2025," said third-year accounting and MIS double major Jack Wall. "It would have taken a toll on the economy, so I think that ultimately it was a good decision."
As of early November 2017, 195 countries had signed the Paris Agreement including Syria, which had not at first due to civil war within the country, and Nicaragua. Originally Nicaragua did not sign due to sentiment that the agreement was not strict enough. The U.S. is the only country that was a part of the original negotiation of the agreement that is no longer a part of it.
"I think we look foolish being out looking in," said Shepherd. "As myself and others are trying to remind the world, that policy statement because some particular political ideology doesn't speak for the U.S. The U.S. is committed to this. States, local governments, and citizens in this country are too."
Solutions
Thoughts and opinions of American adults on solutions for climate change also vary significantly between Republicans and Democrats, according to PEW Research Center. The highest ranking solution being restrictions on power plant emissions, with 51% of U.S. adults in favor of it.
Jaylen Black, a third-year public relations students, said that she believes that climate change solutions can be achieved 'when public officials work together to make changes in current policies.'
"I think we're seeing a shift," said Shepherd. "You're seeing in Congress right now there's a bipartisan climate solutions caucus that has 60 members, 30 Democrats and 30 Republicans, and they're trying to bring forward climate change solutions."
Not only can solutions be implemented on an international and national scale, but also locally and by individuals. At UGA, the Office of Sustainability works to create a culture of sustainability on campus through student engagement and campus operations, according to the Director of the Office of Sustainability Kevin Kirsche.
"I think there's so many practical, economically responsible actions that we can all take to ensure health and wellbeing of people and natural resources for the long term," said Kirsche. "We have tremendous opportunity to conserve energy through infrastructure and improvements on campus, but as well as through simple individual action."
Here at UGA, the Climate Action Task Force and the Office of Sustainability work together to monitor the university’s carbon footprint and implement improvements on a local level.
Want to hear more? Click play below to listen to Dr. Shepherd give more detailed input on his thoughts on the current political climate's influence on individual's perceptions on climate change.
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