| Show w- - Standard-Examine- Nov 12 1989 Sunday r Issues U KATHY BROCK Author mourns death of nature ' i What should be the issue of the Abortion? Crime? Drugs? most-discuss- ed Perestroika? Sorry but none of those will hae as much bearing on human existence in the next century as the cataclysmic global changes taking place because of the accumulation of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane Everything pales in comparison to that menace Whether the warming of the planet actually has begun remains a point of argument among scientists What is increasingly evident however is that we already have substantially altered the Earth's atmosphere through our addiction to fossil fuels and that sooner or later those Changes will affect our weather and in turn all our lives For anyone interested in knowing what it will be like to live in a greenhouse world may I recommend Bill for survival Relying on the latest scientific studies McKibbcn explains the many implications of the destruction at hand With global temperatures expected to rise three to eight degrees over the coming decades the withering heat will threaten crops destroy forests raise sea levels kill wildlife and force mankind to endure excruciatingly long heat waves What distinguishes “The End of Nature" from other books on the greenhouse effect however is that McKibbcn goes beyond the scientific warnings and writes eloquently about the deeper meaning of the changes going on The author argues that our global pollution will alter forever our view of nature as an independent force No longer will we talk about Mother Nature the way we do today In the past although we polluted parts of nature we never thought we had destroyed it After all it was just too big too old But now with the carbon McKibben's recently published book “The End of Nature”? While unsettling to read it is too gripping to lay down Besides detailing the full dimensions of the problem the author has written a handbook the buildup of greenhouse gases not stop them Mankind still will have to find some wav to adjust Exploring how we should do that consumes the final section of McKibben's book The author sees two possible courses for man The first is a mastery of genetic engineering With it we could produce crops to withstand the heat or cures for new ailments It promises survival in almost any environment we create dioxide we have produced we are putting our imprint on the wind the rain the sun — on all the forces of nature As McKibben writes “If the waves crash up against the beach eroding dunes and destroying homes it will not be the awesome power of Mother Nature It will be the awesome power of Mother Nature as altered by the awesome power of man who has overpowered in a century the processes that have been slowly since the Earth was evolving Dob Moos ’90s? KUTV NEWS Noon & 6:00 pm 'Tl' The second alternative and the one McKibben prefers would go off in the opposite direction Instead of fooling with nature even further he would step back and give it room to recover That means returning to a simpler style of life one that would require fewer material possessions born” This passing of nature is infinitely sad to me for I always had thought of nature — the warmth of the sun that beats on my back the cool breeze that sweeps across my face — as the tangible work of God a way to recognize him and understand who he is Now that nature is to be partly man-mad- e my sense of the divine has been turned on its head McKibben dutifully discusses all the ideas that typically are mentioned as “solutions” to the greenhouse effect — nuclear power energy efficiency more trees But the author astutely points out that such actions only will slow I cannot predict which of the two paths mankind will take though I do know the momentum of our times is hurling us toward the former and making it more difficult to choose the latter There simply are not enough Thoreaus left in this world In any event it is time we thought about such things The Dallas Morning Sews ' ¥ ? 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