Noah Moothart

11th Grade
Mrs. Reisig

Man and Nature

Although the origin of mankind is a controversial topic one concept evident to every man
woman and child that walks this planet is that our role as a species has had a dramatic effect on
the environment. The evidence for this is overwhelming; we lay out endless networks of roads
and beautiful bridges for individualized transportation and erect absolutely astonishing buildings
dozens of stories high in the name of urbanization and innovation. These accomplishments are
incredible, wondrous examples of how effective mankind has become in shaping the
environment to its liking, but it has led to a great hubris. What man fails to recognize is the
power of nature. After centuries of manipulating and controlling Mother Nature many people
have forgotten what she is truly capable of. This hubris is evident, today, among the ranks of
those who deny the validity of climate change. Gigantic factories pumping carbon dioxide into
our atmosphere are warming the global climate and melting glaciers. The environmental and
political implications of the worlds ice disappearing and sea levels rising should be enough to
trigger widespread concern, but instead the problem is being ignored.
As the level of carbon emitted from industrial centers like Tianying, China; Norislk,
Russia; and Vapi, India increases, the air becomes more and more polluted. Winds then carry
this carbon to our glaciers where it is deposited in the form of a black sooty substance called
cryoconite. Due to the darker hue of this substance, it absorbs much more energy from the sun
than the surrounding snow. As this nasty black cryoconite soaks up heat, it melts the glaciers
even faster. Where does all of the melt water go? The oceans. Millions of gallons of water that
were once trapped in glaciers pour into the oceans causing the sea levels to rise and swallow
vulnerable coastlines all over the word. As these coastlines are consumed, our beloved roads,

homes, and skyscrapers will flood too. But there is an even more significant dilemma: and it is
of a political nature.
When the seas rise they will redraw the borders of the worlds most powerful nations.
Huge economy driving cities on the oceanfront like New York, Huston, and Miami will vanish.
Countries that will truly suffer though are the developing island nations that have very little to do
with the cause of the problem in the first place. These island nations may soon be underwater and
will be paying the price for the developed, industrialized nations' irresponsibility. There will be
hundreds of thousands of people who will no longer have a place to call home. Where will they
go? Who will they blame? Will we finally realize that we are ruining the lives of millions of
people by demanding too much from nature?
These questions are what we, as Americans and world leaders, need to be considering.
While extravagant homes, roads, bridges, and skyscrapers are not the main culprits in the climate
change tragedy, huge industrial plants pumping millions of pounds of carbon into the atmosphere
are, and they are having a visible effect on the world we live in. Man has foolishly been shaping
the environment to his liking for centuries, stressing nature to its breaking point. Now the state of
our environment is quickly deteriorating. The question is, how are we going to respond. (552)