Interview Write-up - Dominic Rodiack

Interview with Aaron Pope

Prepared by Dominic Rodiack

            This interview took place at the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Aaron Pope went to college at UCSB and Majored in Environmental Studies. He then went to Washington D.C. with a nonprofit organization in the environmental sector. Now he works at the Academy of Sciences and he has been there for two and a half years. I learned a lot while I was there. He told us that 95% of all scientists know that global warming is in effect in some shape or form. Also right now we learned that right now carbon dioxide levels are at the same levels they were at 65 million years ago when dinosaurs went extinct.

            At this interview my partner, Morgan, and I were received with open arms. Mr. Pope seemed very happy to see us and it seemed as if it made him even happier to share his knowledge on climate change with us. Overall it was a great experience and it actually made me enjoy my topic even more then before because now we were not just receiving our information from a book but we were hearing it from someone who it a professional in this subject. I really enjoyed going to the Academy of Science and talking to Mr. Pope and I would go back whenever I have free time to do so.

            What I learned that I expected to learn was that global warming was actually taking place. A good analogy that he used was that the atmosphere is like a down blanket and the carbon dioxide is the down feathers, the more feathers in the down blanket the hotter it gets, and that is the same for the atmosphere. He was very good at explaining everything and he told us that what we do now will not affect us in our current time but will affect our children or grandchildren which is important and that is why we need to make changes now and not later.

            What surprised me that he taught us was that right now the level of carbon dioxide is at the same level as it was 65 million years ago. What surprised me even more is that the levels of carbon dioxide are rising faster then ever and we are already at the levels of carbon dioxide as when the dinosaurs went extinct. He explained both of these to us thoroughly and he taught us a lot of science that went with us. Going to this interview really opened my eyes to this topic even more then ever. The passion that held had for this topic really made me want to make a change.

            The overall impression I got from this interview was that we need to make a change now so that our earth will have a future with mankind still in place. He did not try to scare us into making changes but he told us facts that were eye-opening and inspirational. He told us that what we are doing to the earth is killing it and that it is unjust to make our grandchildren deal with our mistakes. I really enjoyed the interview. Honestly I was on the way up there and I was somewhat dreading having to do this interview on a weekday and I thought it was a waste of time, but once I got up there and talked to him for a while it made me inspired and I felt like I would rather be there then anywhere else on a Tuesday afternoon.