Matching Items (2)
Filtering by

Clear all filters

157019-Thumbnail Image.png

Peasant coffee farmers and climate change: the case of Café Justo in Chiapas, México

Description
Small-scale, peasant farmers are some of the most vulnerable people to the effects of climate change. They rely on a stable climate to support their natural ways of farming, which typically depends on consistent rainfall, temperate weather, and predictable season cycles. The perceptions of how successful coffee production is during…

Small-scale, peasant farmers are some of the most vulnerable people to the effects of climate change. They rely on a stable climate to support their natural ways of farming, which typically depends on consistent rainfall, temperate weather, and predictable season cycles. The perceptions of how successful coffee production is during shifting climatic disruptions is of key importance, if mitigation or adaptation efforts are to be successfully implemented. By using ethnographic methods with members of a coffee cooperative in Mexico, called Cafe Justo, I found that peasant farmers are very perceptive of the climatic changes and recognize forthcoming challenges as a result of changes in weather and precipitation levels. Rain-fed agriculture remains particularly vulnerable to coffee market demands, as coffee production for the majority of the cooperative members is the primary source of income. Through interpretive analysis of in-depth interview data collected from 19 coffee-famers in Chiapas, Mexico, I identified factors associated with perceptions of changing climate and weather conditions. Social identities, general perceptions of climate change, and impacts on livelihoods were investigated through the speaking-with model, as it was presented by Nagar and Geiger in 2007. These findings have rich implications for co-learning between the small-scale, coffee farmers and the scientific community so that mitigation and adaptation strategies are discussed. The findings also merit further investigation into future migration changes due to mass exoduses of climate refugees who are no longer able to successfully cultivate and harvest the lands to serve their needs and those of their community.
ContributorsVillarreal, Anisa (Author) / Keahey, Jennifer (Thesis advisor) / Murphy Erfani, Julie (Committee member) / Shrestha, Milan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
164823-Thumbnail Image.png

Eco-Anxiety: Climate Change, the Rise of Social Media, and the Evolution of Eco-Anxiety

Description

As projections of climate change effects in the media persist, current research suggests that threatening climate change content circulating social media and knowledge of threats to the Earth system and human health may lead to the development of eco-anxiety. If social media exposure to climate change content influences eco-anxiety, there…

As projections of climate change effects in the media persist, current research suggests that threatening climate change content circulating social media and knowledge of threats to the Earth system and human health may lead to the development of eco-anxiety. If social media exposure to climate change content influences eco-anxiety, there is a need for psychological interventions to help manage climate change-related negative affect. A systematic review was conducted 1) to investigate the relationship between the use of social media and eco-anxiety in young adults and 2) to explore methodological factors involved in eco-anxiety research, including measurements and potential moderating factors. The review included seventeen articles that studied the measurements of eco-anxiety, the relationship between social media and eco-anxiety, or negative affect related to climate change and potentially moderating risk factors. A thematic analysis of the included articles yielded four central themes: (1) The Operationalization of Eco-anxiety, (2) Climate Change Perceptions and their Effects on Impairments, (3) The Relationship between Social Media Usage and Eco-anxiety, and (4) Potential Factors Influencing Climate Change Perceptions. The results suggest that eco-anxiety is real and common, especially amongst young people, and that it may be reliably measured using the Climate Change Anxiety Scale. Due to the limited and heterogeneous literature on the problem, no definitive conclusions can be drawn about how potential factors influence eco-anxiety. Future research should further explore the relationship between social media and eco-anxiety. In addition, the problem of eco-anxiety should be studied in underrepresented, vulnerable populations at higher risk for weather-related events.
ContributorsRiley, Jasmine (Author) / Vargas, Perla (Thesis director) / West, Stephen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2022-05