The author that had the most impact on me was the first author we read, Bill McKibben. He opened my eyes to how much of nature is altered by humans, and even things we consider natural are regulated by people or humans have access to them. He also uses statistics and stated facts, which help me visualize what he is talking about. One of his quotes talks about how much damage humans can do on plants and other species, even when they are not close to human made areas, an example of humans altering everything, even without touching it. “Since the emissions spew out high above the ground, winds carry them great distances-hundreds, even thousands, of miles. Under the right conditions, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the emissions are transmuted into nitric and sulfuric acid that eventually drift to the ground or fall in the rain. And there they weaken the trees and acidify the lakes to the point of sterility” (McKibben 31-32).
Another quote from McKibben in The End of Nature that made me think was the quote, “But now, the way of life of one part of the world is altering every inch and every hour of the globe.” This quote really points out how it is just one way of living that is altering nature and destroying it. It’s not even just humans themselves, but the way they live with technology, and waste, and fuel. This renews the idea that we need to think about the way we live, and try to change it in whatever ways we can to reduce some of the damage we are doing on the planet.
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