Analysis Of Waste Not, Want Not By Bill Mckibben

Our world is wasting valuable resources left and right, as addressed in both essays “Waste Not, Want Not”” by Bill McKibbens, and “Forget Shorter Showers” by Derrick Jensen. In “Waste Not, Want Not”” Bill McKibbens focuses on the importance of preserving our recourses. He mentions how wasteful the human race is, and how un-necessary all of the things that cause waste really are. In “Forget Shorter Showers” Derrick Jensen leans more towards the idea that no matter what humans do, they are incapable of wining. Either they lose their opportunity for economical and intellectual growth, or they lose their precious recourses and clean world. Both writers realize that we are wasting recourses, and believe that change is necessary for advancement. While the writers may have similar views, they have different ideas on how to solve the issue, and use different methods of communicating their ideas.

As The World Burns: 50 Simple Things You Can Do To Stay In Denial, by Derrick Jensen and Stephanie McMillan, is a graphic novel about the state of our environment. They use cartoons and abundant sarcasm to convey the message that the attempts people are making to save the environment are not enough to do any real good. Their message challenges both those of Edward O. Wilson and the University of Connecticut in that Jensen and McMillan’s ideas are much more radical and suggest that the ideas posed by Wilson and UConn, such as the importance of recycling and sustainability efforts, are ineffective at saving the environment. We must resolve the challenges posed by Jensen and McMillan so that all of the ideas put forth in the sources may work together rather than against each other. In order to do this we must accept that some of the ideas given by Jensen and McMillan may be too extreme to do any real good and that the ideas suggested by Wilson and UConn, though slightly ineffective, are nonetheless important steps in saving the environment. Taken alone, none of their ideas will save the environment; instead it is necessary to combine the ideas of Wilson, UConn, and Jensen and McMillan in order to create a more realistic plan to save the planet.

"Save the Planet," "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle," "Go Green." Quotes like these have become a commonality in today's age. We all are familiar with the large efforts to help preserve the environment. In "Ideals of Human Excellence and Preserving Natural Environments," Thomas E. Hill Jr. sums up his essay by stating, "The point is not to insinuate that all anti-environmentalists are defective, but to see that those who value such traits as humility, gratitude, and sensitivity to others have reason to promote the love of nature" (688; par. 4) This excerpt provides the thesis behind Hill's argument. The author found that

Make smarter and “greener” decisions to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, voice your concern to government officials, and respect the precious monuments of this great land. Former President of the United, Lyndon B. Johnson, once stated: “We must not only protect the countryside and save it from destruction, we must restore what has been destroyed and salvage the beauty and charm of our cities … Once our natural splendor is destroyed, it can never be recaptured. And once man can no longer walk with beauty or wonder at nature, his spirit will wither and his sustenance be

Just like in “the Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi, people have a single story that helping the environment is about doing big changes in our lives, and the lives of others by donating money, participating in cleaning campaigns, or buying that super expensive electric car in order to avoid burning fossil fuels. Although is very true that most of what we heard of environmental protection usually comes through public media such as news, newspapers, internet, etc. that only showcase the big things, we tend to believe that if we do not provide a huge amount of our effort, then we are not helping. The truth is that we can all help the environment by performing the simplest tasks a little different by changing the type of energy you use, and the products you buy. In the interview “Buying Green Products Will Improve the Environment” author Jenny Shank. This interview sows how perfectly someone can protect the environment without stop being lazy. In this interview, green entrepreneur Josh Dorfman is asked: what was the laziest thing he did in order to protect the environment to which he answers: “I switched over to 100% wind power for my apartment by checking a few boxes and making a few mouse clicks on the website of my power utility” (Shank) although he also explains that he now has to pay $6 extra in energy, he know feels better knowing that all he had to in order to protect the environment was to click a few times. The same thing can be applied to buying green

Many Americans do not realize the full extent of how much we negatively affect the environment. There has been quite a bit of research and studies conducted on how to become more environmentally friendly; however, these are simply ideas and without action taken from citizens it is all worthless. It is quite exhilarating to have a goal and then have that goal be achieved; you get to see all your hard work be paid off. Many goals are inspired from one thing or another. The documentary No Impact Man makes you feel motivated to take a stand and help the environment. In the documentary, it is awesome to see how hard this family worked through the year to make a change and aid the environment. After calculating my carbon emissions, finding out how

Per Helfand, Bereck, and Maull, (1970), “Physically, pollution occurs because it is virtually impossible to have a production process that involves no water; economically, pollution occurs because polluting is less expensive than operating cleanly” p. (19). Now what implications does this have on the environment. As individuals, we got use to the luxuries of a car or factories that make our goods. Now what if soon enough we stop having clean air because we would rather have our goods. Our egotistical ways will only lead us to what can possibly be our death. In a survey made in Washington half or Americans say they recycle 75% or more recyclable items. And only 8% say they recycle all recyclables. If we were to check the homes of the people

Waste Management, Inc., incorporated in 1968, had become a leader in the industry of waste management services ranging from industrial operations to curbside collection. This company had become synonymous with many different kinds of disposal services that allowed for the company to grow and grow with a solid base over the course of twenty-eight years. Finally in 1996, the company reported total assets of almost $20 billion with net income close to $200 million. However, even with this growth and solid base, the company was feeling competitive pressures and net income was on the decline.

The United States of America is at the top of the list when it comes to the countries that use the most resources. In The Waste Generation by Bill Bryson, he talks about the amount of natural resources wasted by Americans. Bryson gets much of the information he uses in his essay from his personal experience. He lived in England for 20 years as a journalist and during his stay, he noticed many differences between the lifestyle of people living in England and the people in America. Most of the people that live in the U.S. are very wasteful compared to people living in other countries and even though some of the people realize that they are being wasteful themselves, they don’t change their habits. This is a very big problem in the U.S. because many resources are wasted such as electricity, water, gas, oil, and more. Compared to other countries, each person in the U.S. uses resources several times more than people in other countries depending on which country but some people may argue that the U.S. is covering up for wasting resources by making more resources, which is fine except for the fact that resources are still being wasted.

Throughout the mid-19th century, many cities across America were becoming industrialized and growing in size. As a city develops and grows, the city uses resources such as food, raw products, and energy. All these resources are consumed by a city. The outcome of all this consumption is the production of waste (Tarr 15). In the mid-19th century, a massive migration of Americans and wave of migrants from different countries in Europe and other parts of the world begin to settle in urban settings across America. Many were seeking better job opportunities and better lives in American cities. As a result, industrial cities grew dramatically and became heavily congested. As cities grew and began to emerge, many more resources were consumed

Government officials and environmentalists try to control everything while claiming "it's what's best for the environment." However, they fail to realize what's best for the people and their lives. By using logos and factual evidence, Adam B. Summers forms an argument in an attempt to persuade his audience to fight against the ban on plastic bags.

The essay opens up with McKibben talking about how the political campaign against global warming is flawed because at our current point there is nothing much that can be done to fix it.(Mckibben,1) He then goes to state that humans are the biggest culprit behind global warming and supports this by giving examples such as SUVs and American ignorance.(2,9) He concludes by saying that if ten percent of America were to go green, it still would not save the planet, but ten percent could get the government’s attention to pass laws making everyone go green. (11)

We have been living in a constant cycle of hypocrisy. We tweet, share, comment, and like everything that we can that has to do with saving the planet; however, after one gets done using the unnecessary electricity to power their smartphone, do solar panels charge their phone? Does everyone purposefully take short showers? Are all citizens buying locally sourced fruits and vegetables? Are there compost stations in all households? Has our government put taxes on non-reusable plastics and Styrofoam? There is an endless list of things that we can do to help the environment; however, most people are disregarding those things. Some people are ignorant to man made environmental factors, like climate change, which is leading to the destruction of our natural resources. The recently captured image of a woman on a beach exposes the growing ignorance of our society to our dying natural environment.

Due to increasing popularity with becoming environmentally conscious, one is not labeled as a weird tree hugger with too much time on their hands. Instead, taking care of Mother Earth has been championed by influential celebrities, well respected politicians, and altruistic business

Some people, perhaps, choose not to take action because it would be too “difficult” or too “expensive” but that is simply not true. “You can take a stand at home by simply adjusting your thermostat, recycling, and monitoring your electrical use” (Take). Taking action does not mean you must buy a new vehicle or a new home – you can make a change in many small ways. It does not take a lot of time or money to protect our planet and those that live here. If everyone chooses to just do something small, it will make a big