Eaarth Ch 3

Eaarth shifted from all of the negative things happening to shining a light on what we need to do to slow and hopefully reverse the process of global warming.

 Mckibben said that we need to start thinking "Husband, not boyfriend". That statement sums up our society. Sometimes we look at things in the short term and see those benefits, but lack to look past today. We need something stable. Something that supports us. Something that we don't tear down and that's what you look for in a husband/wife. Stability.

Society has gotten too big for its britches. McKibben makes this clear by comparing global warming to the bank bailout. We as a society have became so large that we no longer notice small warning signs. These banks were allowing people who had shown no ability to pay things off in the past loans for $400,000 homes.However, these were problems only large banks were having. The smaller banks were perfectly fine, until the economic crash. The crash the larger banks caused.

When a company is struggling one of the first things they do is downsize. Whether that's via lay offs or other forms, they decrease the number of workers they have. This is what we need to do for our planet. We need to downsize and get back to a healthy growth. This happens not only the workplace, but also in groups/organizations. Why would you keep a member that isn't carrying his own weight? You don't need that person, so why do we continue to do that to our planet? Why keep things that we don't need?

The best solution is to reduce our use. When buying we should only buy what we are going to eat and pay attention as to where what we are buying was made/produced. We shouldn't feel the need to buy foods imported halfway across the country just because they're in season somewhere else. We should also attempt to reuse what we no longer use into something with a purpose. With an engineering background I am always thinking of new ways to use old things. Recycling is also important, but sadly it takes a lot of energy. So, recycling should not be our number one solution. It should be a last resort.

Eaarth Ch 2

For the most part Americans chase after expensive cars and big houses. If every country had culture similar to that of the United States, global warming would be happening at a much faster rate. McKibben brings this up by comparing the U.S. and China. "if the Chinese, say, ever owned cars at the same rate as Americans, the number of vehicles on the planet would go from 800 million to almost 2 billion". 

Oil Companies brought in a trillion dollars during Bush's presidency. They then took 4% of those earnings and invested them into clean renewable energy. Even some oil companies see that renewable energy is the future.

A huge factor in global warming is money. It takes a lot of money to create clean energy. A lot of money that some people and even countries can't afford. Not only is it expensive to try and put these green initiatives into action, but repairs also cost governments and individuals a lot. 

Hurricane Katrina and hurricane Ike that struck Haiti in 2008 are examples of disasters caused by global warming. 

Obama's idea behind his economic stimulus plan was good. Invest the money into schools roads, etc., but when I read that some of the money was going to help those areas that are projected to be flooded or completely submerged due to the rising sea level it made me upset. Researchers have been able to project what areas are at future risk. Why invest money into something that is going to be gone soon? We may as well have just thrown out that money. With that said when I read there was a very popular book published with predictions similar to what we are currently experiencing hurt. We as a society should have taken the book much more serious. We had a warning of what was to come if we continued our ways of living and yet we did it anyway.

Eaarth Ch 1

While reading through Eaarth and seeing all of these statistics and projections it's really eye opening and for me shocking. For myself I look I've looked into the future and have pictured having kids. After reading this chapter, It's made me wonder if there's really fair to them. To have the joy of having kids, but leave them with problems worse than any generation prior to them have had to deal with. Global warming is a continuously getting worse with no end insight. At the time congressman Ted Kennedy said to congress "I cannot look into the eyes of my grandchildren and tell them :sorry, I...can't do anything about it". I've always imagined playing catch with my kids in the front yard. Watching their games, experiencing their childhoods, but at what cost? To leave them a planet with no future. A planet that we are slowing killing.

The projections of the future were terrifying, but what is even more terrifying are the events currently happening due to global warming. McKibben brought one example to attention of penguin colonies "I've stood in the middle of these rockeries, a hundred thousand mating pairs shrieking, their babies demanding food"(25). Another example is the increased heat and its effects on our bodies and crop production. "In 2003 France had the kind of heat wave that will become the new normal as the decades roll on. Not only did thirty thousand people die because of heat stress, but corn production fell by a third, fruit harvest by a quarter, and wheat by a fifth" (24).

"...if you took every government pledge made during the conference and added it all together the world in the 2100 would have more than 725 parts per million carbon dioxide, or slightly double what scientists now believe is the maximum safe level of 350"(20). With this being said it shows that we need to do even more than we have just attempted to do. It's not enough. We have to do even more than we have even imagined doing. We need to maintain the planet we live on. In order to do that we need to get everyone on the same page. Everyone plays a role in preserving the world.

"The Eaarth that we knew-the only earth that we ever knew-is gone"(27).

"The Audit"

In "The Audit" the government takes drastic action in effort to slow and eventually put an end to global warming. The government finally was done with trying to deal with the situation on their own so they forced it upon the people. In this there was a loophole found. An individual could continue his lifestyle if he were to have a polar opposite individual sign off their portion of carbon emissions. Causing Bill to seek out Goodwin causing Bill to eventually realize his life wasn't all he thought it was.

For me this story hits home on two levels. The first level is with the environment. If our society ever got to the point where they tried "sell their sins" of carbon dioxide emissions everything will fail. The system entirely would tear society apart. Global warming can't be solved by selling away our emissions. We have to has a society stand together and reduce our emissions to help slow global warming. At this point according to McKibben we can only help reduce the future impact of global warming and learn to deal with the current effects of global warming.

The second level that this story hits on is looking at your own life and not being happy with it. My first two years of high school I was extremely overweight and I mostly stayed in my room. I eventually realized there was more to life and started seeing the world. The world is a beautiful place. It's not worth sitting behind a desk or living a suburban lifestyle. It's meant to be explored. We as humans are meant to experience Earth as it was made. Not as how we are molding it to achieve our personal visions.

"Walking" Thoreau

From the very first line which reads "I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and culture merely civil, — to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of society". To me this hit at home. I took it as in nature we can unleash our true potential. Society holds us from reaching this by forcing us to be "civil" or politically correct. It made me want to go out and adventure. It made me want to be truly free of responsibility and be by true self. Even if it was only for a single moment in that moment I could be me.

In our society where we find ourselves "too busy" to relax and our enjoy ourselves reading this gave a refreshing view. Using his walks as adventures not having planned destinations and not necessarily choosing a right or wrong path allowed for a true experience. Wandering through the world allows you to see many things a "vacation doesn't allow you to experience. "Going with the flow" may be a cliche saying, but maybe that's what we as a society need to do more of.

 I personally have not had many experiences similar to this with my family, but I do plan to eventually once I have a family of my own. Having a family walk through the woods or around an unexplored town to me and my family. Not having an itinerary just being able to experience everything around us. Take in our surroundings and live in the moment for the time being. 

About Me

My name is Nickalas Randall. I've lived in Three Rivers Michigan for my entire life. I went to Three Rivers High School. I played baseball and was apart of the National Honor Society

In the above picture the images on the left are me my freshman year of High School. The images on the right are of me during my first semester here at Western. A lot physically changed over those years and a lot of memories were had in between. Some forgotten, but some remembered for life.

I've played baseball since I was 5. The picture above is me with two of my friends at my last High School baseball game. I enjoy watching, but nothing beats the feeling when you're on the field.

This fall I joined the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity. The above picture is of me and my brothers on our retreat. Joining the fraternity is the best decision I've made since I've been here at Western. I am currently the Risk Manager.