Mark Smith-"Animalcules and Other Little Subjects"

Smith has a serious love for the microscopic world . He is fascinated with animalcules and finds pleasure in devoting his time to observe them. His pleasure, sadly, is not shared by his wife or family. As far as Smith is concerned his interest is not even shared with others outside of his family (264). Not even scientists are as interested in this real life wonder. Although Smith's article is very passive he is hurt because of this lack of interest that people in general have for real life.

I fall into this category of people. I admired his affection towards his work, but I do not share the same passion. I would have to say that I am with Smith's niece. What he is describing is interesting, but only for the moment.

Benjamin Phelan-"How We Evolve"

Phelan worries about human beings' "Self-inflicted extinction" by quoting Paul Ehrlich. Ehrlich states that human beings will be responsible for their own extinction. Of course the first problem Ehrlich uses as an example is climate change (202). However, what he is essentially saying is that the bad choices we make will ultimately effect the lifespan of the human race. Do I agree? Yes, but I do not look at it as a dreadful thing either. Like Phelan has already stated; "there is no question that the day will come when humans are no longer on earth" (202).

This is not said to send anyone into a depression but it is the truth. Are we at fault? In a way it is because we could not have avoided this. Once humans learn how to use the gifts we possess, our minds, we will always be on the look out for the next best thing. We will continue to evolve in that aspect. Eventually we will get to the point of over development and say "maybe we should have..." at that point there will be no turning back. Change is possible but that will be not be easy. In the end all good things must come to an end.

George Carlin - "Plastic"

As funny as the clip was a lot of what Carlin said makes sense. He may not have as much support as the authors we have read, but he doesn't need to. Everyone knows that the earth has been around for billions of years. We are the ones who just got here! So why should we be taken up in such a frenzy about pollution, extinction and global warming? The earth has survived much worst. As a matter of fact, these same natural disasters cause the death of the very trees, animals and plants we are trying to "save" and, the chemicals put into the air by disasters such as volcanoes contaminate the enviroment with poisonous gases. As Carlin put it, we do not want to mess up the area in which we inhabitat because we would lose some of the conveniences we possess today. Another interesting fact that Carlin brought up was that many of the things we use today, such as plastic, are derived from the earth!

I say none of this to sound like an extreme "anti-green" radical or a person who doesn't care. I believe that we should take care of the earth just as we take care of our houses, apartments, bedrooms etc. Living in a house or an apartment is just a physicality of our real home, the earth. That is why it is still important that we show some gratitude and respect for our home.

John Broome

As far as John Broome is concerned the discount rate concluded by Nicholas Stern is crap. The discount rate is the discount placed on the future by economists; the value of future goods is less than the value placed on present-day goods (p.13). As far as Broome is concerned we should take responsibility today to ensure a better tomorrow. Instead of making decisions that will benefit us in the now, we need to recognize that our decisions will effect us and those we are connected too. There are three ideas that arise when discussing people’s ethical judgments about the value of future well-being. They are prioritarianism, utilitarianism, pure discounting and the ide of being temporarily impartial. Prioritarianism is a condition in which less value is placed on future goods. Under utilitarianism conditions equality in the value of goods in both the present and the future is established. Pure discounting says that we should care more about people in the present rather than those in the future because the future is so far away. To be temporarily impartial is to insist that the date in which harm is inflicted does not make a difference to its value (p.14-16).

The money market simply reveals that people's ethical judgements stretch as far as the present. People take on the idea that "we will cross that bridge when we get there, so let's concentrate on the now." The danger in this is that every decision made has a consequence. All of the decisions made have consequences that may effect people now and definitely will affect people in the future. Yes these consequences can be good or bad, but consequences such as global warming should not be passed onto people in the future, nor should people in the present have to suffer.

What is a writer? Are you a writer? Why or why not?

A writer I feel is simply someone who enjoys writing. Whether he or she enjoys academic writing or expressive creative writing, they qualify as a writer. Am I a writer? Yes, absolutely! I love to write. Not so much academic writing that involves research, but more so opinionated papers in which I can express my thoughts. However, my real love is creative writing, which I am only able to do in my spare time. I write poetry and I have dabbled in short stories, and what I believe they call prose. I haven't been able to write how I used to because I am caught up in my school work but I am itching to get back to my writing, and drawing.

Do I feel responsible for global warming....GOOD question!

Do I feel as a consumer that I am personally responsible for global warming?

I grew up ignorant of all the information distributed today concerning global warming. Even if I did decide to walk the few blocks instead of driving or taking the bus it was because I didn't feel like driving, didn't have a ride or I didn't feel like spending close to $5 for the bus. It was either a waste of gas and or a waste of money so I would just walk or ride my bike. I still abide by this philosophy, sometimes, today. I honestly believe that going green not only benefits the environment but it also benefits me. A common example is the purchasing of an "Eco-friendly" bag for a store that I frequent. The bag is cute and I get a discount every time I use my "Eco-friendly" bag instead of the plastic bag! So I believe it is safe for me to say that no, I do not really feel responsible for global warming. I do however feel responsible for doing whatever I am capable of doing in an effort "Go Green" not because it is the "in thing to do" but because I have been blessed to live 19 years on this earth and I should return the blessing. Every little bit counts for something and because I am not mass producing products and constantly emitting harmful green house gases, I have to do my little bit.

"We are in an era of Creative Destruction" -Elkington-

This quote can be found on page 292 in Michael Specter's article "Big Foot." My immediate reaction was to interpret this statement made by John Elkington. What I believe Elkington was saying is that we are in an era in which we are bringing destruction on the environment and ultimately ourselves in a very creative manner. A manner so creative that we either do not recognize the destruction or we recognize it but we are so transfixed on the creativity of the destruction that all we can do is stare. In both instances the creativity of the destruction is so overwhelming that not much real action is taking place to avoid such destruction. In reality, we are so taken back by the immense advancements of technology and how "pretty it looks" that we do not recognize the destruction left behind on the path technology took to get to the advanced state it is in. Besides technology, is the notion of what Wendell Berry would say is the idea that people believe everything is limitless. If people die then what makes us think that every thing is limitless and our way of living is indestructible? Being so caught up in the creativity we can lose sight of the destruction and hopefully we can turn our eyes away from the fireworks and concentrate in reducing any further destruction. I know that this is hard to do, for myself included.