- What and who to trust? OPVL
- Case Study One: Natural Disasters
- Case Study Two: Is Nuclear Power the answer?
What and who to trust? OPVL
- How is climate change affecting the world? How do you know?
There are a myriad of views on how much of a problem climate change is and what the solutions are. Many governments in 2022 have opted for net zero by 2050, some environmental groups have lobbied for a more aggressive approach, aiming to end carbon emissions by 2030 and yet others have argued that nuclear power should replace fossil fuels. There are many other views too but I will not list them all here, if that is even possible. So for students in I&S, who and what should you believe? We have studied OPVL in previous grades and in Grade 10 we will focus on how we learn about climate change.
Errors can be made about any topic. For example, BBC News Error and…
Case Study One: Natural Disasters
Has climate change led to more natural disasters? The case study here is Bjorn Lomborg, an economist who has written several books on the finances of climate change.
Bjorn Lomborg: UN disaster report is a reporting disaster
a. What is Bjorn Lomborg arguing?
But the graph from National Geographic below contradicts this.
Moreover, the article below also contradicts Lomborg’s arguments. What and who should we believe? This is why it is important to do an OPVL analysis.
Perfect storm: how climate change is making natural hazards worse
b. Is Lomborg a reliable source? What are the values and limitations of his analysis? Use the following resources to find these.
Values
Watch the following from 1.21 to 3.30
What the new GCSE in global warming should teach
Limitations
A closer examination of the fantastical numbers in Bjorn Lomborg’s new book – This is a critique of Lomborg, useful to identify limitations of him but make sure you research the author of the article too.
2. Is Zurich.com (the article above) more reliable than Lomborg? Think of the values and limitations of the website.
Conclusion – Are there more natural disasters because of climate change? How do you know?
Case Study Two: Is Nuclear Power the answer?
- Watch the following video from Michael Shellenberger (you saw him earlier discuss wind power). Watch from 8.58 to 17.53
a. What advantages does nuclear power have over wind and solar?
b. What does Shellenberger say about Chernobyl?
Watch from 17.53 to 19.48
c. What does Shellenberger argue about nuclear waste?
2. Is Michael Shellenberger a reliable source? The following are what he said about renewable energy in September 2022. Is he bias towards nuclear power?
Is the following criticism valid?
3. Read the article from Green America on the dangers of nuclear power.
a. How does it differ from what Shellenberger argued?
b. What are the values and limitations of Green America?
4. Conclusions – Is nuclear power the answer? How do you know?