Earth in the Balance
From Earth in the Balance [1992]
Al Gore (1948-)
One of the clearest signs that our relationship to the global environment is in severe crisis is the floodtide of garbage spilling out of our cities and factories.What some have called the “throwaway society” has been based on the assumptions that endless resources will allow us to produce an endless supply of goods and that bottomless receptacles (i.e., landfills and ocean dumping sites) will allow us to dispose of an endless stream of waste. But now we are beginning to drown in that stream. Having relied for too long on the old strategy of “out of sight, out of mind,” we are now running out of ways to dispose of our waste in a manner that keeps it out of either sight or mind.
In an earlier era, when the human population and the quantities of waste generated were much smaller and when highly toxic forms of waste were uncommon, it was possible to believe that the world’s absorption of our waste meant that we need not think about it again. Now, however, all that has changed. Suddenly, we are disconcerted—even offended—when the huge quantities of waste we thought we had thrown away suddenly demand our attention as landfills overflow, incinerators foul the air, and neighboring communities and states attempt to dump their overflow problems on us.
The American people have, in recent years, become embroiled in debates about the relative merits of various waste disposal schemes, from dumping it in the ocean to burying it in a landfill to burning it or taking it elsewhere, anywhere, as long as it is somewhere else. Now, however, we must confront a strategic threat to our capacity to dispose of—or even recycle—the enormous quantities of waste now being produced. Simply put, the way we think about waste is leading to the production of so much of it that no method for handling it can escape being completely overwhelmed. There is only one way out: we have to change our production processes and dramatically reduce the amount of waste we create in the first place and ensure that we consider thoroughly, ahead of time, just how we intend to recycle or isolate that which unavoidably remains.
Questions for Discussion
1. Al Gore’s image of America drowning in an “endless stream of waste” is designed to elicit what emotion in the reader?
A) Fear
B) Sympathy
C) Hostility
D) Regret
2. Al Gore uses the phrases “throwaway society” and “out of sight, out of mind.” These are examples of —
A) metaphor
B) hyperbole
C) irony
D) cliche
3. The organizational structure of the selection from Al Gore’s book is best described as —
A) spatial sequence
B) compare/contrast
C) time sequence
D) problem/solution
4. The tone of this selection from Al Gore’s book is best described as —
A) scholarly
B) hostile
C) cautionary
D) empathetic