"Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn

“Nobody’s out to save the world, because nobody gives a damn about the world, that was just a bunch of goofy kids talking. Get a job, make some money, work till your sixty, then move to Florida and die.” - (p. 5)

“Only one thing can save us. We have to increase our mastery of the world. All this damage has come about through our conquest of the world, but we have to go on conquering it until our rule is absolute. Then, when we're in complete control, everything will be fine. We'll have fusion power. No pollution. We'll turn the rain on and off. We'll grow a bushel of wheat in a square centimeter. We'll turn the oceans into farms.” - (p. 80)

“Acceptance has nothing to do with it. You may as well talk about a man stepping off of a cliff not accepting the effects of gravity. The Takers are in the process of eliminating themselves, and when they’ve done so, the stability of the community will be restored and the damage you’ve done can begin to be repaired.” - (p.145)

After reading the book, I realized how important biology is to the world. I quickly understood that biology is not just another science that we study to learn about our environment, but it is the tool we need to use to protect our land and promote positive actions to help preserve the earth and keep it a suitable habitat for the human race. This book changed my views of biological sciences by making me look at it from a completely different aspect than I always had. It opened my eyes to how other animals may view the world and how people contribute everyday to destroying what we have little by little. It truly shows how biology is not just a class or science that one should simply study for to be prepared for tests.

Ishmael showed me that Americans, myself included often take the world we live in for granted. We don’t appreciate everything that is so readily accessible to us, and as a result over use the resources provided to us. In doing so, we are depleting the earth of the resources it needs while simultaneously depleting the resources we as humans need to survive for years to come. I realized that the earth will not be here forever as we all think it will, especially if we continue our practice of ruining it.

Ishmael helped me to realize that everyday every person on earth contributes to the slow depletion of everything we have today and need in the future. I realize that I, myself am a part of the problem and that needs to change. It helped me to realize this process can be slowed with simple daily changes that all people can be involved in.

This book relates to our class because of the problems we have discussed in class and also the solutions we could use. We need to conserve what we have and look to better ways of going about our daily business. We need clean renewable energies that can last us for years to come without CO2 emissions and other bad effects on our environment. For example, do not flush the toilet when it’s not crucial because fresh water is not an unlimited or reusable source or car pool with friends instead of driving separately to school everyday to reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the air (and stop polluting!) If people do not recognize this extreme concern of pollution, use of natural resources, overpopulation, endangering animals, and generally ruining the only planet that we can survive on.