Journal Entry #5 (Information)

http://www.algore.com/
http://blog.algore.com/2008/01/world_economic_forum_annual_me.html http://www.liveearth.org/
http://www.liveearth.org/film.php
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/sixdegrees/
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/globalwarming/interactive/interactive.html

Explore Your Topic
By taking the time to reflect on your efforts to explore your topic, you can begin to understand it more clearly—and potentially reduce the amount of time it can take to explore. This activity asks a series of questions that can help you review what you've learned about your topic by talking with others, observing, searching, and browsing.
As you work through the strategies discussed in Chapter 2, use the following activity to keep track of your topic exploration in your research log.
What is my topic?
Have I discussed my topic with others? If so, what have I learned? If not, who are likely candidates for interviews—such as librarians, instructors, and persons involved with or affected by my topic—and what questions should I ask them?
Are there any preliminary observations I should conduct? Have I done so? If so, what have I learned?
Have I found and reviewed sources? Have I searched the library catalog and browsed the shelves? Have I searched databases and the Web? Have I skimmed, marked, annotated, and taken brief notes on the sources I’ve found? If so, what have I learned about my topic?

Field research is a challenging part of writing a research paper. Global warming is a topic that I feel will have an abundant and diverse amount of information. My field research in this past week has been focused on the topic at the international level. That has been a little frustrating because it is hard to get in contact with key figures in the international community. Currently I have been looking at the web site that Al Gore established in his efforts to inform us about the current and future directions the issue is taking. The site has an on line forum that I plan to explore further. I might come across possible contacts in the process and be able to set up an on line interview or e-mail. Most of the information is based on international meetings with political leaders in an effort to get the issue in the minds of not only Americans but also peoples around the world. As I thought about my topic, the frame of mind of other countries and cultures seemed to be of vital importance to the response global warming would receive. When poverty and starvation are a part of daily life it is hard to imagine how global warming would even register on the radar of under developed countries. They are just living day to day, there is no big picture just putting food on the table, and getting to work is foremost on their minds.

I will continue to participate in the on line forum but in the mean time I am considering contacts on the state and local level. The Regional director for the EPA or maybe someone on the local level such as BLM (Bureau of Land Management) officials and perhaps Colorado Division of Wildlife to get their input on the environmental impact on the land and animals. These sources may also have ideas as to whom else I could contact. I would also like to try and set up an appointment with the Director or representative for OSHA in this area, I think once I start talking to these people they can guide me in the direction I need to go to get more specific information and possible contacts.