Eaarth Chapter 3

One of the first things that McKibben talks about in this chapter is our vocabulary, or lack thereof, and metaphors that we use to describe our world. He talks about us needing to exchange the word growth for something more like sustainable, durable, sturdy, stable, hardy, or robust. One of the metaphors he uses for the economy is a racehorse. It is showy and not meant for trudging through mud or running down a stony or uneven path. McKibben says that we need to "transform our racehorse into a workhorse" because workhorses are "dependable, even-tempered, long-lasting [and] uncomplaining" (pg. 103).

To me this paints a pretty clear picture, especially since I work with horses on a weekly basis. I have worked with both types of horses and they are very different from each other. Another thing that McKibben brings up with the horse metaphor that kind of travels through the rest of the chapter is slowing down. Not just slowing down our spending but slowing down our growing. Growth is one of the most used words, in my opinion anyway, when talking about the economy. He brings up the concept of thinking smaller. Using words like shrinking or recession is becoming more real than growth and inflation.

One of the questions that McKibben asked his readers was why does bigness spell trouble? That got me to thinking about how as a country we have this constant want, or maybe need is a better word, to grow our economy as big as we can as fast as we can. It made me wonder why no one ever questions this. How come nobody is willing to look back and ask why do we do what we do? One of McKibben's suggestions for fixing our growth problem is becoming more community-minded. He tells about some of Vermont's history and how their whole state is very community-minded and he tells some stories that show how Vermont uses their sense of community to fight against the nation's idea of growth.

The view from the Green Mountains where the parkway was meant to be.

Eaarth Chapter 2

After completing the second chapter of Eaarth I was feeling a little overwhelmed and like there was no hope at all for our world. McKibben brought up so many different topics in this chapter that I feel like I don't really know where to start.

One of the things that he talked about that really caught my eye was raising gas prices. I know that in past years prices for gasoline were at record highs. However, since then they have dropped considerably. He talked about raising the prices of gas again in order to force people to drive less in order to not pay as much money on gas. This started me thinking about how much I drive my car. I am a commuter which means that I probably drive more than most people at WMU. Since I  also don'e live in the Kalamazoo area it means that I don't use the buses very often if ever and I feel like there should be a way that I can do more. I already try to drive as little as possible, but when I have to drive for a half an hour to school every day and then the same distance home when classes are done I can't really do much to change it.

One of the other things that McKibben talked a lot about was the increase of disease around the world, especially those that are transported by insects. One of the things McKibben says is that not only do "warmer temperatures extend the geographic range of the mosquito" but they also increase the size of the larva, which then increases the size of the adults (pg. 73). Now I don't know about anyone else, but hearing about increasing size and spread of mosquitoes sounds like a big deal to me. In Michigan we don't have to deal with mosquitoes spreading disease by us. We like to think that it is a problem for people in other parts of the world, and for the moment that is the case, but it may not last forever and I think that is scary to think about.

I am hoping that in the next few chapters McKibben starts to get away from all of the statistics that he is using to create this feeling of impending doom and gets into ways that we can help make a difference. I think that looking at all of the problems we are facing is a great way to get our attention, but it won't do any good in the long run if he doesn't bring up any solutions.

Eaarth Chapter 1

After beginning to read Eaarth by Bill McKibben I realized that what I was reading about was playing out in front of me this weekend. Having almost 60 degree weather in the middle of January is no where near normal. Not once in my life can I remember going outside in the middle of January without my winter gear on, let alone going for a walk outside in a t-shirt, jeans and sandals and not being even a little chilly. This really made me realize that what I was reading about it true. We are closer to having a major problem with global warming that we think we are.

One of the things that really caught my attention in chapter one was how incorrect the predictions of global warming were. I didn't realize how wrong people were about how long it would take for global warming to have a big impact on the world. Something McKibben said on page 13 really caught my attention. He said that "global warming is an experiment. We've never watched it happen before, so we didn't know how it would proceed." This is a very valid point because this has never happened before so we don't know how to respond. Our response will be more of guess and check than using a formula to get the correct balance in our lives to slow down, and maybe one day stop, global warming's impact on our planet.

Changes in Glacier National Park

There was a lot of statistics in this chapter and at first I was a bit overwhelmed. However, when I went back and reread them I realized that they were important to include in order to get the severity of the problem we are facing across to the readers. Some of the main problems that will impact the most people are glaciers and ice caps melting, oceans becoming more acidic, rain forests drying up and water levels rising which impacts smaller island countries causing them to prepare to relocate. To me these are the biggest problems talked about in this chapter and I believe that the information presented needs to become more common knowledge so that people around the world know what is happening around them and can be prepared as well as offer help.

"Walking"

When I learned that we were going to be reading some writing by Thoreau I didn't really know what to think. I have heard of Thoreau, of course, but I didn't really know much about him or his style of writing. Starting the reading I didn't know what to expect, I went in thinking it was going to be boring, especially once I saw how long the reading was. However, I was pleasantly surprised once I started reading. I really enjoyed "Walking" and I feel that it brings up many good topics to talk about that relate to this class.

View from the top of Arch Rock in Tennessee

Thoreau talks a lot about walking, but not just walking as in taking a stroll. He speaks of walking as a mind and body experience. One of the lines that really spoke to me was when he said he was alarmed because he had "walked into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit." I do understand what he is talking about in this manner. Sometimes when I go for a walk, it is not for the health benefits, it is to help me clear my mind. I like to walk and just observe nature. Instead of using the walking time to think about all of the things going on in my life, I like to use it to look around me and just observe things.

I truly enjoyed reading "Walking" and I feel that it made me more aware of the way I think about walking and how much thought I put into it. I think that learning how to walk the way Thoreau talks about is important for everyone to learn.

"The Audit"

The story "The Audit" by Rachel May is very intriguing and I feel that it brings up many interesting topics. One of the main topics brought up in the story is the idea of reducing our carbon footprints. A carbon footprint is basically everything that you use on a daily basis that will leave some sort of effect on the environment. There are many ways that our carbon footprints can be reduced and there are many people that live different lifestyles in order to leave an extremely small footprint.

There are many people in the US that I know of that have started living a different lifestyle. They call it living off the grid. Living off the grid can include using solar panels, wind turbines, and hydroelectric energy. By living in this way they are able to have some of the same comforts that other people have, but with a well reduced carbon footprint.

During the story Bill, the main character, makes a trip to a cabin in the Adirondack mountains to visit a friend of his brother's in hopes that he will get him to sign off on a paper so that he can continue to live in his comfortable lifestyle. He isn't sure if his plan will work, but he is willing to try it, even though it seems far fetched, to help keep his family in the comfort they have always known. After he meets with Goodwin and spends time at his house, he seems to learn what he is 'missing' at his house with his family. On his way home, after spending the night with Goodwin, Bill sees his surroundings in a different light. He actually sees the plants and animals around him where before he just overlooked them as a sort of background. After his visit with Goodwin, Bill sees a lot of his lifestyle as extravagant and he isn't looking forward to going back to the world he knows.

Beautiful view of the Adirondack mountains

Introduction

Hello, my name is Tayler Dendel. I am a sophomore at WMU majoring in Occupational Therapy. I am from a small town north of Kalamazoo called Otsego. I love working outdoors and with animals. I work at a horse farm teaching kids how to ride. I also have two dogs, Reci and Chewy, at home that love to play outside!

This is the first class I am taking that has to do with environmental issues, but I am glad I am taking it. I have a few friends that have taken environmental classes and have told me how much they enjoyed it. Where I am from the surrounding area is made up of many farms. Because I see all of the issues that the farmers have faced when dealing with the environment I became interested in getting involved in ways that we can help make a difference.