Question

what is the title, question and 2 possible answers?

Please write a paper with the following topic: "Environmental Apocalypse or Ecologism: the Beginning of a New Era".

“Ecologism”: a new worldview that centers on sustainable development in a society that recognizes the importance of an intact ecosystem for the survival of our civilization.

Keep in mind that the title constitutes a question and offers two possible answers. Please think about the title, the question and the possible answers. Deal with both possible answers!

Please write a paper with the following topic: "Environmental Apocalypse or Ecologism: the Beginning of a New Era".

“Ecologism”: a new worldview that centers on sustainable development in a society that recognizes the importance of an intact ecosystem for the survival of our civilization.

Keep in mind that the title constitutes a question and offers two possible answers. Please think about the title, the question and the possible answers. Deal with both possible answers!

what is the title, question and 2 possible answers?

Answer 1

The question obviously relates to the “Lifecycles of Civilizations” we dealt with at the beginning of the semester. The question is if our civilization (USA or global, up to you) is facing an environmental apocalypse? In which stage of the lifecycle in relation to environmental issues do you see us? If you see us in stage 3 or 4, do you see a new worldview/paradigm developing which will enable us to start a new lifecycle? (remember the graph) How so? Does this new world view “Ecologism” enable us to avoid the apocalypse? Do you see signs for that worldview developing, if yes is it maybe developing too slow, too little, too late? Is there maybe not any apocalypse coming up at all?

There is currently a buzz going around, a popular topic that crops up in many social conversations. You can hear it sometimes on the news, around the dinner table, and in classrooms at all the schools. Ecologism has associated itself with certain political parties, and it is the topic of many heated political debates. Yet, the public is still skeptical about the fate of our environmental resources, as well as the effects of global warming. Do Americans now understand what may happen if we continue our destructive ways? Throughout this essay, I will explain what may occur, the cause and effect, and what can be done to prevent future damage to out resources. Currently we are an industrial society which is generally the primary source of our problem, and is very difficult to change. Beginning with the Industrial Revolution, we started down a path that used our natural resources as if they would last forever. With each passing year, the industry has come to consume more resources at a faster rate than ever before. Earth simply cannot withstand such abuse forever. At some point, resources like trees, oil, wood, coal, water, and so on will run out. Our lifestyle is like a train speeding towards a cliff at an alarming rate with no time to waste. We need to stop this lifestyle before we run off the cliff. The cliff is the exhaustion of resources and the complete shut down of the ecosystems, in other words, an environmental apocalypse. I do have to add that a true apocalypse is not in our foreseeable future. Many things can change between now and then, and possibly the scientists are not completely correct.

According to a 2008 report by the EPA, the US generated 250 million tons of trash, averaging 4.5 pounds per person per day. This is an increase from the 88 million tons, or 2.7 pounds per person that was recorded in 1960. However, over that same time period there was an even greater increase in the amount of that waste that was recycled. Moving from a meager 5.5% of waste recycled in 1960, the US has increased to over 33% of total waste recycled in 2008 (Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in the United States: Facts and Figures, 2008). Discounting the amount of waste that is recycled still leaves a difference of more than double in the waste creation between the years, but the exponential growth in the recycling amount provides information into a changing attitude. Although waste and recycling are only a subset of the ecological issues faced across the globe today, this information provides insight into the mindset and changing values relative to the environment. The improvement in the recycling rate didn’t occur over a year or even in the last decade, but has steadily climbed over the last 40 years. We can expect to find similar adoption rates across all environmental solutions, as it generally takes time for the information and education to spread, and additional time for it to be broadly accepted. As such, the most important question we can look to answer is not, whether one solution is better than another, but if we applied any and all possible solutions to the issues, is there time to fix the problems we have caused. To determine this we must decide our current situation and the varying outcomes we can expect. There are four stages of growth in the life cycle of civilizations with each one given a seasonal alias starting with Spring and Summer, and ending with Autumn and Winter respectively (Elgin, Voluntary Simplicity, 1981).