Bill Mckibben's Making A Life On A Tough New Planet

While a good portion of his work covers the damage that has already surfaced Earth, he proposes a plethora of theories regarding what the future may look like. Although the element of terror is part of his technique in persuading his audience into caring about the pressing issue of climate change, it is not scientifically accurate—nobody can predict future events with complete assurance. In addition to this, if there is one thing to take away from this book, it is that Bill McKibben eats, sleeps, and breathes the project of decreasing the carbon dioxide molecules to 350 parts per million—a safe ratio. While it is true that at the beginning of civilization, our atmosphere contained only 275 parts per million of carbon dioxide, which is a lot lower than it is now, McKibben is the founder of 350.org. This environmental organization is his personal project which aims to equalize the unsafe ratio that currently exists. Due to his personal investment in the organization, it seems as though McKibben is biased towards this movement which is why it is so prioritized in his

“The End of Nature,” by Bill McKibben is a startling book of non-fiction depicting the future in store for the environment and humans. His somber yet hopeful approach allows readers to sense the real intensity of this situation of mass environmental changes whilst remaining expectant of the advancements in the

There is way too much fascinating information to unpack in this book - 99% of the 400 million turkeys consumed in America annually are artificially inseminated by humans! (p. 90). And we totally misunderstand lactose intolerance (p. 136-37). One would have to read this book one hundred times over to fully critique its value. But it is good! Great even. There is so much to learn about the world and how food systems affect climate change and how climate change affects ecosystems and all living things. Kingsolver provides a tool for change through this book by suggesting ways of living that reduce our harmful footprint on the earth. She does this by sharing her story of eating locally for a year and pairing those stories with loaded insights about how the current industrial food and farm systems are ultimately destroying the world. At the very least this book should cause people who have not before, to stop and evaluate their participation in this industrial food system. Their actions and inactions may even be changed by their uncomfortable awareness of how most of us are eating.

As The World Burns: 50 Simple Things You Can Do To Stay In Denial, by Derrick Jensen and Stephanie McMillan, is a graphic novel about the state of our environment. They use cartoons and abundant sarcasm to convey the message that the attempts people are making to save the environment are not enough to do any real good. Their message challenges both those of Edward O. Wilson and the University of Connecticut in that Jensen and McMillan’s ideas are much more radical and suggest that the ideas posed by Wilson and UConn, such as the importance of recycling and sustainability efforts, are ineffective at saving the environment. We must resolve the challenges posed by Jensen and McMillan so that all of the ideas put forth in the sources may work together rather than against each other. In order to do this we must accept that some of the ideas given by Jensen and McMillan may be too extreme to do any real good and that the ideas suggested by Wilson and UConn, though slightly ineffective, are nonetheless important steps in saving the environment. Taken alone, none of their ideas will save the environment; instead it is necessary to combine the ideas of Wilson, UConn, and Jensen and McMillan in order to create a more realistic plan to save the planet.

The book”Winter Chance Walking in Wolf Tracks” by Ron Gamer is a great book on how it ties to the environment. This boy 14 years old goes out on a ice fishing and camping trip overnight and gets lost he forgot to pack his food so he has none. His friend Seth works hard to try and find him. In this book and in real life it is very important to preserve the land around you and to protect our animal species and not be a poacher..

In his esteemed novel, “Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming,” Paul Hawken inspires with a call to environmental attention. As a both writer and entrepreneur dedicated to our world’s ecosystems, Hawken seems to understand the impact we have created on our planet. Despite this, he also appreciates the human capacity to create an equal impact on the other end, and make positive progress. He defines this as the “Movement,” being an assembly of environmentally-minded groups and NGO’s coming together to save the dying ecosystems of the planet. Although Hawken’s optimism should be admired, his outlook seems slightly quixotic.

The essay opens up with McKibben talking about how the political campaign against global warming is flawed because at our current point there is nothing much that can be done to fix it.(Mckibben,1) He then goes to state that humans are the biggest culprit behind global warming and supports this by giving examples such as SUVs and American ignorance.(2,9) He concludes by saying that if ten percent of America were to go green, it still would not save the planet, but ten percent could get the government’s attention to pass laws making everyone go green. (11)

I also agree with Lyson and Kloppenburg on the idea that the distancing of humans from their food sources and the consolidation of farms into the hands of absent agribusiness owners contributes to the socioeconomic problems of our agro-food system as well as perpetuates a culture in which people are unaware of where their food comes from, as described by Berry (39, 35, 43). However, an issue and recurring theme in all these papers is related to Lyson’s description of civic agriculture, or more small-scale, local ways of farming. Although this idea of re-embedding farms into communities could have positive environmental and socioeconomic impacts, all four authors seem to rely on a sense of nostalgia and the idea of returning to former ways of agriculture. Although there are aspects of former systems that would be beneficial to reincorporate, the social, economic, and environmental problems of today differ from those of the past and should therefore be treated with different solutions. Because the authors rely on this narrative, they do not extensively address today’s socioeconomic problems. For example, while decentralizing the food

Elizabeth Kolbert wrote the 2015 Pulitzer prize-winning book in the creative nonfiction genre, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History. Ms. Kolbert’s book used the resources she has accumulated through years working in journalism to produce a well researched book about the science of the environmental change we are currently experiencing. I want this on my reading list because it serves as an inspiration. The book I want to write is less backed up by personal hands on research but more a collection of persuasive essay’s guiding readers to wiser, more conscious behavior choices. Nonetheless her writing is tight, journalistic and persuasive without

In “Bill Mckibben: On climate change, it's time to talk, and act, tough.” (Op-Ed, August 9) Bill Mckibben writes about the effects of global warming and climate change on this Earth. The facts of Government ignoring it, fossil fuels destroying it, and how nations are reaching record setting temperatures. First off, Government and ignoring the causes of climate change is not helping climate change. All the evidence is in their face but they ignore it like it's a made up imagination.

The biggest thing I took away after reading this book is the extent of the harm that we are doing. The authors describe how in 2007 the Northwest passage was navigable for the first time in history. This stood out to me, because it was humans who caused this to be possible, and not in a good way. This means the environment was much warmer, which caused the ice to melt. This is not only bad for the environment in general, but it is also taking away homes of the animals that populated the area. The book goes on to explain how for business and economics, this was viewed as the opportunity for oil and gas exploitation (Oreskes 2014). In my opinion, this is where the problem stands. People focus on the present and how they can better their own lives in that moment. They are not worrying

The readings for week 2, specifically Jack London’s To Build a Fire helped students meet course goal seven to “enhance the students’ understanding of the value of holistic thinking in making informed judgments and in applying values as they become increasingly conscious of what is at stake if we fail to understand the relationship between human culture and the environment.” London’s portrayal of a man traveling the Yukon on a vastly cold day provides an example of how animal instinct cast aside by human desire may lead to grave consequence in a harsh environment. While this story ends with the man’s demise at the hands of the environment, it is important to acknowledge the ways in which human negligence has had a lasting effect on our planet

This story focuses on 5 moments that shaped global agriculture and how these moments build up to form computers that are used by farmers today. Barndt (2002) moments are; The scientific moment and colonialism (16th & 17th). During this time, Descartes (b. 1596) & Bacon (b.1561) argued that “nature was separate from culture and spirit, which was separate from matter was to be concurred and subdued.” They suggested that it was okay to destroy nature because humans were gods to this planet and can do whatever they want. But Sharma & Springer (1989), Shiva (b.1952), challenged Descartes (b.1596) & Bacons (b.1561) theories claiming that this land that we occupy and are destroying is not ours and we are all visitors, therefore exploring it serves more of a crime than a good.

One quote that particularly stuck with me throughout the book Changing Planet, Changing Health was on page 223: "Spend enough time pondering climate change, and the magnitude of the challenge can begin to overwhelm anyone. There's a daunting array of numbers and trends, choices and consequences. Much of what we do as modern humans contributes to the problem, little by little by little.” This resonated with me strongly for many reasons. One reason is that I’ve been ignoring climate change, and I’ve noticed most of the population do the same. Climate change is often pushed to the back of minds because it’s daunting. The book describes it as “overwhelming”, and there’s no better word for the feeling of this inevitable disaster that really is not inevitable, but will never be prevented by mankind due to our greed and selfish. And when I say ‘our greed’, I do include myself. I am without a doubt wasteful, it would take 4.8 Earths to sustain my lifestyle, according to an Ecological Footprint activity. That’s a large quantity of resources that I did not even know I used.

The quotations taken from Josh Schonwald and Marion Nestle support an alternative food system, which includes technological methods to feed the growing world population while also protecting the environment. Although both believe alternative food systems could be the change of our future, each approach these subjects differently. Schonwald is not afraid to keep an open mind with the use of technology, while Nestle focuses on important choices one needs to make for the environment. Both of these come down to four factors that determine if alternative food systems should be accepted. These factors include: food, environment, globalization and gender. The reasoning behind this is that the journey our food goes through encounters the men and women and their roles. On top of that is how our food choices affect the environment, our health and the local, even global communities in which we live.