Week 2: The Collapse of Western Civilzation

After reading, reviewing, and thinking about this week’s readings a few things stick out to me. First, I think that the Collapse of Western Civilation novel by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway was particularly interesting. As I read this novel it surprised me by the way it read. It was very factual for a fictional book. I felt like that even though it was a fiction novel, that it could have very well been a true story. It had many ideas and facts within it that made many of the situations and problems seem realistic for earth in the future. That is if, of course, humans do not grasp climate change and limit its damage.  Although as the novel goes on I think that Oreske and Conway bring up some ideas that really hit home on the importance of urgency among humans to realize that climate change IS an issue. I think my favorite quote comes from Oreske and Conway when they say, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” I think this quote has relevancy to our lives today. I say this because it is a lot easier to stop a problem from a occurring all together than it is to try fix the damage it caused after it occurs. Sixteen times easier according to Oreske and Conway. Moving on I think they make good connections between climate change and public ignorance. One quote that shows this is, “It is hard to imagine why anyone in the twentieth century would have argued against government protection of the natural environment on which human life depends. Yet such arguments were not just made, they dominated the public sphere.” I believe this quote shows that ignorance of people refusing to believe or participate in limiting climate change could have to pay the consequences of more than just simply agreeing on government policy in which they disagree upon. Oreske and Conway also make direct connections between fossil fuel use and CO2 emissions and how both will bring cryogenic events to reality on earth.  I believe that in order to limit climate change, the earth will need participation and support from as many people as possible in order to make negotiations and plans that will keep our natural environment safe and intact.