Eaarth and McKibben

Earth as a planet has undergone significant change within the past several decades.  With the technological revolution causing exponential growth of both the amount of computers in use as well as human population, the world that was once known decades ago has forever gone.  McKibben explores the new world in a book titled "Eaarth" with two a's to signify how the world has changed so significantly, that humans reside on an entirely different planet than many were born into.

In this whole new world, McKibben argues that humans have run the Earth dry and that there is minimal, if any, capacity left for growth.  In order to remedy this predicament, immediate and drastic action must be taken to avoid a worst case scenario of habitat deconstruction.  However, due to the fact that environmental sustainability has not yet been reached, a new way of life, regardless of how sustainable it may be, will not come without consequences.

Ideas introduced in "Eaarth" include cutting down on "too big to fail" companies, saying that "too big to fail is too big to exist".  With any company that can be automatically forgiven for any debt introduced because it has too much of a monopoly on the way Americans or any mass group of people live their lives should not be given that power to withhold.  Another concept McKibben is very passionate about is localized farming.  Mass production and farming of primarily soy and corn has only evolved because of the demand and monetary rewards.  McKibben urges the audience that good soil is needed across the globe and that farming should be reverted back to the methods as the abundance as farming was in the 1950's.

As a concluding plea, McKibben states that what this new planet of Eaarth needs is a plan with durability and not simply a quick-fix that relies on many assumptions or many variables to be in perfect condition.  Either the world is willing to pay a substantial amount of money and invest in a brighter and more sustainable future now, or pay an even greater amount of money as well as be stuck with an unstable environment.

In order for such reform to work, humans as a whole have a personal responsibility to become more knowledgeable about the environment surrounding the community.  A simple assessment, such as the BioRegional quiz, can easily inform one whether or not the information necessary to even have a chance of independent survival is possible.  Questions that are meant to inform the taker of their oblivious nature cause the taker to step back and realize that perhaps there is more to the world than the latest YouTube sensation or what is happening on Facebook.

Environmental Issue - Global Warming

            In today’s changing environment with increasing human impact, one of the main consequences that come to mind is global warming.  By definition, global warming is the trend of increasing temperatures in the environment due to the increase of ozone (O3) in the troposphere.  Ozone works as an absorber of ultra-violet (UV) radiation, and in the stratosphere, where ozone is naturally found, it works as a shield to protect the earth from UV radiation.  Having too much ozone in the lower atmosphere and not enough in the stratosphere in relation to global warming is one of the leaded reasons society would be forced to resort to living in island civilizations.

            The impacts of global warming are felt all over the world, and the repercussions of our actions as humans now regarding the environment affect the severity and longevity of global warming’s affects.  The affects specifically in North Carolina would be a receding coastline due to rising sea levels, increased storm surge from severe hurricanes, and also an increase in drought periods between heavy storms – to name a few.  Global warming is a monster that the entire world must unite to try and conquer, and its affects will be felt all over the world, not just specifically in one place.  Every individual’s way of life will change because of the sudden and dramatic changes that may accompany any worst-case scenario regarding climate change as a result of global warming.  Attached is a link to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) article regarding global warming and its effects on the Southeastern region of the United States.

  http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/impacts-adaptation/southeast.html

Island Civilization Response/Summary

            Time and time again, it has been argued that since the Industrial Revolution, human impact upon the environment has been so detrimental that is has now become a leading cause of environmental decay. With as large an impact that has been made, environmentalists have been scoping out possible future conditions of the environment and society should the current rate of environmental impact continue. Roderick Frazier Nash’s “Island Civilization” explores several future scenarios that have been argued and put forth, and then refutes those by suggesting his own original futuristic utopia in the form of island civilizations. Although the name “island civilizations” has not been used to describe a futuristic scenario before, it is not as original or successful of an idea as Nash leads the audience to believe.

            Upon introducing his “revolutionary” concept of “Island Civilizations”, Nash first argues how his idea is better than other outlooks by refuting their credibility and probability. The first is a wasteland scenario, in which Earth is entirely used up as a nonrenewable source and humans have fled the barren planet in search of another capable to support their parasitic existence. Sound familiar? The first thing to pop in to my head was Pixar’s “Wall-E”. The second scenario is called “garden scenario” and has humans in what appears to be an entirely utopic society, yet it is all synthetically produced from the flora to the fauna. Once again, Pixar pops into my mind (it might just be my two younger sisters dragging me to all of their movie premieres).  This time around, it is the more recent “The Lorax” which beholds an entirely plastic society and follows one boy’s quest to restore natural “truffula trees” to his town. At this point, I read each new scenario as if it were a game, trying to match each with its movie-counterpart. Next on Nash’s docket of disapproval is one called “future primitive”. This scenario has humans choosing to revert back to their pre-Mesopotamian existence and surviving solely as part of the environment and not at the top of the food chain. This one presented a challenge, yet I managed to stretch it far enough so it could work: “Planet of the Apes” – sans apes.

            Nash then introduces his proposal for “island civilizations” across the globe. He defines these civilizations as 500 habitats for three million humans a piece located across Earth. Each of these civilizations would be entirely sustainable on its own, growing its own food and producing its own water, tools, and supplies. Also, because of technology’s advancements, humans would be able to occupy the most barren of all wastelands, leaving prosperous temperate zones for nature. However, some humans may choose to remain outside of these societies and remain “primitive”.

            While this is certainly a valid outlook to take upon the imminent future, it is very presumptuous that humans will accept the parameters required to make this work. Examples of these parameters would be the deprivation of rights and require each human to live inside a contained area and only leave for travel at certain times (“Hunger Games”, anyone?). Also, anyone with proficient math skills can see 500 groupings of three million people would require the human population to become ¼ of its current standings. With such specific requirements, this can only be imagined to succeed synthetically. A synthetic society living in isolated groupings with limited contact and humans outcast from their civilization sounds nearly identical to the dystopia introduced in Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”. The dehumanization of Huxley’s version of an “island civilization” is juxtaposed against the free “wilder” humans that live outside of the structured and controlled civilizations. If Nash’s islands were created, there would need to be a factor that would separate his idea from the dystopic novel.

            Although the idea of an island civilization is sustainable, one must weigh the pros and the cons; while it is important to maintain natural resources, basic human rights and choices should be maintained, as well. Nash was correct in stating how the industrialization of Earth has become “cancer-like” and will inevitably cause it to “self destruct”(373), however, survival requires each individual to make choices and also have the population as a whole benefit. Nash couldn’t have phrased it better when he said “humans stopped adapting and started creating”, but like all things in the natural world he is trying to preserve, there needs to be a balance.

Just for practice

Figuring out Blogger... super fun.

Go state! 

Different font. 

• bullet point
• another one

1. oh look, it's numbered.