David Suzuki's Essay 'It Always Cost'

David Suzuki once said, “When we forget that we are embedded in the natural world, we also forget that what we do to our surroundings we are doing to ourselves”(Suzuki 260). Through this quotation, Suzuki was attempting to convey the fact that climate change is a direct repercussion of human interference with the environment and thus every individual will be affected by its impact on our planet. David Suzuki is a world-renowned Canadian geneticist and an environmental activist, most famous for his devotion to the environment and his dedication to raising awareness about the importance of the maintaining the environment in order to create sustainable living conditions for generations to come.Throughout his article “Genetics after Auschwitz,” Suzuki appeals to history by referencing the Nazi death camp Auschwitz, in an attempt to persuade the reader to learn from the past in order to prevent the recurrence of similar events in the future. In another article called “Hidden Lessons,” David Suzuki states that the majority of children today are shielded from the environment because of they are forced to grow-up in urbanized communities. This results in their lack of consideration towards the environment itself and a careless attitude that creates various environmental problems for the human race. David Suzuki persuades and informs the reader of the substantial impact of humans on nature in his articles, “Hidden Lessons” and “Genetics after Auschwitz,” through the use of the

Many generalizations are present throughout this chapter that weaken Carr’s argument. This quote is just one of the few generalizations, “The intellectual ethic of a technology is rarely recognized by its inventors. They are usually so intent on solving a particular problem or untangling some thorny scientific or engineering dilemma that they don’t see the implications of their work. The users of the technology are also usually oblivious to its ethic. They, too, are concerned with the practical benefits they gain from employing the tool” (Carr 45). As stated before this quote is a generalization. Carr is generalizing with the assumption that inventors are usually so intent on solving a problem that they aren’t focuses on the benefits or consumers, which isn’t very true anymore. Many inventors who create products are now looing for the benefits that its user or consumer will get. Therefore this quote can confuse the reader.

David Suzuki supports his argument with specific examples and he rationalises each one; however, he overlooks the important detail that technology is beneficial to our society. Throughout the essay the author repeatedly mentions the negative effects technology has, but he never provides an argument for the advantages of new innovations. Although technology may have its faults, we depend on it as a society. As Suzuki states in his essay, “Once technology is in place, it becomes impossible to do without it and we can’t go back to doing things the old way”. Without a constant cycle of new innovations and technology, as a society we would digress. Everyday we depend on technology, it is an imperative factor to surviving. The numerous benefits of technology are endless: improved environmental understandings, cancer research and cures, as well as a better economy. Since there are no explicit references to the advantages,

In her essay “The Obligation to Endure”, Rachel Carson alerts the public to the dangers of modern industrial pollution. She writes about the harmful consequences of lethal materials being released into the environment. She uses horrifying evidence, a passionate tone, audience, and the overall structure of her essay to express to her readers that the pollution created by man wounds the earth. There are many different ways that pollution can harm the environment, from the nuclear explosions discharging toxic chemicals into the air, to the venomous pesticides sprayed on plants that kills vegetation and sickens cattle. The adjustments to these chemicals would take generations. Rachel

Within the modern world, and the modern thought process people have about our connection with new technologies is one of constant expanse. All caution is thrown to the wind in an attempt to satisfy one insatiable hunger for a certain type of keeping up with the Jones-es. Many authors speak on the wonder of technological advances on society by the exact means of how they work, however, Richard Louv is not this kind of author. He presents technology as useful, but with an underlying tone of a technological numbing agent. We begin to only see it instead of what Earth has given us millions of years. Technology is only a certain part of the problem with the real problem being humanity's mindset toward our greatest asset, nature. Mr. Louv uses extremely profound and intelligent rhetoric to push forward the idea that us as humans are already so broken away from nature, that eventually it will be deemed illogical we used it for anything other than a means produce by it. Richard shows three areas we have really broken apart from nature with the three examples of ad space for parks, extra commodities for an SUV, and the genetic modification of animals.

”On those visits, I feel not only the spirit of the local people…and the seasonal change.”(345).Nowadays seasonal variation in industrial societies is minimized by importing many products that mature in specific seasons from different parts of the world. Technologies however, are impacting on our lives. “DDT would exert incredible selective pressure for mutations that would confer resistance” (347), it killed malaria-carrying mosquitoes but in few years large numbers of mosquitoes will return. It also has ecological damage the compound is ingested by many organisms, become concentrated up the food chain in a process called biomagnification. It causes heavy bird mortality.

In the beginning of this essay I would like to present some facts and figures related to our topic. On December 3, 1984, at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India there was a deadly leak of methyl isocyanate. It caused thousands of people to die and affected generations to come. The leak happened due to a series of human and mechanical failures. The local health officials were neither knowledgeable about the deadly chemical that was being stored there nor were they equipped to handle the tragedy. Another incident happened at the Union Carbide plant in West Virginia. A toxic cloud of the same chemical was leaked into the atmosphere and it was a shocking reminder that such accidents could happen in the both developed and developing countries. The statistics prove that chemical spills occur on a regular basis in different parts of the world. In 1976 there were

Advances in technology have resulted in habitat loss due to clearing of land, chemical contamination and has enhanced global warming. Sustainable technology is producing more than 600 tons of greenhouse gas for every gigawatt of energy produced. This is destroying the ozone layer and has enhanced global warming. Technology has many negative effects on the environment and is causing the world to

Annie Dillard’s environmental philosophy on “The Present” changed my perspective on the history of Toxic Pollution by Roueche because it mainly focuses on what we need to improve on as a whole to make a better society. “Catch it if you can,” which is a phrase used throughout Dillard’s book introduces self-awareness. We all need to be aware and conscious of the present because it gives us a better chance of surviving and succeeding as well. Of course, what makes us to be more valuable on earth is money and power including education, but pursuing all that too much might make us to loose full insight of who we are and how we get things done. We humans keep using toxic waste to pollute the air without knowing the cause and

DDT use can lead to horrible effects in humans and we can not become immune to these horrible unlike the flies that we are trying to kill. We think we have all this superiority over little insects when in fact they have the hand over us. Not because they are more intelligent than us but because we are too intelligent for ourselves. Conniff’s essay shows how our own superiority can lead to our demise.

The advent of industrialized civilization has brought to us many remarkable feats that enhance our everyday lives. Such things as automobiles, airplanes, tractors, mainframe computers, and even relatively simple machines like lawnmowers have intertwined themselves into the everyday culture of modern day industrialized countries.. These products have provided us enormous benefits compared to the types of lives our ancestors used to live. In the eyes of some, the consequences of industrial activities that have evolved around the world will not pose any problems in the future, however as most have realized, this is not true. Contemporary production processes use fossil fuels such as

In China, hazardous rivers flow in-between cities to which if one were to reach and touch the water, his skin would inflame due to the chemicals. We need to address this land pyramid ethic because China and the United States are not the only countries in the world that has hazardous waste issues. Leopard’s argument is not suggesting that we stop our industrialization, but rather having efficiency and organization in the process. We can keep producing hazardous technology, but we must clean up after ourselves and not let Mother Nature face the music. We just need to monitor our production rates and how much of it is actually hurting the environment. We have the capabilities to make use of it, so instead of letting Mother Nature take the heat, we can find ways of making that waste into reusable

In the book Silent Spring, Rachel Carson’s main concern is the widespread use of synthetic pesticides and their impact on the environment. Carson concentrates on a commonly used pesticide in the 1950s called DDT. She opposes the indiscriminate spraying of DDT because it has profound consequences on the environment, humans and animals. Carson collected information about how the DDT can cause cancer in humans, harm animals such as birds and remained in the environment for long periods of time. Subsequently, the chemicals in the pesticides are extremely harmful so she tries to raise awareness and convince others that there are better alternatives.

It cannot be denied that, in at least some areas, the invention and progression of technology has benefitted the human race. With the growing industrialization of the world in the last centuries the lives of many people have been made easier. But, this growth of technology is not without its consequences and people are not without their concerns. While industrialization has had its benefits, the environmental cost of this progress is immense, and the impact it has on nature can be hard to swallow. It may seem like talk of the environment is something to be left to scientists or activists specializing in that particular field, but they are

“The idea that nature can harm us is not new. Have you ever heard of malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, botulism or tetanus? Why, then, are so many convinced that anything and everything natural is healthier for us than synthetic products? It 's true that modern chemistry has brought us a number of toxic chemicals, like DDT and dioxins, but do you really think that nature 's chemicals are any less