Eaarth Chapter 1

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.

Intro Post

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.