This novel presents the idea of a world where clean and drinkable water becomes a scarce resource. Not only is this novel foretelling a future without water, but one with conflict arising out a lack of resources due to climate change. I think the most impactful thing about this novel is how possible all of this seems. The book also centers on the main character aiming to be a tea master, which was kind of a strange concept for me to grasp that in all of this craziness there are people who want to master making tea. It was definitely a struggle for me to connect to the main character on that front.
Looking at the conflict that arose in Syria due to a lack of resources, it makes me really start to worry about how one of the biggest resources on our planet can be threatened by climate change. In the novel, water becomes a resource that is fought over like oil is today. Looking at the conflict described in the novel, it makes it seem so ridiculous that we fight over oil in the pursuit of money.
Water is something I've grown up with my entire life. Up until I moved to Kalamazoo, I have lived on a two different lakes, a river, and a large pond. It was something that both my parents held a large appreciation for. It's hard for me to imagine what I would have done if I didn't spend my summers swimming, fishing, boating, or having water gun fights in the water with friends. It's something that a lot of people take for granted, and brings a lot of happiness to a lot of people. I would be among the many saddened to see it become a cause of conflict, hatred, and sadness.
Like many poets, David Henry Thoreau speaks from a very isolated perspective from the rest of society. His works are a true inspiration to all that read them.
The first work of his essays that I read, ‘Walking’, had a very calming effect on me. It speaks of letting societies hold on you fade away, even for just a moment. It made me recall my childhood memories of my own forest that I grew up with. But through this essay, it lengthened my forest, made it stretch out past my own imagination. That idea coupled with his use of prose creates this large wild place to go to. The very atmosphere and feeling of the wild is detailed in this essay, and is in opposition to what Thoreau feels is ‘fake’. He speaks of other poets bringing forests to them by planting them, but this to him is the same as building a house, you let nature make itself and place yourself in it.
Thoreau’s second ‘Civil Disobedience’, first highlighted the fact that Thoreau was not in favor of a strong central government. He has a very "fight the power" kind of idealism that emanates from this essay. This slightly clashed with my own views of government, especially as he voiced his opinion on some of the evils of government. From what I understand, it wasn't the people who ran government that he opposed, but the very idea of government. Only through the will of people fighting the government can balance be achieved. The biggest opponent of this balance are those who just go with what the government says, and don't have an opinion on anything. Looking at our country, there are a lot of people who just don't care about politics. They trust the government to make decisions without their opinion, saying that we should just 'leave it to congress'. From my own experience with advocating and working for interest groups, that was the opinion of at least 70% of the citizens that I would speak with. It was frustrating, that people didn't even have an opinion on things that affected every single person in our country. Which I don't blame anyone specifically for, it is a very normal thing to do in our society. This piece would later serve to inspire multiple civil disobedience leaders, such as Ghandi, MLK, the Danish resistance, those who opposed McCarthyism, the struggle against South African apartheid, and anti-war activists. Thoreau's final essay, 'Life without Principle'. he speaks a step further than his other essays on separating oneself from society. He values a life of principles over one being obsessed with money and other materialistic ideals. “If I should sell both my forenoons and afternoons to society, as most appear to do, I am sure that for me there would be nothing left worth living for.”(Thoreau 1193). It seems a very fitting conclusion to these essays. At the same time, it seems to be a good introduction as well. In order to fully develop your own being and self worth, you need to take a step out of society, and realize the forces at work. You need to value the things around you that you value, and not what other people say you should value.
The object of this chapter is to inform the reader that the global economy relies on growth, and it was that growth that put us in this new world. From my experience, opposers to climate change regulations and policies will talk about how it will impact our economy and eliminate jobs. What they say is true, and that is because the only way to halt climate change is to change our country’s economic outlook. Bill McKibben summarizes this idea by saying “we’ve assumed that more is better, and that the answer to any problem is another burst of expansion”. To those that do think that way, I pose this question, what happens when we cannot expand and find new resources to save our economy? It seems ridiculous that nobody has posed this question, and the reason that there is no answer is that there is none. There is no alternative to solving this issue, or else it would have been voiced.
I think the biggest flaw in our society that McKibben points out in this chapter is the reluctance to look ahead. Everyone is concerned about the effects that would take place immediately after making changes. A recent example of this would the supreme court stepping in and shutting down obama’s coal emissions bill. Their reasoning for it was that it would have too harsh of impact on the economy. Considering the fact that rising sea levels would displace millions, it makes me wonder what kind of effect that would have on our economy. Just the threat of that event is enough to make one wonder if the economy taking a blow right now to secure a future for our economy is worth pursuing. As of right now, it does not seem to be the popular idea, and it is disappointing to see those who have a mindset for the future get shut down by those who only focus on the now.
Chasing Ice follows the story of environmental photographer James Balog and the team he leads called the EIS (Extreme Ice Survey) and documents their relentless dedication to finding out where our ice is going. The setting up of the cameras was a lot harder and dangerous then I had originally assumed, requiring the team to create makeshift computer parts and systems that hadn't been designed for this activity. They had to bring in engineers to manufacture and test out the equipment in the field. Balog also had to sacrifice a lot to get this work done, leaving two daughters and a wife at home, as well as undergoing at least 4 surgeries to his legs to keep him in the field, despite doctors telling him that hiking in these areas was out of the question for his health.
The most amazing part about this film to me was that they were able to capture all of this retreat and destruction on film, which required two assistants to camp out in areas such as Greenland, Iceland, and Alaska hoping to catch a glimpse at the destruction of our glaciers. Looking at the rushing water that would come from some of the melting glaciers, some of them the size of waterfalls, it wasn't hard to imagine how easily that water could raise sea level. The pictures of ice are pictures that are shown in the movie were beyond my imagination. I've linked just one of the many professional photos that were taken during the trip, and it was such really interesting to see where those cool windows background pictures come from.
Due to the team's efforts, the melting of these areas is documented and proved for the world to see. It is near impossible to argue that there is change occurring in these areas due to the tireless work of this team. Overall, it left me thinking that if I had seen this a lot earlier in life, that it would have motivated me and hopefully others to realize that climate change isn't a problem in the future. Climate change is happening right now, and the answers are all in the ice.
You can find out more information about the work of the Extreme Ice Survey here and see all the crazy ordeals this team went through. This movie can be found on netflix, as well as youtube for $40.00.
Below is a like to glacier calving, caught by the team.
The first chapter of Eaarth by Bill McKibben is centered on his purpose for naming his book Eaarth. While it is mostly accepted that the science behind global warming is legitimate, the main argument against immediate action is that there are more pressing issues at hand and that global warming is something to prepare for in the future. McKibben repeatedly brings up the idea of it being the grandchildren's problem, and not the present problem. The scary idea that as of now, even making changes would not undo the damage done to the earth. We are living on a new planet.
“Business as usual” is the concept of people continuing to do what they want without making changes to their carbon footprint. This is what McKibben argues is the cause of this sudden jump in estimated predictions over the global warming threat. On the IPCC website , they show their baseline scenario concepts for the what if scenario surrounding a change in emissions. we’re still fairly high up on that chart, which inspires dread in all who look at it.
McKibben points out multiple instances where this is already becoming a reality, such as third world countries having to struggle even more to reach vital resources such as water. Women in Bangladesh for instance are forced to spend even more of their time to devote to looking for water. Page 28 of a georgetown article titled “Women and Climate Change”, tells stories of increased chances of abduction and rape that awaits these women and children as they venture out to find more resources. This would further increase in areas with conflict such as the Democratic Republic of the Kongo. This is just one of the many things that can cause further suffering across if climate change is not addressed, and may be a horrific future for all countries if a scarcity of resources leads to worldwide conflict
McKibben does intend to give out solutions to help protect the core of our society and civilization, the only question is, will people be willing to sacrifice what is necessary to do that? The business as usual idea is what got us to this point, and it needs to be abandoned.
My name is Jake Peters and I'm a freshman studying political science and environmental studies as a double major at Western Michigan University. I have spent my entire life up until this point living in Dexter, Michigan. Dexter is a city just recently gained city hood November 20, 2014. Up until that point it was a village and still has the atmosphere of a village to me despite it's recent change in title. One of the biggest influences Dexter has had in my life was that it gave me access to nature that many urbanized children wouldn't have access to.
My childhood was centered on the outdoors, mainly consisting of adventuring into the woods in my backyard and climbing on fallen trees. The forest was not a place people would consider hiking through, and was by no means densely populated save for the nest of red tailed hawks, sandhill cranes, deer, and turkeys that would make small appearances passing through. Along with my experiences in the outdoors were multiple trips to the nearby lake in Pinckney where I would constantly be in the water. What seemed to me like my own little slice of nature was something that I lost interest in once I got more preoccupied with playing Lacrosse year round, playing in concert and marching band, and the drama of middle through high school.
A few of the members of our team outside Sen. Peters's office
I had graduated high school knowing I wanted to pursue a career in law after working as a clerk at a small medical and legal malpractice firm in Ann Arbor. But when the firm no longer needed me I decided to take up a job working for a public interest group called Environment Michigan that was advocating for the EPA's proposed and now passed clean water act. Due to the combined efforts of our team and teams throughout the years spent on this campaign, we were able to get an audience from a representative of the Gary Peters administration at his office in Lansing and show him the support we had raised, including petitions and letters to the senator. After that job ended it sparked a huge interest in environmental issues and the study of the environment which motivated me to make it my second major. Since being on campus I have been in an internship with Environment Michigan as a campaign organizer to help ensure that the Clean Water Act was not gutted in congress. I have also done some work on campus by canvassing neighborhoods to bring awareness to the EPA Superfund for the Allied Paper Landfill. I see my future involving more projects just like these, which is why I felt so drawn to this class and hope to learn more nature from literature.
Looking at the conflict that arose in Syria due to a lack of resources, it makes me really start to worry about how one of the biggest resources on our planet can be threatened by climate change. In the novel, water becomes a resource that is fought over like oil is today. Looking at the conflict described in the novel, it makes it seem so ridiculous that we fight over oil in the pursuit of money.
Chasing Ice
“Business as usual” is the concept of people continuing to do what they want without making changes to their carbon footprint. This is what McKibben argues is the cause of this sudden jump in estimated predictions over the global warming threat. On the IPCC website , they show their baseline scenario concepts for the what if scenario surrounding a change in emissions. we’re still fairly high up on that chart, which inspires dread in all who look at it.
