We'Re Hot as Hell - Summary of Bill Mckibben's Article "The Environmental Issue from Hell"

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.

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.

While I do agree with Mckibben’s ideas to an extent, I am not convinced that merely getting back to the basics is enough to repair the damage already done to the environment. Individuals can minimize wasteful habits and provide a positive impact, but it will be minimal. Jensen’s thoughts that corporations and industries must reduce waste and pollution to repair the environment is proven through the examples he provides. Individuals should recycle and reduce waste to help, but industries need to do their part as well.

In the novel This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate, author Naomi Klein argues that climate change is an inevitable crisis leading toward disaster. She discusses the urgent need to shift towards renewable energy and the need to move away from a "savagely unjust economic system,” that has led our economy towards to extractivism(15).

John Broome wrote Climate Matters with the intention of raising independent, yet well-informed ideas of how to ethically stand in a warming world. He questions what should be done both publically and privately and supports his statements through arguments that can be interpreted in whichever way makes the most sense to the reader. Broome logically organized his book so that before he asks moral questions, he reminds the reader in the opening paragraph about the sad truth of climate change. For example, he states the ice caps are melting and in just a few decades, only one polar ice cap will remain. As a result, the raising oceans will demolish many of humanities greatest cities. He adds that not only will millions of homes be destroyed along oceanic coastlines, but climate will change as droughts and floods make agriculture impossible in many? currently productive areas. The remaining ocean-adjacent? areas not directly affected by sea-level rise? will have to face difficult and unpredictable weather changes that will make food? production challenging. Broome also reminds the reader, who is most likely from a developed country, that the western lifestyle causes the greatest damage, yet the global indigenous societies, who contribute virtually nothing to greenhouse gas emissions, will be hit the hardest. I found this introductory chapter to be very powerful and the rest of the book was easy to absorb because I was constantly thinking back to these disasters which seem

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 fight for climate change is a fight that has been ongoing in modern years and is all too familiar for people who never seem to have the voice to speak up against it. With the increase in oil extractions or the rise in carbon emissions, it is no secret that climate change’s impacts have severely taken a toll on people and the environment, but it is also evident that certain people are being impacted by its affects more than others. Often times, marginalized people are the people that have to deal with the most apparent effects of climate change - whether it being combating it or living with it, they are the ones whose lives are being changed the most because of it. In Bill McKibben’s Oil and Honey, Bill McKibben finds himself at the forefront

Mckibben attributes this to the growth of economy in today’s world. More specifically, the era of Industrial Revolution began around year 1760, and quickly affected the growth of economy worldwide. Since that time, the economy has only continued to grow exponentially and does not appear to show signs of slowing down. The majority of the automobiles we use, and factories that we built, emit CO2 and other harmful chemicals which has polluted our atmosphere, and began the events that occurring worldwide and which we attribute to climate change. Essentially, the earth can no longer support the rate at which our economy has continued to

McKibben provides statistics which help to strengthen his stance on global warming. He starts the article entitled, “Global Warming's Terrifying New Math” by referring to relatable everyday situations. McKibben wants to influence and inform others about global warming, and with that goal in mind, he needs to grab the reader’s attention with his writing. It’s essential for the author to provide a way to help the readers see that there is an issue occurring with the continual warming of the world. He refers to the increase in peoples “size of AC bills”, and “towering wild fires” as examples in referring to the increasing temperatures (McKibben 1). An increase in an AC bill is an example that is very relatable event in the average renter/home owner’s life. When readers can easily relate to the topic, then they consequently tend to become more sympathetic and understanding of the situation. This tactic is one that McKibben uses many times, and it’s proving to be effective. An example, like this can show people that global warming does affect their everyday lives. It adds realization to the situation. It’s a good opener and the author has the attention of the readers. The opening paragraph also refers to the

Justice to future generations requires us to pass along the beauty and bounty of Earth diminished. Our politics, economy, and media betray an almost infantile fixation on the present moment, seeking or selling instant gratification, oblivious to history. We need to develop a culture worthy or adults, one that recognizes our actions have consequences. If we take more than we need from the riches of the planet, if we drain aquifers, squander topsoil, or fish the seas bare, we are stealing from our children. If we fill dumps with toxic waste, fill barrels with radioactive debris, spew poisons into the atmosphere and oceans, we will leave our descendants a legacy of grief. Conservation aims to avoid causing harm to our children, or their children, or to any children ever” (Sanders

Naomi Kline and Bill Mckibben offer alternate conceptualizations and articulations of the impending climate crisis and possible strategies for resistance in This Changes Everything and Eaarth. There are some areas in which the two authors seem to align their views and others where they diverge significantly. Both narratives are placed in the context of climate crisis and both authors are frank their assessment of where we are currently and where are inevitably headed as a planet. Kline highlights ideology and economic structure as foundational factors and McKibben seems to tacitly if not explicitly agree. Throughout most of the book, Kline chooses to focus on neoliberalism, capitalism and the hierarchies and artificial divisions they create as the

The Authors main point is that the world that we all know or think we know exists no longer. Bill McKibben talks about the infamous picture of Earth that makes it look as though it is rising in a black sky, is not the earth that exists today. He states that humans, “by burning fossil fuel, have raised the temperature of the planet nearly a degree Celsius” (McKibben, 2010). And it is this human implication that has caused the world to exhibit strange and completely altering affects. Because of the fossil fuel consumption of the people on Earth we are now seeing ice sheets melting at an unprecedented rate of 40% more (a recorded 1.1 million square miles smaller). We are witnessing rain droughts in places like northern China who didn’t experience rain for a hundred days, which is a

Analysis of “The Environmental Issue from Hell” “The Environmental Issue from Hell” by Bill McKibben discusses the moral implications of climate change and why climate change needs to be viewed as a serious political issue. McKibben makes use of persuasion to convince the reader that global warming should be recognized as an issue and dealt with. He argues his position by illustrating the immoral effects of global warming and their causes.

There is an alarming issue about climate change when the Earth constantly witnessed the increase in its temperature very year. Environmentalists have blamed capitalism is the original reason causes the global warming due to the amount of carbon dioxide released by extracting and using oil to meet the energy demand of the economy. One of the noticeable environmentalist, Naomi Klein, has announced that our economic system and our planetary system now are at war and only one of them can be change, that is our economic system (21). Her solution for climate change is to shut down capitalism, which she believes conflicts with our planetary system, by putting more regulation on the market, especially energy industry to encourage the development of green energy. However, Naomi Klein’s solution has been in a wrong direction since there is no scientific evidence to conclude that carbon dioxide is a main factor of global warming, and her solution will eventually lead to the collapse of the economy; however, by continuing the current path, which is pushing the economy forward by practicing capitalism, eco-friendly economy is a goal can be achieved in a very near future.

In Ian McEwan’s novel Solar, the audience must suffer through the perspective of the obese, self-centered, womanizing main character Michael Beard whose interest in climate change stems from a desire to reap economic benefits and a boost to his reputation. Far from a novel that presents a scientific protagonist with a desire to save humanity rather than make a fortune from a catastrophic future, Solar failed to live up to the high expectation held by ecocritics. The satirical nature of the novel appears to challenge the views held by many ecocritics rather than uphold the ideas setting the basis of the ecocritical movement. Although Solar is by no means the environmental novel ecocritics were expecting, McEwan’s choice of dismissing the