The Oil We Eat By Mark Lynas

Humans are facing serious problems due to the fact that we are destroying our planet. The root of our troubles begins with the division of labor. In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith claims that the division of labor saves time by “[increasing] the quantity of work,” but most importantly it allowed for the invention of new machines (7-9). The organization of labor along with new technology raises productivity, and this eventually led to the green revolution (c 20 Feb, 2017). The green revolution is the main thing that sparked the problems we are facing at this point in time. In his essay, “The Oil We Eat,” Richard Manning discusses the origins of the green revolution, and what it means for us in the future. He brings to light some of the ways in which this crisis has come about. Farming,
and cultivating crops is very crucial to human survival, but in the 1960’s we ran out of land to farm, so we had to turn to using oil and fertilizer (Manning 41). Oil has taken over, and now the economy depends on it. Now that we have run out of farmable land, “food is oil” (Manning 42). Manning discusses how nitrogen fertilizers are omnipresent because of the green revolution, and he claims that this is an issue that “we should fear most” (42). Humans have a hand in doubling how much nitrogen goes into the nitrogen cycle (Manning 43). This use of nitrogen is supposed to be helping us, but in reality it is only ruining the world. In the essay, “A Special Moment in History,” Bill McKibben states that although the green revolution seems to be “stunning,” it is “now [causing] trouble” (60). Manning touched on the troubles that the use of nitrogen has brought about, but another contributor to the matter is carbon dioxide.Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of burning fossil fuels and it plays a big part in the greenhouse effect (McKibben 65). The burning of fossil fuels is causing global warming, and according to McKibben, we are “turning the earth we were born on into a new planet” (65). If we do not put an end to this then by 2100 the planet’s average temperature will most likely rise “rise 3.6° Fahrenheit” (McKibben 68). This may not seem like much of a difference, but this small rise in temperature can make a big impact on the biosphere. In the book World on the Edge, Lester Brown suggests that “environmental trends” play a big part in the future of the economy and for society (8). Brown claims that the burning of fossil fuels is raising the global temperature, but in addition to this, it is causing more and more “extreme climatic events” (6). The effects of global warming have already begun.
In the book Six Degrees, Mark Lynas discusses, specifically, what could happen, and what has happened because of global warming. Lynas’ detailed predictions help one understand how dramatic our problem is. Lynas claims that a rise in simply three degrees can cause more carbon dioxide to be released (139). This could cause the Amazonian forest to “collapse” (Lynas 138). In fact, in 2005 there was a drought in the Amazonian rainforest that caused an extreme shortage of water (Lynas 140). Another major effect of global warming is the warming of the ocean. Brown suggests that due to the increase in temperature, “polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers” are melting (6). The ocean's’ surface is rising, and this is causing the ice caps to disappear which in turn will cause a decrease in rain in North America (Lyans 151). The current drought in California is proof that this is really happening. The warming of the ocean will also cause sea levels to rise. There has been a 25 centimeter increase in sea levels in New York, and “this rate is projected to accelerate dramatically” ( Lynas 168). These are only a few of the things that can
happen.
Global warming is not only affecting humans, but also other species. McKibben claims that humans are “changing” places that they do not even “inhabit” (71). In the essay, “The biotic crisis and the future of evolution,” Norman Myers and Andre H. Knoll note that “human activities” are causing the “extinction of species” (para. 1-2). They also mention that there will be a vast reduction, and possibly “elimination” of biomes (Myers and Knoll para. 7). The loss of these biomes can cause serious “consequences for diversification” (Myers and Knoll para. 12).