The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering our Place in Nature - Research Paper Example

? s The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering our Place in Nature “The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering our place in nature” is a record-breaking book written by David Suzuki that highlights the ravages of humanity activity on the natural world. As the environments crises continue to deepen, a strong appeal is made by ecologists to regulate their activities to help protect the environment. The book uses the example of air, which everyone breathes and is indeed an extremely basic necessity when it comes to survival, but most of the people take it for granted. The people fail to understand that air is in fact cleansed and produced by trees and the plants make most of the oxygen that is present in the air Despite the major contribution of trees in sustaining life, they are ruthless cut down by industrialists, who use economic and industrial growth to justify deforestation. Suzuki believes that if man continues to inflict such damage on the natural world then the people are doing a great injustice to the future generations, who will eventually bear the full brunt of the repercussions. Suzuki further reiterates that the natural world holds importance not only to restore the delicate, spiritual balance of the world, but it is also necessary for humans are equally reliant on the elements that constitute the natural world. Human beings need air to breathe and water to question our thirst. However, the thirst is not only triggered by the rising temperature of our environment but is also one of the most important constituents of our bodily fluids and a sufficient amount of water is vital to maintain the circulatory system and the digestive system. Water is an everyday necessity and humans need access to clean and fresh water; but with the passage of time, access to clean water has become more or less of a luxury. Factories and industries dump their chemical waste in the streams and rivers, which makes the body even more susceptible to ingesting the pollutants and further disrupt the marine life as well. Hence, it is important that these activities are either controlled or ceased completely. Moreover, the irony of the modern society is evident, when rapid development and construction is done to conceal all the unsightly regions and the government tries to get rid of dirt. What they do not understand is that dirt is an essential part of life that is used for the cultivation of food. Therefore, the land needs to be protected and not all areas can be used to build roads and pavements. Not just the earth, but human activities have also played a crucial role in destroying the climatic pattern of the world. Unlike other organisms that are designed with a response system that helps their body to generate enough heat for survival. However, human being also produces heat, but only in a small amount and their subsistence is contingent upon gaining heat from external sources present in the environment, such as the sun. The heat given out by the sun regulates the temperature of the world and helps sustain life. As a matter of fact, sun is also used by plants to not only make food but it also regulates the amount of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the environment. Therefore, all elements of this world are interrelated and perform their function in a cyclical pattern. Suzuki reiterates that the dependence of human beings on these elements comes from the fact that their bodies are composed of these elements as well and the use of these in turn maintains the balance of the human body. For instance, the human body is composed of 60% of water, whereas the rest is a combination of other elements such as air, fire and earth. Suzuki uses the example of biological processes in the human body to substantiate his claims, but his prose deviates from a proper tone to a philosophical one as he surmises that human beings possess a fifth element, which is the spirit that connects us to the rest of the world. Suzuki states in his book, “When we forget that we are embedded in the natural world, we also forget that what we do to our surroundings we are doing to ourselves” (Suzuki, 2007, p. 206). The aforementioned statement succinctly condenses the message of the book that the destruction of the natural world affects all humans and those who are inflicting the damage also need to realize that. Suzuki is not the first one who has made this appeal to society to try to protect the environment and there are several movements that try very hard to conserve the natural realm. It is indeed a grueling task especially since ignorance is so rampant; but despite this the book ends on an optimistic note, as he points out all the ways through which one can lead a greener lifestyle. Suzuki has identified that transportation problems and excessive traffic congestion are one of the biggest factors that contribute in air pollution. He gives out some very simple changes that can reduce the damage to the environment. Instead of taking out the car for small distances, one should try to use public transports, walk or ride bicycles to get to their destinations. Conserving fossil based fuels should be the first priority of every individual, as the society’s addiction to these non-renewable sources of energy have also been deemed as the greatest factor that increased the number of pollutants in the atmosphere. Also, individuals should be encouraged to switch to eco-friendly cars that can control the amount of gaseous emission in the atmosphere. One should not only change their commuting style, but the environment can also be conserved if individuals began to regulate their eating habits. Instead of going for more expensive imported foods that are often kept in cold storage, one must rely on organic fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, seasonal fruits are usually cheap and healthier; therefore one must try to increase its consumption in their diets. Suzuki further highlights that by reducing the electricity usage at home and workplaces can also conserve the fuels and further help maintaining the budget of one’s household. There has been an increase in the awareness amongst people regarding the ecological hazards and many companies have developed appliances that work on the principle of protecting the environment. Therefore, one should choose their brands carefully and see what kind of impact the appliance would have on the environment. David Suzuki has also lauded the use of eco-architecture or Green Architecture that focuses on minimizing deforestation and looking out ways for the natural world and the modern world to co-exist. Sustainable architecture further involves ingenious methods through which buildings and homes can be constructed using cost-effective methods that would conserve energy used in heating and cooling the building. They have come up with technique to enhance the insulation of a structure and rely on renewable sources of energy. They install solar panels for home and water heating and they are also making use of wind or water turbines to generate electricity for the building. (Bennetts et.al, 2003) Eco-architecture is a relatively novel concept that is currently under development, but the benefits that this concept has to offer are truly great. Suzuki mentions the name of eminent architects, who are making great efforts to further develop this idea. It includes architects like William McDonough and Muhammad Yunas, who have made eco-friendly designs for buildings. Suzuki’s writing is both cautionary and enlightening at the same time. He has elaborated upon the damage that the natural world is enduring but at the same time he gives the readers hope that the damage is still reversible only if the people get their act together. He further appeals to the government to further tighten control over the factories and corporation to reduce their waste and recycle as much as possible to save the environment. Works Cited Bennetts, Helen et.al. Understanding Sustainable Architecture. New York: Taylor and Francis. 2003 Suzuki, David. The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering our place in nature. Vancouver: Greystone books. 2007 Read More