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Annotated Bibliography

What Are Ways that You Can Reduce Your Carbon Footprint?

Lauren Sutton

Professor Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1103 H02

October 18, 2019

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Dalmia, Shikha. “The Fight against Climate Change Needs Better Weapons.” ​The Week​, The

Week, 27 Sept. 2019,

theweek.com/articles/868089/fight-against-climate-change-needs-better-weapons?utm_ca

mpaign=newsletter&utm_source=afternoon&utm_medium=09_27_19-article_

3-868089 Accessed 18 Oct. 2019

The author argues that climate activists are over-exaggerating the projected negative

effects of climate change, and that doing so will not spur action from world leaders. She

makes an analogy to Game of Thrones season 8, a fictional drama series in which Queen

Cersei chooses to free-ride rather than join her enemies in the fight against apocalypse.

The author acknowledges that climate change is a pressing issue and that we need to

develop a solution in a timely manner. However, she insists that the projected

consequences are not nearly as high as climate activists make them out to be. The 6th

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change declared that preserving the planet will

require maintaining an average global temperature of 1.5 degrees Centigrade or less

above the average global temperature in the 19th century before the industrial revolution.

The upfront costs of attempting to reach this target are daunting, and this is why little

progress has been made. She suggests that making cleaner energy alternatives

advantageous to consumers could be a step in the right direction. At the moment, nuclear

power is the most attainable alternative. The article is clearly biased, as the author takes a

strong position on one side of the issue. The author makes a spelling error when she

refers to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as “Alexander Ocasio-Cortez”. Her comparison of the

climate change controversy to Game of Thrones is intended to make the topic more
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relatable for readers. However, Game of Thrones is a fictional series with many fantastic

elements such as white walkers, dragons, and magic, and was in no way intended to be

realistic. This downplays her argument and makes it seem further from reality. ​The Week

is a moderate left-leaning media outlet. The intended audience of this publication is

policy makers and climate activists. This article is unreliable because its information is

backed up by sources that are extremely biased. One of these sources is an article from

Reason ​on Greta Thunberg environmentalism, which refers to Thunberg as a

“doomsayer” and compares her speech at the United Nations climate summit to Jonathan

Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. This article is useful to me because it

provides a counterargument for my argument. I will use it in my essay to counter my

argument.

“Fight Climate Change by Going Vegan.” ​PETA​, PETA, 23 June 2010,

https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/global-warming/​. Accessed 9 Oct.

2019

This article argues that reducing consumption of animal products is the number one way

that humanity can reduce its carbon footprint. It also makes a point that cutting

greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and burning fossil fuels is simply not

enough to reduce the effects of climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions produced by

the animal agriculture industry amount to more than all of the world’s transportation

systems combined. It discusses a research study conducted by Oxford University that

found that meat eaters produce twice as much dietary greenhouse gas emissions than

vegetarians, and two and a half times as much as vegans. No author is listed. No year is
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given for the study conducted by Oxford University. This article was written by PETA, a

nonprofit organization that advocates for animal rights. PETA is known to be a radical

group and has been connected to many scandals. The purpose of the article is to convince

readers to cut back on meat consumption in order to reduce their carbon footprint. The

intended audience is meat eaters. Due to the fact that PETA is extremely biased and has

been linked to numerous scandals, it is an unreliable source. I will not be using it to back

up my argument because of credibility issues.

Hawkins, Irana W., Alan L. Balsam, and Robert Goldman. “A Survey of Registered Dietitians'

Concern and Actions Regarding Climate Change in the United States”.​ Frontiers in

Nutrition,​ vol. 2, 2015, pp. 21

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2015.00021/full​ Accessed 8 Oct. 2019

This peer reviewed scholarly article is a research study on the views of registered

dietitians in the United States concerning climate change, whether they believe that

dietary practices can be used as a strategy to mitigate climate change, and whether

dietitians are obligated to educate their patients about the role of dietary practices in

mitigating climate change. The study, which was conducted in 2015, found that three

quarters of the dietitians surveyed believe that climate change is an important issue that

needs to be addressed, while only 38% actually practiced and/or encouraged activities

that promote using diet as a weapon against climate change. It argues that reducing

consumption of animal products and shifting to a plant-based diet may be an effective

option in reducing the harmful effects of climate change. It also claims that attaining

climate change mitigation targets may not even be possible without reducing
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consumption of animal products. The article is biased in that it argues that climate change

is an extremely pressing issue and that dietary practices can be used as a tool to fight

climate change. ​Frontiers in Nutrition​ is an academic journal that aims to inform its

audiences using original research on issues involving nutrition and diet. Irana W.

Hawkins is a registered dietitian and professor of doctoral students in public health, and

has over 20 years of experience in dietetics and public health. Alan Balsam has a PhD in

Nutrition and an MPH (Master of Public Health) and is an adjunct associate professor at

Boston University School of Public Health and at the Tufts University School of

Medicine. He has written multiple other publications, most of which are centered around

food and health services for the elderly. No information could be found on Robert

Goldman. The intended audience is most likely other nutritionists and scientists, as well

as environmental activists. This source was helpful in that it gave me research to back my

argument that veganism and vegetarianism can be used as ways of reducing one’s carbon

footprint. It is a reliable source because it is based on research. I will be using this source

in my essay to support my argument that dietary practices can be used to counteract

climate change.

“Responding to Climate Change”. ​National Aeronautics and Space Administration,​ National

Aeronautics and Space Administration, 23 Sept. 2019,

climate.nasa.gov/solutions/adaptation-mitigation/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2019

This article delineates the actions that must be taken by humans in order to cope with the

possibly disastrous effects of climate change. The two main strategies discussed are

mitigation, or reducing the severity of the impact, and adaptation, meaning coping with
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the already present effects and preparing for the future. Mitigation of climate change can

be achieved by reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions, as they are the main cause of

climate change. The ​National Aeronautics and Space Administration (​ NASA) says

humans must learn to adapt to the effects of climate change which include but are not

limited to the gradual rise of sea levels, food insecurity, and stronger, more intense

natural disasters. As little progress is being made on national and international levels, it is

up to cities and municipalities to solve climate change. The page also discusses NASA’s

obligation as an expert in climate science to inform the public about the science of

climate change. NASA is a government agency and its information is backed by data

taken from its Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and Ice, Cloud and

land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) missions, as well as its Jason-3, Jason-2/OSTM Surface

Topography Mission (OSTM) and Jason-1 missions. It is therefore a credible source. It is

part of the United States Global Change Research Program, which was created to help the

world understand and respond to climate change. The purpose of this site is to provide the

reader with the information they need to understand and take preventive action against

climate change. The intended audience is policy-makers, scientists and those who are

concerned about the climate crisis. In comparison to the other sources listed, NASA is the

most reliable because it is a government agency responsible for publishing information

built on years of research. This source is useful to me because it because it backs up my

argument that greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced in order to slow the effects of

climate change. I will be using this source in my essay.