Human Civilization and Climate Change

As a microbiology major, I understand that the intricate relationships between microorganisms and their environments are critical for maintaining ecological balance. Forces of climate change have caused extensive controversy over the years regarding its causes. Instead, the impact it has started on ecosystems has yet to be effectively dealt with. In this essay, the use of an argumental versus perspectival approach to climate change will be discussed, stressing the necessity of shifting focus from debating causes to examining the impacts on ecosystems and microorganisms. By analyzing  Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, I will show how environmental destruction underpins the necessity of focusing on actionable approaches. Lastly, this shift in argumentation directs more toward the future to ensure human and microbial sustainability.

Understanding of the Function of the Argument

Based on the readings, the function of argument has revealed itself as a clarifying mechanism of ideas and a stimulant of elaborative thinking and pluralist outlooks. This makes people start doubting certain things and look for the best solutions to different scientific, political, or even social issues. This function is especially beneficial in studying climate change because such concepts facilitate the comprehension of making society reflect on the effects on the environment. However, as a microbial major, I do not perceive the function of argument as merely in establishing climate change as a phenomenon induced by humans but as a way of locating organisms of different tiers of organization, including bacteria, within shifting environments. Secondly, the function of the argument can be applied to move from a discussion about the causes of climate change and transfer the focus to work on preserving ecosystems as well as microorganisms, which are essential for maintaining balance in an ecosystem.

From a microbiologist’s point of view, microorganisms are expressions of the state of health or otherwise of ecosystems. The debate might help people focus on aspects of climate change that they often cannot see. While controversy rages, the effect of bacteria and other organisms on changes in the heat, acidity, or pollution can guide efforts to prevent threats to threatened habitats (Ibáñez et al. 921). The debate over whether climate change exists is pointless when the fact has already been established. Argumentation should focus on how it is possible to solve the effects of climate change using scientific knowledge. From this perspective, an argument is a form of advocacy demanding improved public and government action while transitioning and adapting to a problem-solving discourse that centers around the conservation of vital Earth environments for humans and microbes.

Impact of Argument on the Environment

Arguments can notably influence the environment by changing people’s perceptions, which in turn affects the policies and the actions taken to prevent or cope with the existing ecological problems. This approach, embraced by microbiologists, shows that the need to shift from proving or disproving the existence of climate change to how best to deal with it is crucial. Persuasive speeches can, in turn, produce practical results in the form of solutions, such as research on how microorganisms in ecosystems deal with stress factors in the environment. Knowledge of how the bacterium that exists in soil or water systems is affected by an increase in temperatures or pollution could foster the formulation of new ways of conserving resources (Alves et al. 7). Arguments, therefore, call for the formulation of policies that aim at facilitating the protection of ecosystems by promoting microbial life and bio-diversity for the overall well-being of our planet.

However, arguments can be counterproductive if they continue within the context of denying scientifically proven facts. When discussions are still focused on the causes of climate change rather than the results, these are questions that only delay corrective action and the conceptualization and creation of solutions for ecosystems’ problems. This can be disadvantageous, particularly at this time when the effects of climate change exist and are forming. Ethically, knowledge requires this debate to be based on facts, with the goal of building on them. Therefore, the question is whether an argument could be employed to advance skepticism or if this tool could instead be employed to support argumentation aimed at furthering research and policies that seek to reduce the negative impacts on the environment and the microorganisms and systems that are fundamental to life on earth. Transitioning from traditional arguing for the sake of arguing to a problem-solving-oriented approach is essential for building a sustainable world.

Justification of Position on Climate Change Debates

My position that the debate on climate change should shift toward addressing real-world effects and developing strategies for ecosystem resilience is supported by various texts emphasizing the role of argument in driving practical solutions. For example, in The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing, the argument is introduced to make sense of puzzling occurrences and rally people into the movement (Axelrod 505). This resonates with my philosophy of avoiding do’s and don’ts of climate change and concentrating on practicing measures that will deny climate change its success. As a microbiologist, it is necessary to formulate knowledge about microorganisms, especially bacteria, and their interface with varying environmental conditions since such interactions impact the well-being of an ecosystem. Reasoning that may establish the incentive for microbial study in climate change yields benefits such as bioremediation, which uses bacteria to purify contaminated environments.

Finally, an example from Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower supports the author in emphasizing changing the emphasis from discussion to real work. Environmental pollution in the novel has reached disastrous stages because society ignored scientific forecasts on this issue. Lack of resources, including water, and the failure of ecosystems are consequences of human activities and inaction (Lalawmpuii and Kumar 5 ). This fits the purpose of the work, as it shows what may occur when the argument on ecological problems still needs to be resolved or sidelined. There is a need to solve environmental problems and preserve the environment before it is too late. By focusing on solutions rather than questioning facts, we can avoid a future where the consequences of inaction are devastating.

In my own case, I have realized the impacts of pollution within my own city. Air pollution from factories in the vicinity has caused various respiratory ailments among the inhabitants of the area under investigation. This is more so because, as a microbiology major focusing on ecology, the effect of pollution on microorganisms essential in such activities as decomposition, nutrient cycling, and disease prevention is a matter of concern to me. For instance, gaseous wastes emulated in the atmosphere may alter microbial diversity and colour the water adversely, thus decreasing soil fertility or affecting water quality. This practical experience strengthens the arguments that debates should be based on formulating strategies to effectively genuinely preserve these ecosystems and prevent further deterioration of the environment. Instead of arguing about whether or not pollution or climate change is an issue, there are all actualizations of what a practical approach would look like in terms of offering protection to the ecosystems or biological entities inherent in them that are averred to sustain life.

Environmental Damage in Parable of the Sower and Climate Change Debate

Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower presents one of the most vivid examples of the environmental harm done to people by human neglect and greed regarding the valuable natural resource, water (Butler 22). This water crisis shows what happens when ecological bigamy is not combatted on time, as I have argued that people should quit arguing about the causes of climate change and instead focus on the effects. The novel’s portrayal of communities struggling to survive without access to clean water demonstrates that continuing to debate established science distracts from the urgent need for practical solutions. The discussion is no longer relevant in this context, action. Rather than asking if human actions are at the root of climate change, concern should be given to preserving valuable assets similar to the water supply in the novel to avoid similar man-made disasters in real life.

Conclusion

Therefore, the controversy related to human-caused climate change, which was necessary for raising public attention, has to evolve into the search for solutions to real problems of our environment. Analyzing Butler’s Parable of the Sower, the author shows that the impact of environmental depletion is fatal, so there is no need to discuss the truth anymore. It is essential to recognize how microorganisms adapt to the different conditions around them to design measures that maintain a stable ecosystem. In moving the debate from causes to cures, it is possible to suggest which policies can be made to protect microbial ligand ecosystems. For such reasons, future generations should be offered a world where the complicated relationships between all living organisms are preserved. Finally, the solution-focused approach will allow us to focus on the practical implications of climate change and protect vital life assets.

Works Cited

Alves, Ana R. A., et al. “Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria in Phytoremediation of Metal-Polluted Soils: Current Knowledge and Future Directions.” Science of the Total Environment, vol. 838, Sept. 2022, p. 156435, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156435.

Axelrod, Rise B., Charles Raymond Cooper, and Rise B. Axelrod. The St. Martin’s guide to writing. St. Martin’s Press, 1994.

Butler, Octavia E. Parable of the Sower. Grand Central Publishing, 2023.

Ibáñez, Ana, et al. “Microorganisms and Climate Change: A Not so Invisible Effect.” Microbiology Research, vol. 14, no. 3, Sept. 2023, pp. 918–47, https://doi.org/10.3390/microbiolres14030064.

Lalawmpuii, and Prabhat Kumar. “Role of Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Environmental Management and Climate Action.” Energy Nexus, vol. 11, Elsevier BV, Sept. 2023, pp. 100230–30, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nexus.2023.100230.

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Taking a position and defending that position is the most common type of paper you’ll write as a college student. Your science instructors will want you to argue whether or not there’s enough evidence to support a particular theory.

In your response, first explain your understanding of a function of argument, based on the texts we’ve read so far. Then explain how argument might impact (or not) the environment as you understand it—as determined by your ethos and its demands. Justify your position with explanations and examples from the assigned texts and an example from your own experiences with pollution or other environmental damage. Finally, choose a particular example of damage to the environment in Butler’s novel, then use it as a testing ground to work through your claims about whether or not the climate change debate continues to be useful.

Human Civilization and Climate Change