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Cap and trade climate change
Importance of technology to the environment
Negative impact of technology on environment
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Modernism is an optimistic view of human impact on the environment that has been the dominant viewpoint for the last 200 years. The knowledge that mankind has the ability to control the environment is heavily stressed as a reason why climate change is not such a big deal. One of the core beliefs of the modernistic perspective is that people have no need to fear environmental disaster because the next technological advancement is right around the corner. Furthermore, those who share this view do not include themselves in their view of the ecosystem believing they are detached from it. Lastly, a laissez-faire approach is taken to environmental problems, focusing on progression through technology, stressing that as long as progress is made …show more content…
This view acknowledges the fact that mankind is in control of the environment, but sees this as a problem as it stands, due to the ability to negatively affect the environment and the neglect that the majority shows for environmental health. One fundamental belief is that the environment is more delicate than people want to believe. Therefore, polluting and overpopulation earth will and have been causing irreversible damage to the environment. The belief that technology has limitations to what it can fix is a root concern for neotraditionalists. Finally, neotraditionalists view human beings as a part of the ecosystem and therefore they have a responsibility to take care of this shared resource through …show more content…
The use of public transit instead of owning automobiles would be a conservative solution on a person to person carbon output. At a larger scale a low Cap and Trade system fits the neotraditionalist view very well. The action of setting a lower capacity for greenhouse gas emissions on a large scale would have a great impact on the progression of climate change. Much more stress would be put on living in a conservative fashion and limiting population growth. The idea of less consumption as well as less pollution is the main theme of this way of thinking. Lastly, the materialistic way in which people live today is wreaking havoc on our environment and overall
The majority of this piece is dedicated to the author stating his opinion in regards to civilization expanding beyond its sustainable limits. The author makes it clear that he believes that humans have failed the natural environment and are in the process of eliminating all traces of wilderness from the planet. Nash points out facts that strengthen his argument, and quotes famous theologians on their similar views on environmental issues and policies. The combination of these facts and quotes validates the author’s opinion.
Society portrays the Earth as a resource, a place that provides an abundance of tools that are beneficial to one’s way of living. As time continues on, humanity’s definition of sustainability with the ecosystem becomes minor, meaning that it is not essential to their own lives. Thus, leading to the environment becoming polluted and affecting the human population. These ideas are demonstrated through these four sources: “Despair Not” by Sandra Steingraber, which provides the author’s perspective on the environmental crisis in terms of climate change.
The two essays by Michael Pollan and Curtis white talk about climate change in regards to the relationship between the environment and human beings. Although the two essays share the same topic, they take the subject and engage the readers in totally different points of views. Pollan’s essay talks about global and ecological responsibility being a personal virtue while Curtis discusses the socio-economic or political issues underlying sustainability (Pollan; White). These two essays are very different in terms of voice; however these pieces of writing are both important for people all over the world to read. Climate change and environmental disasters are a real issue. Just this year, there have been more storms, cyclones, earthquakes and typhoons all over the world. One cannot look at the state of many developing counties where the majority of the population is exposed and vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This issue on developing a viable solution for the problem of anthropogenic gases and global warming is long from being found. Not only this, many people do not want to hear about this issue since they do not think it is real. Unless people have tangible proof that their cars, thermostats and aerosol cans are contributing to climate change, they are not going to give up their lifestyles. By synthesizing the two essays, one can see that there is a need for change and that it is not an issue which should be dealt with in terms of ecological factors or even personal virtue. The social, economic and political factors affecting this problem and the move towards real sustainability should also be a topic that will raise awareness.
At the turn of the 19th century Americans faced a multitude of cultural changes, involving contraceptive acceptance, sexuality changes, and modernism acceptance. Contraceptives were illegal in the early 1900s and posed many relationship problems between married couples since they wanted to be intimate. New ideas about sexuality and affection changed the views on appropriate erotic practices to indulge in within single people typically around college age. Women and men didn’t wait until marriage before having some type of sexual relation, which caused family problems and government intervention because of the negative views of being promiscuous. Modernism ideals developed with the introduction of new sciences and the argument of evolution
In the early 20th century, modernist writers broke free of the consistent pattern on the themes of religion, marriage, and family values, branching out with their actual opinions and observations on society, making more readers aware of the corruption of the traditional morality in America. It became evident that the American people were placing lust, wealth, and material prosperity over their marital vows and traditional values. This idea of amorality is noticeably identified in the literary works, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, as well as in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Major characters in both novels show signs of demoralization, in regards to Tom Buchanan, for example, whom openly cheated on his wife, broke the nose of his mistress, and sold Gatsby’s fate down the river, and Abigail, whom slept with a married man and killed an entire village in spite of the deteriorated affair. In this new, cutting-edge society the concept of materialism is prevalent. Materialistic power became a goal for many Americans in modern America, which is identifiable in The Great Gatsby. People of East and West Egg indulged themselves with parties, pricey automobiles and the latest fashions, meanwhile, the people in the Valley of Ashes merely scraped by. Jay Gatsby out of his desire to 'own' Daisy went to great lengths to appear as a man of great fortune.
In the beginning of the twentieth century, literature changed and focused on breaking away from the typical and predicate patterns of normal literature. Poets at this time took full advantage and stretched the idea of the mind’s conscience on how the world, mind, and language interact and contradict. Many authors, such as Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, and Twain, used the pain and anguish in first hand experiences to create and depict a new type of literature, modernism. In this time era, literature and art became a larger part of society and impacted more American lives than ever before. During the American modernism period of literature, authors, artists, and poets strived to create pieces of literature and art that challenged American traditions and tried to reinvent it, used new ways of communication, such as the telephone and cinema, to demonstrate the new modern social norms, and express the pain and suffering of the First World War.
Igor Stravinsky makes for a first-class example of differences and similarities between neoclassicism and modernism. Modernism is defined as “A term used in music to denote a multi-faceted but distinct and continuous tradition within 20th-century composition”1, while neoclassicism may be defined as “A movement of style in the works of certain 20th-century composers, who, particularly during the period between the two world wars, revived the balanced forms and clearly perceptible thematic processes of earlier styles to replace what were, to them, the increasingly exaggerated gestures and formlessness of late Romanticism”2 By not only comparing his works to others but within his own body of work the two movements can be better distinguished. Stravinsky composed in both styles throughout his musical career making his works not only a prime example but a map for the transition between periods/movements, thus giving distinctness to the movements. Stravinsky “cultivated a flexible and reciprocal association with his changing environment. While consistently producing work which transformed the sensibilities of those who heard it, he himself continuously allowed his own sensibilities to be fed, even transformed, by the music and music-making of others.”3 By comparing and contrasting the works of Stravinsky with not only his own works, but with his contemporary's of the early 20th century, the division and resemblances between neoclassicism and modernism can be thoroughly observed.
Modernism is defined in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary as "a self-conscious break with the past and a search for new forms of expression." While this explanation does relate what modernism means, the intricacies of the term go much deeper. Modernism began around 1890 and waned around 1922. Virginia Wolf once wrote, "In or about December, 1910, human character changed." (Hurt and Wilkie 1443). D.H. Lawrence wrote a similar statement about 1915: "It was 1915 the old world ended." (Hurt and Wilkie 1444). The importance of the exact dates of the Modernist period are not so relevant as the fact that new ideas were implemented in the era. Ideas that had never before been approached in the world of literature suddenly began emerging in the works of many great authors. Two of the pioneer Modernist writers were Joseph Conrad and T.S. Eliot. The tendencies to question the incontestable beliefs embedded in all thinking and to focus on the inner self dominated. Old viewpoints were tossed aside to make way for the discovery of modern man's personal spirituality. Two works that are considered important forbears in the Modern period are T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
Many may argue that the Modernist movement was a completely new and unique movement within British literature. The goal of this paper is to determine whether or not the Modernist Literary Movement was completely unique or not. The similarities found in the works of Modernist authors and poets, such as Joseph Conrad and Hilda Doolittle (H.D.), will be examined against Romanticism themes and authors such as William Wordsworth. What will be found is that Modernism is not a completely unique movement, but one that combines elements from previous literary movements.
Modernism looks at the way society has grown, particularly with so-called scientific management. This is where people associated with Frederick Winslow Taylor (popularly referred to as the father of scientific management) tried to break down processes into small parts and then tried in turn to see how productivity could be improved. This school of thought is also sometimes called Fordism since Henry Ford was the best known of the managers who tried to improve production in his firm in a scientific way. He followed previous ideas on the division of labour more thoroughly than most previous managers and managed to satisfy both workers and customers by giving them higher wages and better productivity, respectively. Henry Ford was also interested in the private lives of his employees since he wanted them to be respectable and not to over-indulge in alcohol or tobacco.
There is a war raging in Christianity between modernism and postmodernism. Basically in a purely modern society, Christianity becomes a derelict in God’s own creation. Christians yearn to do away with old traditions and rush in the new movement. Many intellectuals define modernism as a period of skepticism, little faith, tons of sin, and “a religion without religion present (28).” The forefather, postmodernism hails out of Paris, France; therefore, it carries heavy French “philosophical influences (19).” The postmodernism movement is like a “chameleon that takes on whatever characteristics” one desires from it (19). Is postmodernism a monster or savior of sorts? James K.A. Smith attempts to disclose the answer to this very question in his book,
Modernism can be defined as the post-industrial revolutionary era, where which the western world began to see a change in all spheres of living. The effects of the industrial revolution became prevalent towards the end of the nineteenth century and the modernist movement drew inspiration from this widespread change. Artists, writers, architects, designers and musicians, all began to embrace the changing world and denounce their pre-taught doctrines and previous ways of producing work. Society felt the urge to progressively move forward toward a modern way of thinking and living.
There are many different strategies to solve environmental destruction. Western society uses technology to solve our environmental problems. Building cleaner cars, efficient factories, and new sources of energy are western culture’s attempt to reduce its impact on the environment. This is a shallow and shortsighted way to help the environment; it fails to see that a root cause of environmental problems is that humans in the modern world have lost connection to the environment around them. Cities, roads, malls, and parking lots have separated modern humans from nature. We are no longer under the influence of the Earth. We live inside, sheltered from outside contact. Without a connection to the Earth, there is no reason to protect it. When something has no value, it can be thrown away. To help solve environmental problems, we ne...
Today’s society thrives off of technology. Technology is all around and is at society’s disposal at all times now more than ever and at this rate will become more and more of a necessity in the future. In return, millions of people fail to realize just how society contributes to environmental issues that we play a part of daily.
...dearly-held, unconscious collective assumptions may impede our chances for survival. Or, as Poliakoff, et. al., noted, “fundamental changes in technology are adopted… only when they provide real advantage” (810). Are human beings inherently selfish, or are they capable of rising above that? Will we use this power we have developed to help ourselves, or to attempt to help the world? “Why can’t we achieve a better balance between people, resources, and the environment? … The complete answers to these questions lie deeply within the complex realms of science, philosophy, religion, economics, and politics.” (170). The answers may be complicated. The truth is, industrialization has changed our relationship to the environment. It has enabled us to hurt it far more than any other species, but it has also given us the ability to help. The power of choice now lies with us.