Last Friday, in class, we had to write a timed essay in which we discussed the methods a given author ( I don’t remember his name) uses to satirize the opposing arguments of an environmentalist and a so-called people-first critic. Upon reading both arguments it became clear to me that the preservation of the environment has turned into an entirely political issue from a more keeping-the-earth-from-combusting-into-a-fiery-ball type issue. The problem with this is of course the fact that because of all of this political bickering nothing will be done.
In order to discuss this issue more thoroughly I researched a more specific aspect related to the environment called global warming – or the gradual heating up of the atmosphere in layman’s terms . Though there is overwhelming evidence supporting the idea of global warming including the consensus of the majority of scientists studying the issue, it remains a theory (like gravity). What this means is that in the real world, there is no consensus because there is always of group of people who will choose to, against all odds, go against scientific theory, reason, and logic. The problem with all of this is because of the fact that there isn’t an overwhelming majority vouching for the existence of global warming or they are just a silent majority, then this means that nothing will be done about this issue because it cannot be proven. So humanity will continue to ignore the issue and eventually the world become inhabitable because of this.
The fact of the matter is we can all sit around and talk about how we are going to conserve, how we are going to recycle, and how we are going to by hybrid cars instead of enormously unnecessary gas-guzzling giants. In the end, however, nothing major will be done in the matter. Humanity will continue to consume the earth’s limited resources and pollute the atmosphere until one day the earth will no longer be able to support life. Why? Because in this day in age, the ruling class lives in such comfort and bliss that they will never be able to come to terms with the fact that such a grim future lies ahead.
The question now is whether technology will develop fast enough for society to discover loopholes around its current way of life. For example, maybe we will be able to colonize Mars before the Earth becomes uninhabitable. Maybe we will find an alternative energy source efficient enough to quench our seemingly unlimited thirst for oil and natural gas. At this point, its really all up to maybe.
So I’ll give you my honesty opinion. If you really think you can help the environment by recycling your Coke can then you really must be kidding yourself. If you think that by voting for so and so, the environment will be saved and the issue of global warming will be solved, you are again really kidding yourself. Politicians don’t care about the environment- they care about promoting their political agenda. Lets just hope that those “crazy”, “know-it- all” scientists, who seem to have gotten the short of end of the stick throughout human history, can figure out a way to save us from our age-old moronic selves.
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I agree with Alex when he says that the preservation of the environment has become almost entirely a political issue. People are overly worried about getting their voices heard in politics rather than actually doing something to fix our environmental problems. With the constant disagreement between political parties, little is being done to and for the environment. Environmentalists need to stop worrying about their critics and focus their attention on the issues they are fighting for. It amazes me how there can be critics of environmental protection because improving the environment will improve our lives. I understand that some people may feel that the money could be better spent, but if the world crumbles beneath our feet, we will have absolutely nothing.
ReplyDeleteGlobal warming is a major issue regarding the environment. Is the Earth’s core going to heat up and explode? In my opinion, no one can really know the answer to this question. Yes research show that the Earth is getting hotter, but only by extremely low amounts over a long period of time. Scientists cannot be sure 100% that this is a potential world-ending threat. I do not believe that humanity is ignoring this issue, but I do believe that humans are not laying awake at night thinking about the possibilities of global warming. Little evidence of global warming exists outside of temperature recordings, and because of this, I think that people don’t really worry about it too much. There are not enough available resources to change the energy and gas-using ways of this world so there is little we can do to prevent these problems.
First of all, people that don't believe Global Warming exists are morons. A perfect example is a certain math teacher. Anyways, I agree for the most part, but I would qualify your argument by changing humanity to our generation. I say this because our generation is highly unlikely to take global warming seriously, beause we do not feel threatened by it. However, later generations where the effects of global warming are more noticable and increasingly devestating, humanity most likely would place global warming at the top of the world's concerns.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the fact that one guy recycling does not matter, but it does not mean that no one should recycle. Recycling is similar to voting in a way, one vote will not make a difference the same way that one more recycled can wouldn't make a difference (by the way that movie about this guy's one vote is a huge difference is the most retarded idea for a movie). However, that does not mean that no one should participate in presidential elections or recycle.