Option #1
Dr. Adam Johns
Seminar in Composition
The True Nature of Mother Nature
It is the norm in many religions, particularly Western post-Christian cultures, to believe in a benevolent force often referred to as Mother Nature. She is thought to be a kind spiritual figure that breathes life into the plants and keeps forests lush and free of erosion. On pages 202-203 of “Challenging Nature” however, Lee Silver proposes direct evidence in opposition to the existence of Mother Nature. It is clear to me that Mother Nature is no more real than Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy and that the religious view that she watches over the land is false.Thanks to the research of the Serbian Milutin Milankovitch, there is now a scientific explanation for warm periods and ice ages throughout the Earth’s history. Milankovitch traced these periodic weather anomalies to the Earth’s interaction with Jupiter. The largest planet exerts a small amount of force on our planet, which periodically tilts the Earth towards or away from the sun at angles between 22 and 25 degrees. It also varies the Earth orbital path slightly. These changes have now been linked to the Earth’s climate variations over the past 500,000 years (200).
Evidence that refutes the natural benevolence of Mother Nature is the transformation of the Sahara Desert. In approximately 13,000 BCE, the Sahara was a densely vegetated forest, receiving rain year round. It was lined with rivers and was home to a variety of species such as lions, tigers, giraffes, and elephants, many of which have gradually made the transformation into a species that can maintain life on the scare supplies offered by the modern day desolate Saharan environment. In ancient times though, it was easy for civilization to make a living hunting game in the wild and fishing in the fresh water of lakes and rivers. Roughly five to ten thousand years ago the climate of the Saharan region was dramatically different compared to today. The African Humid Period, during which the Sahara was transformed, occurred when the northern hemisphere was both tilted and closer to the summer sun (201). This was a particularly arid period of time. Unlike the usual gradual change in climate, the Sahara is believed to have fully transformed from a luscious forest into a barren desert in about 150 years or less. Some say that the vegetated Sahara was the inspiration for the description of the Garden of Eden, but this will never be proved. Michael Williams of Oxford writes, “It is a deeply rooted myth in the Western psyche and its culture that nature is a passive, harmonious, God-given backdrop against which the drama of human life is played out… But it is a myth”(202). Mother Nature is the modern day version of Poseidon. She is an apparition, created to assure religious followers that nature will be merciful as long as people do not harm it.
What Mother Nature does not explain are the occurrences of natural disasters, such as tsunamis and earthquakes. These weather anomalies can be attributed to irregular shift in the Earth’s plates or low temperatures colliding with high temperatures to form an irregular weather pattern. During ancient times, tribes people believed that sacrifices and gifts would spare their village from the eruption of a volcano, but whenever the forces of science caused an eruption, nobody was spared. This is another example of the non-existence of Mother Nature. With industry continually booming, as it has since World War I, scientists say that we have now entered the anthropogenic era of natural history. This is defined as the Human Created era, because the globalization and pollution that is occurring all over the world, will have a profound affect on the future of our climate and atmosphere. Computer models have shown that a human-forced increase in world temperature could cause the Sahara to become green again. It is possible that 25% of the Sahara could be restored to its ancient state over the next century.
Without the help of human industry the revered Mother Nature left the Saharan forest to become a desert, ruined ancient civilizations, and buried Canada in mile-deep glaciers (203). Who’s to say that this will not happen again if society leaves the environment alone? Only controlled biotechnology will create a climate that citizens of the world yearn for. Science can create plants better suited to withstand pollution and changing environments. Mother Nature has already deteriorated much of Earth’s naturally beautiful climate and will continue to do so, if left unchecked.
4 comments:
Hey Evan. I’ll start off by saying that you are pretty clear about your argument. At the end of your introduction paragraph, it’s clear to the reader that you are taking Silver’s side. However, the rest of the essay lacks personality, as you never discuss your personal opinions of Mother Nature. The rest of the essay was just filled with quote after quote, scientific fact after scientific fact. I would have liked to hear your personal opinions, and maybe some reasons why you have these opinions. Why exactly do YOU feel that Mother Nature fails to exist?
I share your opinion that there is no such force as “Mother Nature,” but (as I stated in class) I do believe in allowing nature to take its course. I also believe that we are all the very products of nature taking its course. Our very existence is due the fact that nature has taken its NATURAL course and hasn’t been terribly altered, which is what I believe Silver wishes to do. I’m actually pretty AGAINST Silver, so it would be nice to hear your personal views as a proponent of Silver.
I believe that you provided some solid examples. In the last paragraph, however, I see what seems to be an inconsistency. In the entire paragraph, you provide reasons why Mother Nature does NOT exist, yet in the last paragraph, it seems like your opinion has shifted. You now say that she DOES indeed exist, but that she’s just not the most pleasant of forces. You now believe that instead of outside forces (like Jupiter’s relativity force that alters the Earth’s rotation axis and causes climatic changes), Mother Nature is to blame for the fall of civilizations and the Sahara forest’s loss of vegetation. The same is true in the third paragraph where you say that Mother Nature is to blame for the Sahara’s desolation, yet at the end of the paragraph, you call Mother Nature an “apparition,” something that doesn’t even exist. So make it clear. Is it totally nonexistent? Or does it exist with ill-intent?
Also, as we discussed in class, you should probably provide counterarguments, possible reasons why people fear and have such high regard for Mother Nature. This would also allow you to express your opinions, as you could directly counter those counterarguments.
Just one more thing bugged me. In the last sentence, you say that Mother Nature deteriorated Earth’s “naturally” beautiful climate. It just seems so contradictory to me. Who (or what), then, do you believe is responsible for this proclaimed “naturally” beautiful climate?
Hope this helped. Have a good weekend.
Anthony - there are some great details here, especially our last couple sentences.
Evan - I actually don't have much to add to what Anthony said, especially since you didn't revise the paper. What I have to add is short. This is not, in any sense, an argument of your own: this is a paraphrase of a short section of Silver's book. There is nothing resembling a thesis here, certainly nothing that extends or challenges anything in Silver.
Evan Kelly
Option #1
Dr. Adam Johns
Seminar in Composition
The Cruelty of Nature
It is the norm in many religions, particularly Western post-Christian cultures, to believe in a benevolent force often referred to as Mother Nature. She is thought to be a kind spiritual figure that breathes life into the plants and keeps forests lush and free of erosion. On pages 202-203 of “Challenging Nature” however, Lee Silver proposes direct evidence in opposition to the existence of Mother Nature. It is clear to me that Mother Nature is no more real than Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy and that the religious view that she watches over the land is false.
Thanks to the research of the Serbian Milutin Milankovitch, there is now a scientific explanation for warm periods and ice ages throughout the Earth’s history. Milankovitch traced these periodic weather anomalies to the Earth’s interaction with Jupiter. The largest planet exerts a small amount of force on our planet, which periodically tilts the Earth towards or away from the sun at angles between 22 and 25 degrees. It also varies the Earth orbital path slightly. These changes have now been linked to the Earth’s climate variations over the past 500,000 years (200).
Evidence that refutes the natural benevolence of Mother Nature is the transformation of the Sahara Desert. In approximately 13,000 BCE, the Sahara was a densely vegetated forest, receiving rain year round. It was lined with rivers and was home to a variety of species such as lions, tigers, giraffes, and elephants, many of which have gradually made the transformation into a species that can maintain life on the scare supplies offered by the modern day desolate Saharan environment. In ancient times though, it was easy for civilization to make a living hunting game in the wild and fishing in the fresh water of lakes and rivers. Roughly five to ten thousand years ago the climate of the Saharan region was dramatically different compared to today. The African Humid Period, during which the Sahara was transformed, occurred when the northern hemisphere was both tilted and closer to the summer sun (201). This was a particularly arid period of time. Unlike the usual gradual change in climate, the Sahara is believed to have fully transformed from a luscious forest into a barren desert in about 150 years or less. Some say that the vegetated Sahara was the inspiration for the description of the Garden of Eden, but this will never be proved. Michael Williams of Oxford writes, “It is a deeply rooted myth in the Western psyche and its culture that nature is a passive, harmonious, God-given backdrop against which the drama of human life is played out… But it is a myth”(202). Mother Nature is the modern day version of Poseidon. She is an apparition, created to assure religious followers that nature will be merciful as long as people do not harm it.
What Mother Nature does not explain are the occurrences of natural disasters, such as tsunamis and earthquakes. These weather anomalies can be attributed to irregular shift in the Earth’s plates or low temperatures colliding with high temperatures to form an irregular weather pattern. During ancient times, tribes people believed that sacrifices and gifts would spare their village from the eruption of a volcano, but whenever the forces of science caused an eruption, nobody was spared. This is another example of the non-existence of Mother Nature. As an extremely loosely religious individual, I feel that my opinion is unbiased and based directly on the facts. Religion presents no evidence that Mother Nature exists other than what the Bible tells us. Just as with the soul, there is basically no way to prove the Bible wrong because Mother Nature is though of as a ghost or an angel, rather than a tangible individual. With industry continually booming, as it has since World War I, scientists say that we have now entered the anthropogenic era of natural history. This is defined as the Human Created era, because the globalization and pollution that is occurring all over the world, will have a profound affect on the future of our climate and atmosphere. Computer models have shown that a human-forced increase in world temperature could cause the Sahara to become green again. It is possible that 25% of the Sahara could be restored to its ancient state over the next century.
Without the help of human industry the Saharan forest became a desert, ancient civilizations were ruined, and Canada was buried in mile-deep glaciers (203). These aren’t exactly the types of actions of a benevolent Mother Nature. Who’s to say that this will not happen again if society leaves the environment alone? Only controlled biotechnology will create a climate that citizens of the world yearn for. Science can create plants better suited to withstand pollution and changing environments. Nature can be cruel at times. It has already deteriorated much of Earth’s originally beautiful climate and will continue to do so, if left unchecked. As scientists now say, we are in the era of Human Creation. We have the power to begin choosing our future environment.
I'm sorry that this was late. I wasn't exactly sure when it was due, but I tried posting it yesterday and said that I could not because I was not a part of this team.
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