Yahoo ! Answers: Why Should We Save The Planet?

What really caused the sudden upsurge in concern for preserving America’s environment at the beginning of the twentieth century? To what extent was this concern motivated by nostalgia for an older America, and to what extent by a desire to preserve nature and natural resources for future generations?

“The modern form of the word environment comes from an older word that we hardly use anymore: environ, to surround, to form a ring around, to encircle” (Stoll 3). The meaning of the word environment did not become a major factor in the lives of humanity until 1945. The tragic events that led to the end of World War II sparked a chief movement in history: American Environmentalism. Global decision-making changed as well as human unity due to the mere purpose that fate of all people and the environment became intertwined (Stoll 1). I will further discuss the dramatic attempts made by some Americans to bring the importance of preserving our environment to the surface to show if and how we have evolved.

The thesis of “Why Bother?” is “Why bother? That really is the big question facing us as individuals hoping to do something about climate change, and it’s not an easy one to answer.”

In Michael Pollan's article “Why Bother?” he discusses how climate change is a serious threat to humanity and needs to be addressed immediately. Pollan begins to discuss possible solutions but also realizes that these “solutions” may not be easily achieved. There is no way to eliminate people who make a conscious effort to help the advancement of climate change, but it is still important for others to attempt to make changes to help save the environment.

Al Gore asked three questions, his first question was do we really have to change? His second was, can we change? And his third was, will we change? Throughout his argument Gore answers these questions for his audience. Gore’s argumentative presentation on climate change and his opinion as to what could be done about it gave his audience and listeners insight to the problem with climate change.

Have you ever tried to help a friend out with a homework assignment without actually giving them the answer? Sometimes the answer is so black and white that is it written out explicitly on the page but, your friend can’t seem to understand. In the essay Our Unhealthy Future Under Environmentalism, John Berlau debates that conserving and preserving our environment is unnecessary and environmentalist should inexplicitly, take a chill pill. Berlau fails to see the negative impact on the environment that humans are the cause of. We are animals, however, as the only intellectual species with reasoning skills on the planet, we should have an added responsibility of preserving this earth for our future generations. Berlau’s essay provides a solid

Those who replied stated that our generations, like the ones before us, have done irreversible damage to the earth. To have children while understanding that we have used up a massive amount of natural resources makes one think about the type of future that their offspring may end up facing. A study by the World Wildlife Fund warned that humans are plundering the planet at a pace that outstrips its capacity to support life. With another issue that may play into this is the concern of overpopulation. With the chance that overpopulation may lead to poverty, over- consumption and damage to our oceans and

From the dawn of modernization, our environment's problems have been a pivotal issue which seems to be a natural need for humankind that penetrates almost to every facet of people's life from all walks of life. Hitherto, preferable means of a possible way to preserve our world from catastrophic events have been discussed by a plethora of dignitaries. A question that might arise here is, whether the best way for protecting the environment is funding the research for developing new energy sources, or preserving natural locations, or enact laws. A consensus has yet to be reached; however, I am personally on the belief that the former carries more weight. Two prominent reasons that can support the contention would be elaborated in the following

In the paper “People or Penguins: The Case for Optimal pollution” written by William F. Baxter, Mr. Baxter says that usually what benefits us sometimes also benefits our environment. He says that in a serious outreach to eliminate pollution or to do something, questioning your objective does not support the action you want to take. When someone proposes a solution or something that they want to accomplish it is not educated of us to question their resolution, and amongst everyone it is viewed as imprudent commit such an action. Not everyone comes up with the same ideas, so most of the time there will be conflicts when we are debating over possible solutions. These conflicts inhibit the ideas of each person involved.

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

Throughout world history, people have come up with brilliant new ideas to make life easier, and as time goes on, research, making food, and getting news, has all become instantaneous. It now only takes the push of a button to cook a thanksgiving meal or the click of a remote to find out what’s happening across the world. These things are often taken for granted, and rarely does someone stop and say: “I wonder what turning on this extra lamp does to the environment?” This statement sounds insignificant when there are people starving in other countries and people are training for the army. Yet, being concerned about the environment is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, the environment should be one of the biggest concerns among people, as

When I polled a few of my friends about “what is the single most critical problem facing us today?” I got a frequent response that’s not so shocking, climate change. So why climate change? Why not obesity, or population control, or education? While all of those are problems that deserve discussion, no single topic is so fundamental to us as humans as climate change. In 2007 Al Gore stated in his person of the year interview that “Today we 're dumping 70 million tons of global-warming pollution into the environment, and tomorrow we will dump more, and there is no effective worldwide response. Until we start sharply reducing global-warming pollution, I will feel that I have failed.” (Walsh) Perhaps the paradigm has changed. Climate change is now talked about at every level of government, in large and small businesses, and communities across the globe. It’s a topic that functions to affect our economy and our environment. Moving forward, it’s important to understand why our way of life will be affected by the way we tackle these issues surrounding climate change. Climate change is the single most important issue affecting the human race today due to its widespread impact on our survival; impacting food sources, transportation, weather, geography and other life forms on the earth.

"Save the Planet," "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle," "Go Green." Quotes like these have become a commonality in today's age. We all are familiar with the large efforts to help preserve the environment. In "Ideals of Human Excellence and Preserving Natural Environments," Thomas E. Hill Jr. sums up his essay by stating, "The point is not to insinuate that all anti-environmentalists are defective, but to see that those who value such traits as humility, gratitude, and sensitivity to others have reason to promote the love of nature" (688; par. 4) This excerpt provides the thesis behind Hill's argument. The author found that

This is the primary focus behind environmentalist movements of our time. Environmentalists try to take action in an effort to “save our planet.” But what if our planet doesn’t actually have to be saved? What if you were told that the Earth is actually going to flourish once we are gone? And all the efforts taken now to “preserve the Earth” were actually selfish deeds to ensure the survival of humans on this planet? Several post-apocalyptic works such as the novel The World Without Us by Alan Weisman and the CBS Television Series The 100 directed by Jason Rosenburg, describe the Earth as a beautiful prosperous sight after we are gone. In the book The World Without Us, Alan Weisman describes this flourishing natural world after the existence of human kind. He also describes the beautiful dominance that nature has always had on our world. The 100 provides amazing images of the planet 100 years after a nuclear disaster. With the acceptance of these thriving worlds described, our efforts should be focus on the survival of our own species so that we can continue to flourish. In order to ensure the continued survival of our species we must change our ways completely, preserve our resources and lessen the use of pollutants so that nature doesn’t prematurely over power our society.

The Earth is a dynamic, constantly changing environment in which the hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere all interact. When one changes slightly the change is then felt through out the spheres. Humans need to understand that the change they cause can have a potential for a disastrous affect on the environment. From injecting the atmosphere with greenhouse gas, or deforestation, all the unnatural things done to the environment will have an unnatural affect that will have to be dealt with. We as humans have a moral responsibility to reduce global warming gasses by changing our modes of transportation, to stop deforestation, and increase government funding into research to inhibit global warming for