#1: WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT’S ROLE IN ADDRESSING FOOD INSECURITY? (500 words)

Based on government nutrition-related interventions( •USDA – responsible for administering 15 food assistance and distribution programs / •Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program (SNAP; formerly Food Stamp Program) – entitlement program / •Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) – direct food distribution program or any other U.S. program),

Do you think the government programs do enough to meet the current needs of society? Why or why not? What programs would you modify and which would you suggest to those who are food insecure?

#2: Students should be able to distinguish science from pseudoscience.Science can be defined as the development of knowledge using systematic observations and experiments that can be reproduced, and laws and theories that can be tested and verified. In contrast, pseudo-science is a system of theories or assertions about the natural world that claim or appear to be scientific but that, in fact, are not.

After viewing the following video clips, answer the following questions (1-2 pages~):

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/climate-of-…

• Watch from start to around 7:20 – background

• Watch from 15:20 to 21:50 – manipulation of data “going down the up escalator” and the Oregon Petition

• Watch from around 36:55 to about 44:45 – NC climate change legislation on sea level rise and discussion of use of tactics used by the tobacco industry in claiming second-hand smoke is not harmful; oil industry ties

1. Give some examples from the video that illustrate how the media may help promote or help refute pseudoscience.

2. How do the skeptics “diminish the credibility of the scientific consensus” and “spread the message of doubt?” Include analysis of “going down the up escalator” and the Oregon Petition as pseudoscience.

3. What do you think are the motivations behind climate denial, based on the video? Who are the key players seen in the video and what are their credentials? Discuss the failed North Carolina legislation to “legislate climate change out of existence.” How did the skeptics win, even though the legislation was not passed (what is the next step)?

4. From the examples given in the video, what do you think are the motivations behind climate denial? What industries are cited as being heavily involved, and who are some of the key players with ties to industries?

5. More recently, what is the Web of Denial and why are US Senators taking action by supporting the Senate Web of Denial Resolution?

http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/download/?id=14B7203D-50FE-4BA9-82FC-B76756B70503&download=1 https://twitter.com/SenBrianSchatz/status/75549234…