Book Review Essay: Why I Came West

“Why I Came West” is easily relatable to an individual’s beginnings in conservation. However, the book may be a poor choice to use for recruiting people into the world of conservation because Rick Bass, the author, was only concerned with the area surrounding his home, despised the years he spent trying to convince his neighbors to speak up, and so desperately wanted to return to a life of peace and quiet. Initially, I was intrigued as began to read the book “Why I Came West”. In the first chapter I could feel a connection to the author, Rick Bass as he outlines the setting in the Yaak Valley in northwestern Montana. Being from the northwest just a few hundred miles from the wilderness he calls home, I know of the wonders and mystique that draws people to call it home. I was hooked and as the pages continued to turn, I felt a spark that was driving me to get even more involved in the preservation of the untouched. And suddenly it was lost as the chapters continued to progress and the more I read about his past lives as an oil geologist and a fiction writer, the more distant I felt. His desire to return to a life of pen and paper and leave the world of the conservative struggle behind dowsed any spark that was left. When I decided to take a break for a day or two from reading this book I had a realization. Instead of trying to analyze the book as events or outcomes, my thoughts drifted to the knowledge that was being shared. Although “Why I Came West” is focused on the preservation of one man’s “Utopia”, the book is a reminder or a prelude to all present and future environmental activists about the struggles that one may face because Rick Bass, the author discusses the desire to return to a past life, the feeling of a never-ending battle, the challenge of walking the double-edged sword trying to keep everyone satisfied, and a confused conscious over the next step or unforeseen effects.

Early on in the book, , as he tip-toed around his neighbors trying to avoid upsetting them with his use of the word “wilderness” and anti-logging rhetoric, Rick seemed to be more concerned with what people thought versus meeting his goal of saving the forest. After saw mills in the area began to close he felt somewhat responsible for causing some of his neighbors their job. Through his account of being against clear-cut logging but a promoter of selective logging, he generates a visual of walking along a tight rope trying to dodge the questions about what he believes. No matter what he was being asked Rick stuck to his beliefs, which leaves a powerful message to all that read his book. It may not always be possible to be the outspoken overzealous activist when you are trying to bring awareness to the cause, so tread lightly around those that may have an impressionable mind so you don’t push them away.

In his struggle to stay in touch with his past life, he made a connection that we all can benefit from as we read his writings. Rick has put his abilities as a fiction writer to use in order to spread the word on his beloved land in the northwest part of Montana. Writing of this land of two’s he creates an image that is easily generated by the brain as he takes you on his fall hunts for elk or deer. While some activist may be disappointed in his writings of living off the land, he may connect with more people like himself that never thought of themselves as a conservationist, which may bring stronger numbers to the cause. Being a conservationist as well as a hunter or living a subsistent life may not go hand in hand for most activists, but it is the only true way to reduce the impact that you leave on this land.

He also shares with us a breakdown of a language barrier that has begun to hinder the efforts of conservationists. The use of interchangeable terms in our everyday lives is one of the reasons why conservationists have to choose their words extremely carefully while speaking of nature. Common words seem to fall on deaf ears, but by using very descriptive words it is possible to grasp the attention of members in the audience when speaking of nature. By substituting boulder for rock or adding to the description of an object, it becomes more personnel and easily relatable, but businesses use terms that seem to strip life away from the very object that needs protection, terms like lumber, harvest, and material. If activists begin or continue to slip into the trend of using these lifeless words they will lose their ability to captivate the by-stander’s attention, leaving yet another contributor to the destruction of this planet.

Rick feels he is making no progress in his efforts as he takes two steps forward and one step back or at time one step forward and two steps back. Engaging in a dance, were the only progress is in a circle until the couple gets in rhythm and they can slowly move across the floor as a team. There is no way to make progress in preserving nature as an individual. An individual’s voice is easily drowned out by the sound of one machine but the voice of many can quiet the sound of one machine.

While “Why I Came West” may not be the ideal book for every conservationist, it could serve as a guide of what to expect during the long arduous fight to save the planet. Rick shares his experiences from his years an environmental activist to his readers in hopes that it may make it easier for younger environmentalist to deal with the frustrations that they may experience. This book has allowed me to realized that the challenges that some conservationist may face are unavoidable, the only way to change the outcome is to keep pushing forward and not get discouraged.

Essay 2 Book Review – Architecture: One Might Think This Would Be Easy

Architecture is a very broad subject with many specialties. People spend years studying in an academic environment, hoping to become architects in their field. The entire industry has a long and fascinating history, having been a part of every construction project since the dawn of civilization. While having a blueprint of a house is usually necessary to start any project, without people to actually build your creation you will get nowhere. Carpenters and other skilled tradesmen are responsible for the majority of the construction involved with building a house. Many attempts have been made throughout the years to try to find ways to make people understand the basic concepts of construction and design. It is by no means an easy task, usually being within the domain of experienced craftsmen and artists. This book is an attempt to completely go through the process as a layman would, while leaving the required expertise behind. While no substitute for real training, the book is a fascinating story about the author’s experience over several years while building a writing hut in his garden. Although A Place of My Own may be described in its basic form as a guide to building a house, Michael Pollan takes it to the next level and accomplishes so much more because of the human connection, history, and reality.

Building any kind of structure can be a daunting task, especially for someone who has no experience in the field. Any kind building that exists today has had some help from someone who designed it. We are nowhere even close technologically to the point where a building can be designed without human input. Every part of the design process, from the first idea to habitation, involves input from people. This kind of in-depth human involvement has resulted in architectural designs that capture the essence of humanity in a way that few other creations can. We comingle with our habitations every day of our lives. The importance of good design choices cannot be denied when faced with the challenges such as the simple act of occupying these spaces. Pollan takes a look at these facets in a very thorough and involved way. Under heavy discussion throughout the book, the underlying concept of style is steadily emphasized as being an important concept of architecture. This concept is drawn upon when selecting a foundation site all the way up to the complete interior decorating that must be done. Pollan is greatly involved in this pet project of his. Even though the size of his writing hut is rather small, the attention to detail and craftsmanship drew out the construction process to the point where it actually took several years to complete.

Pollan also goes into great detail about the historical aspects of architecture. One undeniable fact that we must realize is that history influences everything. From this reasoning, one can say that modern architecture is heavily influenced by different classic and historical styles. When Pollan first begins the steps of selecting a site in his garden to lay a foundation, he draws a connection to the past and compares this aspect of an architect’s mindset to the earliest people who first built a hut out of branches and mud. This historical retelling is pronounced throughout the book and gives the reader a larger perspective than what may usually be found in a story of this type. While always giving an honest, modern view on every step of construction, lessons about past accomplishments and feats help us understand exactly why things are the way they are. Each mention of historical architectural styles, famous architects, or notable buildings will help deepen the reader’s core understanding of the industry as a whole.

As complicated a process as one might think constructing a house might be, Pollan is able to realize his small dream by willfully taking each step one at a time. When he first thought about building his writing shack, it was just idle thought; a small footnote in a larger piece of text. Having set about devoting some serious thought to this idea, Pollan eventually began setting some gears in motion and started to talk to people whom we would seek advice. Every step that Pollan takes is described in detail which allows the reader to understand just how important each part of the project is. Close to starting the construction of his building, Pollan wants to first complete the entire thing himself. Faced with the daunting reality of how complicated this really is, he is forced to accept that he will need assistance. Stuff like this is never easy, and Pollan repeatedly expresses this reality throughout the book, going so far as to warn the reader against making mistakes like these. One of the major hurdles that Pollan and his hired crew (actually consisting of just a carpenter and architect) face early on was dealing with a foundation that ended up being out of square. “The error, this simple, stupid, unconscious, un-undoable error, haunts my building even now” was a description that Pollan probably would have rather not made while writing this book. This small mistake affects the entire building process, almost every step of the way until completion. Foundation work, framing, roofing, and finishing ended up being more complicated than they had to because of the very real effect of a tiny mistake.

Anyone who is seriously considering starting any construction project should be happy to know that reading this book beforehand would be a very wise idea. Pollan has taken on a project as an amateur, and throughout the entire book helped us understand what architecture really is. The fact that a smaller structure was chosen only allowed so much greater detail in the descriptions during each step. We end up with a deep connection with this particular hut out in the middle of a garden in Connecticut, reflecting on the necessity of human emotion in our surroundings. A Place of My Own is a masterful work, proving that there is an artist in all of us.

Essay 2 Book Review – The Result of a Hamburger: Living in a Fast Food Society

The Result of a Hamburger: Living in a Fast Food Society

 When someone is told to imagine a hamburger, it is not difficult for he or she to automatically think of that juicy beef patty on a sesame bun, smothered in ketchup and mustard.  Just as easily, when asked where one can find this familiar food, he or she will most likely mention McDonald’s, Burger King, Carl’s Jr., or Wendy’s in their response.  This immediate answer is a result of the powerful fast food industry that has absorbed the majority of American’s eating habits.  Since 1955, when Ray Kroc founded the McDonald’s Corporation, the fast food industry has become an icon in America.  Although the fast food industry continues to grow and has become one of the largest influences on Americans, Eric Schlosser’s book, Fast Food Nation, provides an excellent example of how the fast food industry negatively affects society because of its minimum wage, dangerous working facilities, and health hazards.

In his book, Schlosser (2001) states that fast food employees have become the largest group to earn minimum wage in the United States (p. 14).  Millions of employees slave day and night, opening and closing fast food chains around the country.  Many work over 40 hours; however, managers do their best to employ enough workers in order to avoid overtime wages.  Teenagers are the targets for fast food employers: they are young, unskilled, and willing to work for low pay.  More importantly, they are easy to come by and agreeable to take on the job.  These teenagers are put in charge as managers to open and close fast food chains, day in and day out, in addition to their own schoolwork.  While many look at the job as temporary, others remain employed at the restaurants for many years, turning the job into a career choice.  They receive no health benefits and continue to be paid minimum wage.  Unfortunately, this does not make for a successful lifestyle as it soon becomes difficult for employees to support a family, let alone themselves.

Outside the fast food restaurant, many Americans struggle to make ends meet before the hamburger touches the customer’s tray.  In slaughterhouses, meatpackers spend long hours in the most dangerous job in the country (p. 173).  With large machinery, sharp knives, and the pressure to move quickly, injuries are common in these factories.  Schlosser (2001) reports, “the injury rate in a slaughterhouse is about three times higher than the rate in a typical American factory” (173).  Sadly, not every injury and illness is reported and thousands go unrecognized.  Managers do what they can to conceal these incidents in order to prove to authorities, including the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Marketing and Inspection Service, that they have safer working facilities.  Instead, they tend to compromise with injured and sick employees, offering them enough time off from work to heal.  Injuries become more frequent when workers are encouraged to speed their pace up while handling sharp knives and heavy equipment.  Schlosser even notes that many employees participate in using methamphetamine, helping them to feel “energized and invincible” (p. 175).  Under the influence of this drug, it is obvious how much more treacherous the working conditions become.  Despite dangerous working conditions, meatpackers are paid a higher dollar, creating a more desirable job (p. 156).

More concerning to the public, however, may actually be the health hazards caused by the fast food industry.  In addition to the commonly discussed topic of obesity, Americans become blind when choosing what to consume.  While the fast food industry does not claim to be entirely healthy, it promotes products on menus that state to be “healthier”.  For example, McDonald’s McNuggets became a huge hit when introduced in 1983.  Americans believed they were a healthier choice at McDonalds, considering it was chicken – they must be healthy.  Unfortunately, a researcher at Harvard Medical School discovered that the “fatty acid profile” in McNuggets looked more like beef than it did poultry (p. 144).  Like McDonald’s french fries, McNuggets are flavored from beef additives and according to the researcher’s study, “contain twice as much fat per ounce as a hamburger” (p. 144).  Considering that both the McNuggets and fries contain this secret, the Chicken McNugget Happy Meal does not seem as “happy” – or healthy – anymore.  Moreover, the outbreaks of E. coli 0157:H7 have frightened people across the country.  Cattle infected with this pathogen can easily pass it through its processed meat that soon becomes a consumer’s hamburger.  Once the consumer is infected with the deadly pathogen, it is crucial that he or she receives immediate medical attention.  Despite the vast public attention E. coli 0157:H7 has received over the years, there are many other reasons why Americans should remain cautious about fast food.  Food poisoning, for example, is much more common to obtain from eating a hamburger than a toxic disease.

With the ongoing popularity of the fast food industry, it is important for Americans to open their eyes to reality.  Eric Schlosser presents worthwhile points in his book, Fast Food Nation, showing society the consequences of a simple hamburger.  Although a hamburger may be a common craving for a typical American, it is also the result of 3.5 million workers accepting minimum wage for long hours.  It is the reason why meatpackers put their lives in danger every day, even when they frequently go unnoticed.  Furthermore, it is the cause of common health risks among its consumers, including disease, food poisoning, and the innocence of what “healthy” actually means.  This innocence alone captures Americans every day when they stand in line for their own fast food meal. In the end, Schlosser effectively shows that a hamburger is not worth the risk of such consequences.  Instead, the lives of those behind the hamburger should be greatly considered.

Reference List

Schlosser, E. (2001). Fast Food Nation. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company

Essay 2 Book Review- Environmental Destruction: Lets Get Toxic

Mattie Bly

Environmental Destruction: Lets get Toxic

The creation of life on earth took hundreds of millions of years. It required complex evolutionary processes and diversification, which make up the vast world of today. Sadly, it took less than one hundred years for humans to nearly destroy all of it. With toxic chemicals and reckless behavior, humans have coated the earth with toxic film giving it no time to recover. Frivolous wants of the human race have started a war against its precious environment and have won countless times. Although many have argued humans’ affects on the environment, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring is the environmental defense novel that has transformed human’s actions because it develops mounting evidence against harmful modern day industries, approaches human’s destructive alterations on nature with solutions, and is a primary source for environmentalism as a whole.

Since the 1940′s, over 200 basic chemicals have been created for the use of killing insects, weeds, and rodents, all sold under thousands of different brand names. Agencies within the chemical industry claim only beneficial wonders of their creations, ignoring the growing long term toxic effects they produce. These control agencies have consistently pushed humans towards a chemically sterile and insect free world. Using valuable resources such as The Ecology of Invasions by Charles Elton, Rachel Carson stands up to these agencies and reveals to the world
their destructive secrets. Carson uncovers evidence of officials allowing poisonous and biologically potent chemicals indiscriminately
into the hands of persons ignorant of their harmful potential. Companies were also found putting chemicals on the market, without proper and thorough testing of their effects.

Chemical agencies clearly only have one desire and that is to make a dollar at whatever cost. When faced with public protests and obvious evidence of damaging results due to pesticide applications, agencies fill the public’s mind with half truths of what they want to hear. This is done in hopes of keeping the truth quiet and hidden. This is still occurring today with residues of chemicals lingering among soil and tissues of fish and
birds, from chemicals dumped into the environment decades ago. Yet with this destruction, the chemical industry still thrives, feeding
helpless humans with lies.

Humans today have acquired significant power to alter the nature of this world. This has lead to the contamination of the air, rivers, and seas of the precious earth that created us. The results of this contamination from dangerous and lethal materials are almost irreversible, thanks to the providers, the chemical agencies. Countless times, agencies have allowed chemicals to be used with no advance investigation of their effect on
soil, water, wildlife, and humans. There has been limited awareness of the nature of this threat. With these lies revealed, Carson pushes readers to fight back against the corrupt industries. Solutions to stopping this madness are to question the authorities involved and push for answers and legitimate test results of the chemicals surrounding them.

Just because something is annoying or abundant, doesn’t mean you destroy or kill it. In the attempt to remove annoying insects and pests from
the earth, humans have began to learn that this may be harder than it seems. This is due to nature fighting back. With mass applications of
new chemicals, insects repeatedly come back, as well as come back resistant to the chemicals trying to destroy them. Rachel Carson repeatedly addresses this destructive issue, stressing better solutions to what humans think is a problem. She explains how humans are ignoring the powerful forces at work in the balance of nature and how humans are constantly trying to assert their dominance, ultimately hurting them in the long run. Humans have overlooked nature itself as a provider of pesticide control. They instead have created a chemically weakened environment that has opened the door to an enormous insect population.

Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and social movement that involves the concerns for environmental conservation. It strives to improve the health of the environment as well as stop the constant destructive harm done by humans. Silent Spring has had an influential impact on environmentalism and its followers. Rachel Carson has strengthened humans desire for preservation and restoration of the natural environment. She gives the cold hard facts involving the devastating effects of toxic chemicals on the earth and its organisms as a way of starting a war against the agencies. Chemical industries are even compared to as a child of World War II. Carson does this by revealing shocking stories of innocent children dying due to parathion poisoning. And yet with multiple deaths, millions of pounds of this poison are still applied yearly to the U.S
orchards fields. The only thing keeping the poisons from wiping out the human race is its rapid decomposition. Carson also discusses how dangerous radiation and chemicals are the new diseases, even with our improved living conditions and miracle drugs and medicine. These
detrimental outcomes of chemical poisoning wake up readers and allows them to easily join in on environmentalism in hopes of reversing the
effects of what has already been done.

Through the discussion of influential events, Rachel Carson effectively stirs the thoughts and feelings of our society, pushing it towards realization of its own destruction. Evidence is clear and backed by other sources as well as research done by Carson. Chemical agencies are effectively put on the spot, revealing how their power has lead to corruption as well as destruction towards the environment all to make more money. Their poor decisions have lead to nearly irreversible contamination of ecosystems including air, water, soil, and wildlife that can still be measured and seen decades later. Although an unpleasant and negative portrayal of the earth’s environment, Silent Spring is an revolutionary novel that has transformed our society and strengthened the fight for environmentalism.

Essay #2: We Are Not The Cause

Ralph B. Alexander writes to reveal the misguided, but not uncommon, assumption that global warming is occurring because of man-made causes, in his book, Global Warming False Alarm.  Alexander, who was formerly not a sceptic of man-made global warming, is a scientist looking to present the cold, hard facts, spin free. The outcome of a book like this, in a best-case scenario, would be to convert a good number of man-made global warming believers, to skeptics. Alexander presents several flaws in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) statements on man-made global warming. The “scientists” and government workers scream that global warming is almost entirely due to man made events. I have placed scientists in quotation marks, because many of the IPCC members are not scientists at all. This book has delved deep into the scare spread by the global warming alarmist, and the bad science behind it all. It is actually more likely that global warming is a natural occurrence, taking place in a natural temperature cycle that has been ongoing for centuries.

Ralph B. Alexander’s book, Global Warming False Alarm, exposes the bad

science behind the assumption that human-made situations cause global
warming, he does this by giving facts that conflict with the IPCC’s, every

option is explored by him and if false, proven wrong, and the real
causes of the warming are exposed.

Alexander sets out to disprove the “fact” that man-made occurrences have caused global warming, by thoroughly going through every aspect of the claims the IPCC has made, and exposing the falsity and bad science. His book is not one sided or biased, it simply states the facts and corrects the very imperfect assumptions the IPCC has made. From day one, the IPCC has leaned toward the idea that global warming is man made. Although they did not officially state that it was, the board implied it heavily. It almost seems that natural global warming was not even considered, instead man-made global warming was simply, assumed.

A heavily investigated topic in this book is CO2. CO2 is, claimed by the IPCC and other alarmists, to be a deadly green house gas that adds to the warming of the earth. In actuality CO2 only accounts for about four percent of the green house gasses; water and other natural gasses make up much of the rest. There is no solid proof that greenhouse gasses have a high part in “global warming”. Also, global warming is more likely a part of the natural cooling and warming of the earth.

Alexander goes on to look into several more mistakes, bad science, and false statements made by the IPCC. He also defends the idea that natural causes are to blame for the global warming. Scientific facts and statistics are provided to backup various claims.

Alexander’s book has convinced me that global warming is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the cycle of cold and warm weather for long periods of time. We humans have no impact on the weather of our world, if people have not figured that out by now, frankly, they are a little slow. Although we, as the beings responsible for this beautiful planet, must care for, and keep the earth clean, drastic measures will not need to be taken to “save” mankind from a melting earth.

In the back of the book a glossary, appendix, and references are all listed. This provides back up of the facts, more credibility, and a very scholarly-like piece of work. I am very impressed with this book, not only because of its clear and concise writings, but because Alexander examines both sides of the argument fully. He writes in a way that us average, non-scientist people can understand. I would recommend this book to anyone who is unsure about the accepted “facts” about global warming, anyone who would like to take action for themselves and find the real facts. This book, I believe, can do wonders in creating more skeptics of the lies we have all been fed.

Essay 2 Book Review – Doing it With Pleasure: Eating to Nourish Our Selves

     Americans are fascinated with nutrition. Yet our waistlines are growing and our health is declining. So what is the answer? “Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.” At least, that is what Michael Pollan concludes in his book In Defense of Food.  Pollan’s manifesto examines the Western diet and its fascination with food science and nutrition, taking time to explore the conundrum of nutrition versus health. Perplexed and woeful, Pollan details the evolution of food into a science based on ingredients and health claims. Although modified food is often marketed as nutritious, Michael Pollan makes an excellent case in his book, In Defense of Food, for the necessity of consumers to return to whole food choices in the pursuit of nutrition by exposing the science behind popular health claims, examining the nutrient content of engineered foods, and offering a guide for healthy eating based upon his research.

      Pollan has written several successful books about the plight of food in modern society, garnishing praise as a respected critique of the conventional food industry and its correlation to consumer’s health. Pollan’s purpose, to educate people about the importance of making informed decisions about what to put on their plates, is effectively communicated in In Defense of Food.  “Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.” delivers his point to the reader in a poignant, easy to remember mantra. It is hard to argue his point because he has come to this conclusion by gleaning information from scientific journals, medical journals, personal interviews with professionals, and research-based studies. Using these methods, Pollan documents the trend towards popular health claims, which are earthed in early research that focused more on the building blocks of food than the overall health of a food source. He supports his analysis by using many excerpts from official documents, such as this one from Dietary Goals for the United States, published in 1977, which originally encouraged people to “reduce consumption of meat” but was then changed to “chose meats, poultry, and fish that will reduced saturated fat intake” after facing pressure from the meat and dairy industries. This makes it easy for the reader to follow the evolution of popular health claims as Pollan sees them. As an example, it is easy to see that reducing saturated fat in the diet became more important than reducing the source of saturated fats, which encouraged producers of food to make health claims about the fat content of foods.

     Another method of delivery Pollan uses to express and support his views is the use of interviews with nutrition scientists to examine the content of engineered foods. When a New York City University nutritionist readily admits that modern study of food is flawed, as captured by Pollan is this quote “The problem with nutrient-by-nutrient nutrition science is that it takes the nutrition out of the context of food, the food out of the context of the diet, and the diet out of the context of the lifestyle”, the reader is convinced that there is potential for engineering foods based on nutrient content could be an easily erroneous reasoning.  At one point, when arguing the nutrient content of whole foods versus engineered foods, Pollan lists just the antioxidants found in a simple garden-variety leaf of thyme- and comes up with 35 of them.  He uses this to insist that instead of trying to add value to food, we should place more value on the nutrient content, some of which we cannot even identify, of whole foods.  Pollan asserts that food scientists should be more concerned with the good foods we are not eating enough of, instead of the bad foods we are eating too much of. He uses a study by Women’s Health Initiative, which studied diets of women over a long period of time, to point out that although food scientists claimed reducing saturated fat would significantly reduce the risk of heart disease or cancer, no reduction was actually found by women who followed a low-fat diet. Pollan believes, and encourages the reader to believe, that food as a whole is more important than its individual parts.  He theorizes that, because of such studies, it is more important to reduce animal protein intake in general, rather than choosing engineered low-fat milk, reduced fat cottage cheese, and even chicken instead of hamburger.  

      Pollan is quite convincing in his arguments against following health claims and buying engineered foods. He leaves the reader wondering “what then, should I eat?” and swoops in to answer that question with plenty more research.  Taking a look at historical diets of man in different cultures, Pollan correlates simplified diets based on whole foods with healthier individuals. One study used in his book is that of Aborigines who had left the bush, adopted western style diets, acquired health problems, and agreed to return to the bush and their native diets to see if their health effects could be reversed. After only seven weeks, all of the aborigines showed drastic improvements in basically all areas of their health. Such scientific studies are a great resource well used by Pollan. They are great because they are hard to argue because they offer sturdy evidence of Pollan’s theory of the necessity of returning to whole foods. With his usual canny methodology, Pollan offers funny and memorable instructions on what to eat, such as “Don’t eat anything your grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food”, followed by an explanation, such as this one which was based on a nutritionist who advised in the 60’s “Just don’t eat anything your Neotholic ancestors wouldn’t recognize and you’ll be ok.” He bases his ideas on sound advice, drawing logical conclusions after clearly thinking through commonly accepted ideas about food and nutrition. The guidelines Pollan offers on what to eat are simple to follow, and adaptable to almost any reader, such as “Eat wild foods when you can” and “Take supplements”. And if something seems a little confusing, Pollan is quick to add a lengthy note at the bottom of the page clarifying his writers, which gives the book an intimate, personable quality.

     Michael Pollan’s book In Defense of Food  is cleverly and thoughtfully organized.  With plenty of research based on scientific findings, Pollan makes a convincing case for his theories about food. Although food production corporations would have us believe otherwise, Pollan establishes that to return to nutrition, one must return to whole foods and can do so by understanding the science behind common health claims, understanding the nutrient content of engineered foods, and following his simple guide on healthy eating. Overall, Pollan makes an excellent case for the defense of food. Food my great-grandmother would recognize, that is.

Essay 2 Book Review – A Bird’s Eye View: Lots of Trash and Rope

Zach Bohan

10/29/2011

Eng 213

Essay 2 Book Review – A Bird’s Eye View: Lots of Trash and Rope

The albatross is a very beautiful bird whose majesty is in danger of being wiped out due to human interference and global warming. This grand bird nests on small islands throughout the sea and travel thousands of miles in order to eat and feed their young. Throughout their journey they are in constant danger of soaring directly into the fishing lines of passing ships. These lines from commercial fishing vessels combined with the effect that global warming plays on their foods ecosystem is killing their food supply and killing them at the same time. The birds are also in danger of losing their breeding grounds and homes to discarded human trash washing up on their beaches. One particular breed that is very threatened by human interference is the layson albatross whose lives are described in depth by Carl Safina. Although Author Carl Safina’s book, Eye of the Albatross: Visions of Hope and Survival, contains many arguments based on emotional attachment, overall it still creates a solid logical argument as to why humans need to become less destructive and more conservative of the environment because of facts presented about the impact of waste on the habitat of the Albatross, the impact of global warming on their feeding grounds, and the effects of humans on their rate of survival.

Eye of the Albatross really speaks from the heart when it goes into detail about the beauty of the albatross. Carl Safina fell in love with the albatross as he traveled across the oceans and studied amongst them in their breeding grounds in northwestern Hawaii. He watched as the albatrosses courted one another for life, mated, and tried to support their new families as they traveled thousands of miles searching for fish to feed themselves and their chicks. Carl also watched as human trash washed up on the shores and was eaten and used as nesting material by the struggling parents. His book follows the life of a particular albatross he followed and watched all throughout the breeding season that he named “Amelia” Some of the things he witnessed during his time amongst the birds, particularly about the waste, were harsh and unfortunate and provided a good basis for his arguments about pollution. At one point he discusses how a bird swallowed and tried to regurgitate a tooth brush to feed to its young, but could not cough it up. Many of these birds are getting desperate and eating trash hoping it will help their chicks grow strong enough to reach adulthood since their breeding seasons are several years apart. If these birds’ habitats are continuously polluted then they will stand no chance of survival due to a very low survival rate amongst the young.

The layson albatrosses feeding grounds are subject to global warming and its effects on the population of their food supply.  Global warming has been increasing the temperature of the ocean and thus forcing their food to migrate to slightly colder water when they hunt. It has also been destroying the smallest forms of life on the food chain in the ocean, which has huge repressions farther up the food chain. Carl Safina argues that these effects could be fixed if people could simply reverse global warming. Global warming’s effects cannot yet be reversed however, due to mankind’s dependence on fossil fuels. Eye of the Albatross shows how the albatrosses always receive the short end of the stick and people are always the problem in the end.

Besides simply being indirectly responsible, human beings also have direct effects on the feeding grounds of the layson albatross. The long lines cast of the sides of trolling fishing ships snag the bird as the glide on the wind. They also get caught in the nets of large scale commercial fishing ships and get pulled in with the rest of the fish they were trying to bring home to their young. In the book, Carl makes it obvious just how disgusting it is to see the once beautiful bird dragged out of the water in a dead wet heap. He uses a lot of emotion at these parts that make it difficult to argue in favor of large scale fishing. His arguments are very biased but they are based on a connection people achieve with these proud animals that he claims is not unlike that with the bald eagle.

Carl Safina has spent much time amongst the albatrosses that to me gives him authority on the subject. People care most about whatever inspires them and to Mr. Safina that is the animal kingdom. His method of following the albatrosses to observe the conditions in which he lived in gave him a great perspective into the trials and tribulations that are affecting their survival rates. He argues against commercial fishing and pollution in such an elegant yet provocative way in Eye of the Albatross. I never realized how fragile their ecosystem was until I read this book and experienced their lives thru Carl Safina. Knowing that every action we do is slowly killing the albatross is quite saddening. In Conclusion, in Eye of the Albatross: Visions of Hope and Survival, Carl Safina successfully argues for more environmental awareness and less environmental impact from humans to increase the survival rate of the layson albatross and albatrosses everywhere.

References:

Safina, Carl. Eye of the albatross: visions of hope and survival.
New York: Henry Holt, 2002. Print.

Essay #2 Book Review-Agriculture To Blame?

 

The rising health issues among the world, that’s right; issues like depression and obesity aren’t solely an American issue, can be attributed to many factors. While many of those factors have been found, there is still the root cause of all these problems. In Spencer Wells’ book Pandora’s Seed: The Unforeseen Cost Of Civilization, Wells develops a theory as to why these problems occurred in the first place. Although we view farming as a good way of life and a ready source of food to feed our hungry nation, Spencer Well’s book Pandora’s Seed: The Unforeseen Cost Of Civilization, has good ideas about how we are using our land and growing food because these practices are leading to health problems, creating new diseases that can be contracted, and the land itself is suffering.  

 

Upon first hearing about this book, you may scoff at the idea that agriculture is bad for us. Wells’ thesis of his book may be taken as surprising, but as he explores what brought about the agricultural revolution and the aftermath of becoming farmers from hunter-gatherers;  the book give the impression that yes, this is how things went wrong for humanity. Wells explores every aspect of what may have helped us along to where we are now as a species. Everything from genetics to the current global climate change is researched and discussed on how it all ties back to when early human first put a seed in the ground. Ripples from this momentous occasion are still being felt and are still in action.   

 

Wells, a population anthropologist, uses a style of writing that incorporates scientific and layman’s terms that is can be hard to grasp, but is also easily understood. For topics that seemed beyond grasp to conceive, Wells adds analogies after a paragraph explaining the main idea. As in pages seven through eight, he explains chromosomes and nucleotides and how genes, from mother and father, create new genes from them. As use for comparisons, he describes the part of the nucleotides as “…arrayed along the chromosomes like beads on a string, a linear orchestra of musicians, each playing their own part in the symphony that is you.” Most people can picture how an orchestra works; the next one is even similar. The way genes pass on and form new genes is like the shuffling of a deck of cards. Throughout the book he also includes graphs and diagrams that help to understand the material. Some of the graphs though seem incomprehensible as the writing they are trying to explain.  

 

 

            While very qualified to write about the genetics part of the book, Wells still calls in on friends and other experts in both his field of expertise and those in researches that he is not as well adapted to explain. The impression given is Wells is very interested in his field of work and for the writing of this book. Many of his resources used are highly credible and they are given plenty of due credit. He traveled to places such as Norway to look at aquaculture farms and to the depths of Africa to view the local people there that are the closest we may come to viewing the hunting methods that early man may have incorporated. The travel destinations, in some cases, support his thesis and book, but are less qualified as to solutions to the problems that the book claims we are facing. Wells choice of traveling though, is thought out as each place does bring help drive home a point he is making in his book and uses the area itself as a reference of how different places of the globe can be affected differently or are contributing to a problem or a solution.    

 

An argument that could be had from this book (that it doesn’t seem to address), while similar to Wells’ own; is still not his, is that agriculture is not the cause of it all. Instead it should be noted that agriculture at first was still difficult, early people still had their work cut out for them. Between the acts of digging the hole, watering and tending to the sprouts, keeping away animals, and actual harvesting this had to have kept a good amount of calories from building; even if it isn’t the same as hunting-gathering. This argument could go on to say that it wasn’t until the time that agriculture became more industrialized and could be carried out on great scale by fewer people that it really started to make us fat. People monopolized and exploited the resources and made them easily available to the public. With such goods easy at hand, people had to work less to obtain the goods. Farmers are generally a class of people that are in good health; it would make sense that they were somewhere as healthy back then. When it took less and less people to grow crops, some people made the choice to become more sedentary, thus leading to the health issues seen today. The argument essentially being that the rise of Neolithic agriculture only promoted and gave humans the choice to live the way they do instead of blaming it for actually causing the current situation. An example from the book could be taken from the start of chapter seven at page 184; Wells describes how a tribe in Africa still holds on to its traditional hunter society in the modern age.

 

Wells finishes Pandora’s Seed with of what seems to be a long jump in the solution to stem the coming crisis of running out of resources that fuels our energy hungry world that was brought along by agriculture can be helped if we just stopped wanting more. This is good in theory but Wells is not entirely taking in the human factor that people seem programmed to be more self serving than not. The book has good theories with plenty of research and studies to back up those claims. The end with the solution was not as fitting to be within the same book and a whole book could be written as to why this wouldn’t work. Wells work can be applauded but as for an overall solution to the problem, that is still beyond grasp. Understandably though, it is a huge problem that is not going to be solved overnight.

Essay 2 Book Review – CO2 Fight: The Battle for CO2 Control

Essay 2 Book Review – CO₂ Fight: The Battle for CO2 Control

Kimberly Johnson

ENG 213

“Stop the man-made CO₂ emissions.” “Fossil Fuels are bad!” “The CO₂ emissions being used worldwide are causing global warming.” Global warming is because of us and destroying the planet, all you need to do is try to lower man-made CO₂ emissions. These are popular views in regards to CO₂ emissions. The media has proclaimed man-made CO₂ emissions as the cause of global warming and advocate the dire need for governments to reform CO₂ emissions.  These are the “alarmist’s” platform for global warming. Although alarmists are implementing programs to lower “man-made” CO₂ emissions, Ralph B. Alexander’s book, Global Warming False Alarm: The Bad Science Behind the United Nations’ Assertion that Man-made CO₂ Causes Global Warming, demonstrates why spending money to reduce CO₂ emissions is a waste of resources because cloud feedback is a negative feedback system reducing global warming, CO₂ and temperature have short-term trends, and CO₂ levels were behind temperature levels during the ice age.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) founded in 1988 proclaimed the worldwide opinion on global warming. Based on its title, many would assume that this agency is compelled to work towards finding the issues behind global warming. Unfortunately this is not how the agency works. The scientific method necessary for proper findings of data collection and analysis is not followed by the IPCC but instead is driven mainly through political agendas. The IPCC has “found” that man-made CO₂ emissions causes global warming based on unethical means, false data and despite evidence proving otherwise (Alexander, 2009). Despite the mounting evidence against the findings of the IPCC the conclusion that man-made CO₂ causes global warming, the “skeptics” on this hypothesis are not listened to. This has caused programs to be implemented to lower man-made CO2 emissions with extremely expensive programs such as the Cap-and-trade system. The general idea behind the protocol is to lower worldwide CO2 production by imposing national limits or caps, in the form of tradable allowances to emit so many tonnes of CO2 per year (Alexander, 2009).

There is mounting evidence demonstrating that man-made CO₂ is not causing global warming. One major conflict with the findings is IPCC’s reasoning for their claims. IPCC states that man-made CO₂ is the culprit behind global warming due to clouds being a positive feedback system if clouds were a positive feedback system it would imply that they play a role in the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In reality the cloud feedback is a negative feedback system, which reduces global warming, not rises. In a recent study conducted by the University of Alabama through satellite observation, there was found to be a strong negative cloud feedback system that occurs in nature. The study found that clouds are involved in a cooling effect that occurs as a result of a negative feedback system. These findings are opposite of what the IPCC found with computer simulation which models climate and did not have the proper parameters to demonstrate a negative feedback system.

The recent claim that man-made CO₂ causes global warming is based on a correlation between a rise in both temperature and CO₂ rates only over a short span in history. CO₂ concentration has changed along with temperature during the modern warming period since 1850 (Alexander, 2009). To make a conclusion at the level that the IPCC has would require that CO₂ emissions cause temperatures to rise and lower throughout history. Data from the last 2000 years shows that CO₂ and temperature do not cause one or the other to move up or down. It has also been found that since 2002, temperature levels have been descending despite CO₂ emission levels continuing to rise. This inverse relationship should not be occurring if the IPCC hypothesis were correct.

CO₂ emissions must follow temperature trends throughout time for IPCC’s claim that man-made emissions cause global warming. There has been data found that there was a long lag from past ice ages between CO₂ levels and the temperature. The data shows that rise and falls in CO₂ occurred 600-800 years after the corresponding temperature changes (Alexander, 2009). The earth has had known periods such as the ice age as well as mini ice ages and heated periods called the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age.  These periods in time demonstrate the cooling and heated periods, which suggest that climate change is a natural process and not due to man-made CO₂ emissions.

The mounting scientific evidence against IPCC hypothesis is not widely known. In his book, author Ralph Alexander takes against alarmists’ beliefs, showing CO₂ is not causing global warming. His book brings needed information to the public making them aware of the true situation behind CO₂ involvement in temperature increases. It also brings to light the costly programs implemented to lower man-made CO2, which will ultimately not help temperature increases.  Details throughout Alexander’s novel are given of the IPCC findings as well as details as to why they were incorrect. It provides necessary information to properly understand skeptic’s views on global warming. CO₂ emission reform is currently being implemented in industrial countries and is continuing to be increased around the world. In the U.S around 85 % of energy consumption is carbon-based. Alternative energy programs and Cap-and-trade systems will affect the poor mainly with higher costs of living and loss of jobs (Alexander, 2009).  Loss of jobs and higher costs of living in an already struggling economy in order to reduce CO₂ emission that is not actually causing global warming is too costly and unreasonable to continue. Data provided by the IPCC showing a reason for CO₂ emissions to be lowered are not based on factual evidence but by skewed data and political manipulation. The world should not continue costly endeavors to lower CO2 emissions as a means to stop global warming.

 

Reference list:

Alexander, R. B. (2009). Global Warming False Alarm: The Bad Science Behind the United Nations’ Assertion that Man-made Co2 Causes Global Warming. (1 ed., pp. 1-178). Vilas, NC: Canterbury Publishing.

 

Essay#2 Book Review:The truth behind fast food

  When we are talking about what Americans eat, fast food always comes to mind. The hamburger, as the symbol of fast food, was first made in Germany. In 1850, some immigrants from Germany moved to America, and brought hamburger with them. After that, the fast food nation was born, and fast food has become the symbol of the American diet. Although fast food has become a part of our life, author Schlosser Eric’s book, Fast Food Nation, intelligently relates to the reader that we should stop eating fast food because eating fast food will make people become fat, there are many food additives in the fast food, and the conditions surrounding the slaughtering of the cattle and the production of the meat are squalid. 

    Although we can see how many calories are in fast food, there are still many people becoming fatter every year. According to “Super Size Me”, which is a 2004 American documentary film directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. Spurlock’s film follows a 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 2003 during which he eats only McDonald’s food. The film documents this lifestyle’s drastic effects on Spurlock’s physical and psychological well-being, and explores the fast food industry’s corporate influence, including how it encourages poor nutrition for its own profit.

     Spurlock dined at McDonald’s restaurants three times per day, eating every item on the chain’s menu. Spurlock consumed an average of 20.92 megajoules or 5,000 kcal (the equivalent of 9.26 Big Macs) per day during the experiment. As a result, the then-32-year-old Spurlock gained 24½ lbs. (11.1 kg), a 13% body mass increase, a cholesterol level of 230, and experienced mood swings, sexual dysfunction, and fat accumulation in his liver. It took Spurlock fourteen months to lose the weight gained from his experiment using a vegan diet supervised by his future wife, who is a chef specialized in vegan dishes and gourmet.(Super size me, 2011)

    This film adequately shows what how fast food makes people become fat. But that’s only one part of the harmful effect of fast food. Food additives can also cause a big problem. Many customers love fast food because it is tasty and cheap. But the truth behind fast food is that the chemical components that make the food taste so good are harmful. If all tastes can be made by chemical components, some customers will feel unsafe, because we don’t know whether those chemical components are harmful for our bodies. But some customers will think it is OK, because we can commonly see many chemical components around us. Even some vegetables’ genesis have been changed, so they don’t care about chemical components. But according to Schlosser’s survey, the fact is those chemical products are produced in the same area as cosmetics and pesticide. It means when we are eating a tasty hamburger, we are also eating some pesticide at the same time.

    What about those meats? Or I should ask what’s in the meat? In 1997, approximately 35 million pounds of ground beef was recalled because a bacterium called E Coli was found in the food. However, after the beef was recalled, about 25 million pounds had already been eaten.

   Why can we find E Coli in the meat? The answer is that the condition surrounding the slaughtering of the cattle and the production of the meat are squalid. In order to reduce the production cost, beef production factories’ conditions are dangerous. These employees have a low salary and they have lots of works to do. Many employees are Mexico and Latin American immigrants, and most of them even can’t speak English. But in order to live, they must engage in such work; Manufacturers can freely close plants and fire workers, because these jobs are very rare for those immigrants. So we can’t expect these factories and slaughter houses will have clean conditions to produce meat. Sometimes modern breeding and feeding also create larger ecological trouble: animal diseases such as mad cow disease, foot-and-mouth disease. Those diseases will also spread the virus and make people die.

   In conclusion, if we start eating fast food when we were young, we will treat fast food as the daily diet in the future. I used to eat fast food about few years ago, and I can’t stop eating it even if I know it is harmful after a few years.The fast food can’t bring health to us; on the other hand, it may bring many diseases such as high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease to us. It sounds like a drug and we are druggies. So let’s stop eating fast food, as Schlosser Eric recommended.

 

Work cited

Super Size Me. (2011, October 12). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 23:11, October 28, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Super_Size_Me&oldid=455212304