ISHMAEL by Daniel Quinn

Question 1: “Basic ecological and planetary systems are being impacted by the Taker Thunderbolt, and that impact increases in intensity every year. Basic, irreplaceable resources are being devoured every year- and they’re being devoured more greedily every year.” (Quinn, 109)

“You need to take a step back from the problem in order to see it in global perspective. At present there are five and a half billion of you here, and, though millions of you are starving, you are producing enough food to feed six billion. And because you’re producing enough for six billion, it’s a biological certainty that in three or four years there will be six billion of you.” (Quinn, 139)

“You know how to split atoms, how to send explorers to the moon, how to splice genes, but you don't know how people ought to live.” (Quinn, 87)

Question 2: a.) Ishmael, as well as what I have learned from this class, has helped me change my outlook on biology because I had never realized that science was so concerned with the future of the Earth. I always saw biology as a science of the past (for instance the evolution of the Universe), and of the fundamentals of life (for instance reproduction). The science of biology changes as the world changes and biologists have been working to figure out what changes must be made in our lifestyles in order to save the planet.

b.) Ishmael helped me change my outlook of the world that we live in because I am now more concerned with the future of the Earth. It helped me to “take a step back” and see the world from a much broader view. Essentially, anything and everything that we do effects the world we live in, and we must be aware of that. As a globe, we need to know the effects we have on the planet and make strides to better ourselves and our environment. After all, by saving our planet we are in turn saving ourselves.

c.) Ishmael helped me change my outlook on my own life through awareness. It made me more sensitive to the Earth, and helped me realize how I should treat Nature and all that is in it. It opened by eyes to the broad spectrum that is covered in the biological sciences, and enhanced my interest in said sciences. I want to have a part in making a difference in the world, and this is how I would like to do that. By spreading the knowledge I have obtained through this course and this book, I hope to get others to join me on the bandwagon toward a better tomorrow.

d.) What I have learned from reading Ishmael relates to what I have learned in this course because both have inspired motivation to live a greener lifestyle. Both things talk about the damage done to the Earth by humans in the way we live and progress. Progression to us is coming out with bigger and better technology to make our lives easier, when in fact we are destroying the world around us little by little. We all need to take little steps in the way we live to ensure a secure future for us and for generations to come. We must become preservers of our resources before we run out. We take resources, such as gasoline and coal for granted, but they will not be here forever. By turning off electricity when it goes unneeded, or walking or riding a bike somewhere that is close enough not to drive to, we are preserving natural resources and conserving our atmosphere. If everyone in the world does little things such as these, we will almost immediately see a difference. The planet has suffered enough from what we have put it through, and now is the time for us to give back to the environment what we have taken. Although many of the problems that we are facing are irreversible, we as humans are the only ones who can stop the damage from getting worse.