My research question started off by focusing on the lack of education on the topic climate change, and then briefly, it shifted towards the lack of education causing politicians to not focus on the important subjects. Finally it ended with How can our education system be reformed in order to lessen the effects of the rising sea level in Long Island?

The most useful source I have found was Christina Kuwuak’s article on the failure to properly educate our youth on the topic of climate change, because I feel like this article is the one that helped me perfect my thesis and research question the most.

Unfortunately due to working a lot of overtime at work I only have six entries in my annotated bibliography so far I would like to add the remaining two if time allows. For my last two entries I want to bring in an obscure idea that at a topical glance does not seem to relate to my research but as I dive deeper its meaning will be more clear.

Research Question: How can our education system be reformed in order to lessen the effects of the rising sea level in Long Island?

Annotation of New Source:

Aretxabaleta, Alfredo L., et al. “Observations and a Linear Model of Water Level in an Interconnected Inlet‐Bay System.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, vol. 122, no. 4, 2017, pp. 2760–2780.

Aretxabaleta analyzed the water  levels from October 2007 to November 2015 and created models to help comprehend bay water level along southern Long Island. The greatest change observed in amplitude was observed in mid-2014 which was related to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Using Aretxabaleta’s model they were able to predict the changes in bay water level in nearby areas in which long term observations were not obtainable. They found that fluctuations in tidal frequencies were less in bays with large areas and small connections between them, as opposed to small area bays with larger connections. Overall drastic changes in amplitude were almost always caused by the aftermath of hurricanes and other natural disasters.

This peer reviewed journal is meant for those who are trying to understand the effects of natural disasters such as hurricanes on the bay water levels. Since hurricanes are becoming more and more frequent due to climate change, this information is becoming more and more relevant. There are many homes and businesses in the  bay area along southern Long Island, who could stand to learn a few things from this article, which in turn could help them save their businesses and homes. 

This article reinforces the idea that things will only get worse, a theme I have noticed throughout my research so far. All of the articles researched thus far are preparing for the worse or doing some sort of damage control. This just adds to the fact that if people were more educated on the topic beforehand then the aftermath of climate change could have been reduced greatly, but now that it’s too late we have to hope that the aftermath does not affect us as much as it affects others.

Working Thesis: The key to Long Island surviving rising sea levels is within reforming the way we educate our youth.

Dvarskas, Anthony. “Mapping Ecosystem Services Supply Chains for Coastal Long Island Communities: Implications for Resilience Planning.” Ecosystem Services, vol. 30, 2018, pp. 14–26.

Dvarskas discusses enabling economic inputs that are related to coastal ecosystem activities, such as fishing, boating, and recreational beach use. Enabling economic inputs in this paper means the economic industries that may be impacted by changes in the coastal ecosystem. Using natural and human produced assets he analyzes the entirety of Long Island, also known as hot spot analysis, Dvarskas was able to identify which coastal ecosystems may need financial assistance in order to survive changes in coastal ecosystems. Hot spot analysis viewed each part of Long Island and took into account how many people live there, the unemployment rate, the median household income, and the poverty rate, along with industries found in the respective areas into order to see which areas are a priority when defending against changes in the coastal ecosystem.

This peer reviewed journal is meant for those who enjoy or rely on coastal ecosystem activities, such as fishermen, surfers, restaurants, marinas, and sightseeing groups. Dvarskas shows the readers which areas are most vulnerable and which areas need to be protected the most, to allow for the reader to be more prepared for climate change relating to the coastal ecosystem.

This article showed me that climate change is too far gone for us to keep things the way we have it. We need to see what is most important to our economy and our livelihood and protect that with all we have. I feel this source can be a real eye opener for those who are not aware of how bad the situation is showing them how much time and resources are needed to protect what we already have, as opposed to using that time and resources to further our society.

Anonymous. “Climate Change May Impact Water Resources.” Chemical Engineering Progress, vol. 97, no. 3, 2001, p. 12.

The author starts the paper off by explaining that the most significant efforts to reduce climate change were made possible by investments and commitments from the private sector. This is followed by a list of achievements of the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) that the American Chemistry Council(ACC) found noteworthy. Afterwards the author explains some of the hardships that the EPA had faced to get where it is today, highlighting its most important downfall as its failure to educate the public and win political support so that they could make the difference that they wanted. Moving onto the next section of the piece which highlights the effects of climate change on water resources, the author starts by listing effects such as rising sea levels which will leave Cape Cod, Long Island, the Carolinas, and Central California especially vulnerable. The author finishes the paper by discussing the lead author of the study, Peter Gleick, and his take on the subject, which in short is water managers’ need to start incorporating climate change into their planning processes and need to increase flexibility in their system in order to survive.

This peer reviewed journal is not intended for the average Joe, as the author alludes when he discusses the lack of public education on the subject. This article is meant for those who are already well versed in the subject of climate change and its effects on water resources. It is almost a warning to those who work with water resources daily, that they need to make a change before it is too late. It is useful because the author lists out many effects and dangers of climate change, so the reader has an idea of what to expect and how severe the situation is.

I feel that the article helped my understanding of the topic by reinforcing certain things I did not have a full grasp on. I knew climate change is going to have a big effect on Long Island, and I was leaning towards the idea that we are not prepared for climate change because we lack the public education to do so. What the author opened my eyes to is the political aspect of things, it had completely blindsided me,that the lack of public education meant that political figures did not worry about it, because at the end of the day all they care about is getting the vote.

Of the two options I am strongly leaning towards the idea of looking into a local environmental problem and researching a solution for it, because local environmental problems are something I see and am affected by regularly. As opposed to developing an argument about contemporary media and analyzing through a variety of lenses, which is not as motivating because I may not be directly affected by what is reflected in the contemporary media. When I read the first option I instantly had an idea, unlike the second option which I am still not sure where I would take it to. As someone who lives on Long Island the rising sea level is something that is constantly on my mind. Long Island is primarily built upon sand and other minerals, lacking a sturdy foundation for long term reliability, unlike the rest of New York, which is built upon bedrock. Due to the fact that Long Island is not structurally sound, Long Island is much more vulnerable when it comes to natural disasters, such as hurricanes. Since we lack a stable foundation, hurricanes are able to wreak havoc upon buildings, ruining their structural integrity and destroying some completely. Some parts of Long Island are still recovering from the aftermath of hurricane Sandy. Thankfully I did not live in Long Island when hurricane Sandy occured so I did not think too much of it until I moved out here I saw it first hand. Not only do we have to worry about hurricanes we also have to worry about coastal flooding and rising sea levels. Long Island has many beautiful beach house, but once the sea level goes up a few feet those houses are no longer over the beach instead they are partially underwater, and as that water retreats, if it does in fact retreat, it erodes the coast slowly taking sand away from the beach lessing the gap between the water and the homes of many, so that the next time it will only be worse. Since my family has recently bought a home in Long Island with a 30 year mortgage, for the most part I am stuck. So I rather research the topic and learn how to prepare myself and hopefully Long Island for what is inevitable at this point. Research on the topic has been exhausted to this point and solutions have been present for quite some time, but why are we acting so slowly? This is where I feel I will take my research. I feel that due to a lack of education on the topic of climate change is leading not only Long Island but the entire world to a state of chaos, from which we may not recover. So is our lack of education leading the human species to extinction?