The Sacred Balance Essay

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

According to an annual Gallup survey, “Americans are way more worried about water pollution than global warming, air pollution, or other major environmental concerns.” (Loughlin). Drinking polluted water will harm individuals and their families but global warming has not appeared to danger us and so we do not worry about it (Walker). In the article, The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our Place in Nature, by David Suzuki, it is indicated that humans have lost interconnectedness with nature. In other words, people have put importance to the more unnecessary things, which are the main causes for us consuming chemicals in food and creating dangerous pollution and diseases. The ignorance of our modernist society faces has led us all to severe problems. One should be more aware of what 's happening around us instead of just letting things happen. We must be more cautious so that we can live in a safe environment.

He compares and contrast on how environmentalists have mislead society into thinking that we as a race are doomed. He states that environmentalists argue that Earth is currently facing lot of environmental concerns and that our raw materials are becoming more and more scarce. Environmental problems like global warming, animal extinction, air and water pollution, waste buildup, and many more affect mankind. And also the degrading of our planet has increased at an alarming rate over a small time span. As a result, our actions have not been in favor of protecting the planet, so natural disasters are hitting us on a bigger than before.

By giving examples, the audience can relate to the topic and see what they have

David Suzuki’s essay “It Always Costs”, focuses on the author’s opinion that new technologies always come with underlying problems. He argues that developments in technologies are beneficial to civilization, but also costly. Suzuki chooses to focus not on the economic side effects, but mostly in the environmental and health impacts of these advances. To support his main argument, Suzuki refers to DDT as an example of a beneficial technology that in the long run was subdued by its unfavourable effects. The use of DDT, a widely known chemical, aids the reader in identifying the main problem Suzuki is addressing in his essay, however, Suzuki’s argument is not very convincing. He chooses to focus on issues that relate only to the development of new technologies in the area of chemistry, such is the example of three different chemicals through the essay, which does not provide enough evidence to make the generalization that the development of any technology is detrimental to humankind.

“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

David Suzuki was called to be a steward of the earth at a very young age citing his time spent exploring his local swamp as a child as sparking his passion. Suzuki followed this by attending the university of amhurst for a bachelor of biology and a phd in zoology from the university of chicago. However he was not content to stay in the realm of academia, he knew it was his calling to share his knowledge with the public. He did this most notably through his television show The Nature of Things. In this show he shared environmental theories and explained the how humans and their actions impacted nature in a way that was accessible for the Canadian public. At the time the ideas of environmentalism and it’s scientific theories had been limited to academe causing Suzuki to receive criticism with many scholars calling his media work a waste of his talents (Philipson & Bailey, 2011).

In Brian Parham’s article “There Are Multiple Threats to the Earth’s Environment,” published by The Bridge website on November 18, 2012, Parham claims that Earth’s environment is threatened by a wide variety of issues. Parham 's "There Are Multiple Threats to the Earth 's Environment" is an effective argument due to the strong uses of ethos and pathos, despite the weak use of logos.

Another problem that we may stumble upon would be relying on other people to be ecologically responsible instead of ourselves. We often believe that there are other people out there in the world who are making a difference and so we passively sit back and do nothing. However, we are all accountable for our own actions. Palmer (2015) is a man who worked around the world with people from every major religion from Daoism to Zoroastrianism. He has witnessed many religious environmental movements emerge and grow. He states that the basis of the environmental

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.

David Suzuki may be 79 but his passion to the environment is above anyone else. Today David Suzuki still continues to create a huge impact as a person, Suzuki is the co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation and today he still continues to run it and make a difference. Suzuki still makes posts on twitter giving helpful tips and tips on how us as individuals can help stop climate change, and other problems the environment faces. Currently his foundation is working on five different projects to; they include trying to stop climate change, stop hazardous environment that cause health problems, keep oceans well managed and protected, protect our wildlife, and protect water systems like rivers that are used for water. Recently in David Suzuki talked about solar energy and why we don’t use it, ”Every hour, the sun bathes the Earth with enough energy to supply our needs for more than a year. There's no reason we can't harness more of it to cut back on polluting, climate-altering fossil fuels.” This quote shows David Suzuki’s work and how he still continues to make a difference today in trying to help the environment and our safety. This shows why David Suzuki is a historically significant

Over the last 10,000 years, humans have evolved more than any other species that has ever set foot on planet Earth. As a population we have grown exponentially and made changes to our society that allow us to do things that have not been done before. In 1878, Thomas Edison recognized the ability of a bamboo filament that was connected to platina wires, to burn for significant periods of time: resulting in the first formation of the light bulb. Suddenly, the human race no longer had to endure the darkness that each night brought at the end of a 12-hour light period.

White’s thesis in The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis states that in order to confront the expanding environmental crises, humans must begin to analyze and alter their treatment and attitudes towards nature. The slow destruction of the environment derives from the Western scientific and technological advancements made since the Medieval time period. “What people do about their ecology depends on what they think about themselves in relation to things around them” (RON p.7). Technology and science alone will not be able to save humans until we adjust the way of thinking and suppress the old ideas of humans power above nature. Instead, we need to learn how to think of ourselves as being

As a 17-year old teenager going to high school, contrary to the environmental activist, David Suzuki’s, remarks about the ignorance of humans about nature, I receive much information about these kinds of problems at my school, from dedicated assemblies, eco fairs and special days that address our responsibility to deal with nature in a more responsible fashion. Yet, when the school day is over, all of the information seeps out of the roof of the school; plastic water bottles are still found in the corners of hallways and leftover Tim Hortons cups are still present in the desks of my former Business class. Even when I step inside the door of my house, the disconnection from nature is apparent. Most of my time at home is spent looking at a screen and doing homework and the only sign of nature would be the fly

As globalization continues and the earth’s natural processes transform local problems into international issues, few societies are being left untouched by major environmental problems like flooding, global warming, strange death of humans and animals, loss of biodiversity among others. This outcome of the global environmental disasters have produces a bloodstone to the