For my last and final project of the year, we were assigned the thinking skill of synthesis. Synthesis is a skill that dictates that one must take multiple ideas from others to form a new ones of their own. I thought this thinking skill would best align with the topic of climate change, which is, in itself, a singular concept built as a result of decades of research and thinkers coming together to reach the conclusion that the earth is in danger due to human activity and fossil fuels. Because fossil fuels emit greenhouse gases and these greenhouse gases cannot leave the atmosphere, the planet is essentially turned into a pressure cooker. It's getting hotter and hotter, and this rise in temperature is adversely affecting humans and wildlife alike, and it's only going to get worse from here, according to scientists. That is, of course, only if we don't take action on it.
History
To put the said "action" into practice, I decided that for my history project, I would create a mock bill, creating a template for what could be an actual relief bill for possible solutions for climate change. Throughout the years, many climate bills like this one, have been proposed and debated in various Senate and House chamber committees, and to incorporate synthesis into this project, I used some of those said bills as inspiration for this one. I took the exact format and wrote my bill with it.
English
For English, I decided to create a satirical piece, mocking those who oppose climate change. Through my research, I was surprised to find out that there are a great number of people within Congress and without, who not only believe that this issue isn't serious, but also that it doesn't exist despite all the signs and all the research. It was honestly just as comical as it was frustrating. So, I was inspired to make this piece, and to do this, I looked at other satirical pieces, like the famous A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift. I also synthesized the ideas and format I found to create the format and ideas I eventually adopted and incorporated into my own essay. On the left, you can see my brainstorming, and on the right, is my actual product. All in all, making this essay was a lot of fun!
This project could not have manifested itself without the process of extensive research, and so here it is, along with an annotated bibliography with all of my sources.
Thank you for your time and interest in viewing this project!