Can the government conserve the environment?

Conserving the environment is necessary for economic and ecological sustainability on Earth. The most effect way to accomplish these goals would be through government, which is the most powerful social and economic institution in the world, conservation. Analyzing government conservation through previous legislation can help determine what the government has done well, in terms of conservation, and what the government can do to better conserve the environment. Recently, former President George Bush Sr., a member of the Republican Party, weakened many regulations on land that had previously been protected by the federal government. He also increased fossil fuel use, which is increasingly harmful to the environment. President Clinton, a member of the Democratic Party, protected a significant amount of land, more than any other president, as national monuments. President Clinton also met in Kyoto, Japan to discuss a treaty to decrease emissions and slow climate change. Following Clinton, when George Bush Jr. came into office, he completely withdrew the United States from the Kyoto treaty (Conserving the Environment).

Many of the presidents that come into office every four years are from alternating political parties that have very different views of environmental problems. As a result, many of the actions taken by the government when one party is in power are undone by new presidents that are elected into office next. Though preserving the environment is a scientific issue, it is treated as a political issue and has a cultural and social context. The federal government continues to try to find political answers to environmental problems, however, the answer does not lie in politics, it lies in science. In order for environmental conservation in the United States to be successful, representatives in Congress must work together in a bipartisan effort, free from outside lobbying from oil and coal industries, to inform the American public about its current efforts on conservation, how beneficial it is and will be, and also what the everyday citizen can do to contribute to conservation.

Each year, thousands of bills are sent to the House of Representatives and the Senate and many of them deal with conservation of the environment. Significant legislation in the past few years include the Senate Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act, American Clean Energy & Security Act, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the Renewable Energy Promotion Act of 2010. These pieces of legislation cover almost all aspects of government conservation of the environment.

Out of the four pieces of legislation researched, only one, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, has gone into effect. The others have failed or are still going through the legislative process because legislators cannot find common ground and reach a decision. There are many different ways to tackle conservation; however, legislators cannot seem to decide on which method would be most effective for the country and its citizens. Along with the non-bipartisanship that is occurring amongst the members of Congress, oil, coal, and other pollution heavy industries are working endlessly to weaken conservation legislation. Conservation cannot be done just through the government however. The research done supports the idea that the government must find ways to rally the citizens of the United States behind the idea of conserving the environment in order for conservation to be effective.

Partisan politics has taken over the United States government. Elected officials are voting along party lines, instead of basing their votes on what is best for the American people and the environment they live in. When the Senate Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act was going through the legislative process, Republican Senators on the committee were unwilling to even sit down and discuss this important plan for less pollution, more jobs and greater security. There was never a chance for any type of compromise because there was no cooperation between the Republicans and their Democratic counterparts. Because the ideologies of these two main parties on environmental conservation are so different, no side is ever willing to compromise on their ideas on greenhouse gas emission reduction, energy related investments, or the most effective type of renewable energy. This, as a result, creates gridlock in the legislative process, with no side willing to budge, and, like with the Senate Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act, the bill fails to pass.

In a free-enterprise economy, large, private industries have high levels of political power. With the right price, the desires of these industries get pushed to the top of the political agenda of elected representatives. The Renewable Energy Promotion Act of 2010 is currently in stuck in the Senate, because polluters such as the oil and coal industries are spending tens of millions of dollars to stand in the way of progress. It appears that some Senators have sided with their special interests. As long as big business is allowed to have as much political power as they already do, allowing them to push their motives and interests onto the public and political agenda, conservation legislation will never be able to successfully move the country towards an environmentally and economically sustainable society.

Environmental campaigns such as “Go Green,” “Greening the Ghetto” and “VegPledge” have been very successful in raising awareness to the current environmental state of the country and what not only the government can do, but what everyday citizens can do to help improve that state. The government needs to launch a nation-wide effort to do the same. Citizens all over the country need to be accurately informed about what efforts such as the Renewable Energy Promotion Act of 2010 will do to for them. Americans need to be told over and over how many jobs will be created if this piece of legislation passes through Congress and the United States wisely invests in clean energy efforts afterwards. American citizens need to be informed of the small changes they can make in their life to do their part in conserving the environment and why it is so important to do so. Americans need to get excited about conserving the environment and it’s the government’s responsibility to make sure this happens.

According to Forbes.com, Denmark ranks as the second most energy efficient country, while the United States does not make the list at all. This is due to aggressive efforts, such as high energy taxes, by the Denmark government. By 2012, Denmark plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 21 percent (Siegumfeldt), while the United States on the other hand, plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by only 3 percent by that same year. The United States government needs to do better by being more aggressive and getting serious about future environmental legislative efforts. Current efforts by the government to conserve the environment has been unsuccessful, and will continue to be, until the government takes a much more aggressive role in informing the American public and  creating opportunities for everyday citizens to contribute to maintaining an environmentally sustainable society.

Works Cited

Benson, Sonia, Ed. Lawrence W. Baker and Sarah Hermsen “Conservation Movement." U*X*L Encyclopedia of U.S. History. Vol. 2. Detroit: UXL, 2009. 377-381. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 Sept. 2010.

Conserving the Environment. Detroit: Gale-Thomson, 2006. 120-176. Print.

Macha, Jordan. “Government Conservation.” Email to Keitherra Graham. 11 Oct. 2011.

Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth and K. Lee Lerner.. "Conservation." Environmental Science: In Context. Ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2009. 166-169. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 Sept. 2010.

 Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth, Ed. and K. Lee Lerner "The Conservation of Natural Resources in the United States." Environmental Issues: Essential Primary Sources. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 28-31. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 Sept. 2010.

Siegumfeldt, Nicolai. "Denmark's Kyoto Commitment." Ministry of Climate and Ministry. 29 Mar. 2010. Web. 3 March 2011.

Spiro, Jonathan P. "Conservation." Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 366-372. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 1 Sept. 2010.

Zumbrun, Joshua. "The Most Energy-Efficient Countries - Forbes.com." Forbes.com - Business News, Financial News, Stock Market Analysis, Technology & Global Headline News. 07 July 2008. Web. 3 March 2011. <http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/03/energy-efficiency-japan-biz-energy_cx_jz_0707efficiency_countries.html>.

Can You Guess It?

The sky-candle has come and gone

Streams of darkness stretches everlasting

Allowing beings to abstain from fasting

Howls sent up, light sent down

Miles and miles, all around

Twinkle, twinkle plentiful and bright

Now beware, here comes the freight

Journal Six.

Topic: How is Grendel a parody of Beowulf? A parody is a mocking imitation of a work of literature?

“Grendel” is a parody of “Beowulf” because it gives the background information of the Grendel character in “Beowulf”, who we do not learn much about. The main characters in both “Grendel” and “Beowulf” are similar. Grendel is still the monster destroying Hrothgar’s mead-hall, just as in “Beowulf”. Hrothgrar is still the king of his mead-hall, except the locations are different. In “Grendel”, the location of Hrothgar’s mead-hall is Hart, and in “Beowulf”, the location of the mead-hall is Herot. Also, Grendel’s mother, Unferth, and a character resembling Beowulf are present.

The scene that connects “Grendel’s” Grendel and “Beowulf’s” Grendel is the origin of the monster. In Chapter 4 of “Grendel,” it is stated by the Shaper that Grendel’s origin was related to the curse put on Cain, by God, for killing his brother Abel. This same scenario is stated in the beginning of the poem “Beowulf”. Another fact that “Grendel” shared with “Beowulf” is the twelve year war between Hrothgar and Grendel. “Grendel” shares the same characteristics with the “Beowulf”. In addition, it gives the reader an inside look at the character Grendel, which further allows us to relate and possibly understand the Grendel we see in “Beowulf”.

Journal Five.

Topic: Why do you think Gardner made the decision to use Grendel as a narrator?  How does Grendel’s status as a monster affect the way he tells the story?

I believe Gardner made the decision to use Grendel as a narrator because we do not learn much about him from “Beowulf;” except the fact that he is the target of Beowulf and Hrothgar. By making Grendel the narrator, we get a view from the perspective of the monster as to why Grendel did what he did in “Beowulf”, and his thought process. By Grendel becoming the narrator we enter into his inner thoughts, as well as what appears to be the truth behind Hrothgar, Hrothgar’s hall, and the fighter (Beowulf) that comes to conquer Grendel. We lack a lot of information about the character of Grendel in the poem “Beowulf”. From “Beowulf”, all we learn is that he is a very strong monster conquering Hrothgar’s hall. By making Grendel the narrator we now have insight to that missing element of who Grendel actually is.

Because Grendel is a monster, a lonely, secluded monster, the story is told from a violent nature. Although he initially has the intent to want to change, it is his nature to want to kill things. Grendel’s status as a monster also results in him being very lonely and unable to communicate with humans. Since Grendel is so lonely, he tends to interact and talk more with himself than with the humans. Because of this factor, most of “Grendel” is told from a psychotic point of view.  In general, because Grendel is the monster and is avoided by many, “Grendel” becomes somewhat of a one-man show, because of this lack of communication between him and humans.

Journal Four.

Topic: Trace Grendel’s philosophical journey in Gardner’s Grendel using the cycle of astrology for clues. End this response by stating Grendel’s evolved philosophy.

Throughout “Grendel,” the character Grendel takes a philosophical journey as he develops his identity and pattern of thought. In the beginning of Grendel’s journey, he is trying to make sense of his existence. We are introduced with his first attack on Hrothgar’s mead hall and Hrothgar and his people’s response. We learn what Grendel does, how he feels, and his curse. Grendel mentions how he use to feel pride towards the animals using caution when he came near them.  However, now Grendel realizes the fear the animals had because of him was not something worth satisfaction, because they cautioned him due to his ancestral curse. 

The next step in Grendel’s philosophical journey is when he is sees the Shaper. The Shapers brilliant poetic words attract Grendel and make him re-think what he knows to be the truth.  “I too crept away, my mind aswim in ringing phrases, magnificent, golden, and all of them, incredibly, lies” (Grendel 43). This quote shows how the Shapers words grabbed Grendel’s attention and made him rethink the truth that he knows. The Shaper also speaks of the origin of Grendel, which takes Grendel by surprise and provokes him to not want to be what he was cursed to be. Grendel’s intuition provokes him to want to befriend the humans, which backfires. 

The next step in Grendel’s journey is his meeting with the dragon. During this meeting, the dragon delivers his perspective to the purpose and meaning of life. “You improve them, my boy! You Drive them to poetry, science, religion, all that makes them what they are for as long as they are” (Gardner 72-73). The dragon reveals to Grendel that his purpose is to scare and instill fear within the humans; which stimulates them to create poetry, science, and religion for their time on earth. Originally, Grendel does not want to do what he was created to be. However, after meeting the dragon, he realizes this is what he is destined to be. “Nothing was changed, everything was changed, by my having seen the dragon” (Garnder 75). He comes to this conclusion when he faces the fact that he will never be accepted by the humans in any other way than as a horrid monster. 

He is side tracked in his war with Hrothgar two years later when Wealtheow is married to Hrothgar. Wealtheow’s innocence, beauty, and peaceful spirit puts a charm on Grendel, similar to the Shaper’s spell. This charm prohibits Grendel from attacking Hart as he feels that he is in love. Wealtheow symbolizes all the love and passion he wants to have, which he didn’t receive from his mother. For a moment, Wealtheow makes him remember his want to be different from what he is destined to be.  Wealtheow also embodies the Christianity and felicity of women when she brings peace among all the men. Although Wealtheow side tracks him, he continues to pursue his raid on Hrothgar.  Grendel further destroys Hrothgar even though Hrothgar’s kingdom is under many threats from his nephew, Hrothulf, brother-in-law, and enemy Ingeld. Grendel has reached a new point in his philosophical journey where he has no sympathy for Hrothgar or any human for that matter. He sees no point in their existence, and no point in sympathizing with Hrothgar for the way he established his power.

Grendel further develops his philosophical thought when he meets the priest, Ork. The priest Ork delivers his interpretations of the King of Gods and the Great Destroyer to Grendel. Grendel is amazed at Ork’s interpretation of things, and the falseness of religion. Grendel believes there is no god, and time here on earth will pass and be purposeless. This idea that Grendel has relates to the nihilistic concept of Nietzsche; the concept that there is no real substance to traditional social, political, moral and religious values. This idea develops and festers towards the end as Grendel’s final philosophical view is that there is no meaning in the world. He sees how the humans create their own poetry and religion to resemble what they want to believe to true, and what will give them hope. However, in Grendel’s world there is meaning in nothing, and purpose in nothing. Therefore, what him and the humans come to think of life means nothing. For example, in the end, Grendel refuses to accept the truth of his death that he knows the humans will think. Grendel knows the humans will believe they defeated him by power, but Grendel says, “Poor Grendel’s had an accident. So may you all” (Gardner 174). This also displays how Grendel believes there is no purpose in life, because all life on earth will have an accident and die in some way, just as Grendel has done.

Journal Three.

Topic: What is Grendel’s attitude towards language? How does it change throughout the novel?

In the beginning of “Grendel,” Grendel did not have a complete understanding of the idea of language or the world around him. As the book developed, Grendel’s sense of language also developed as he watched the humans. We are first informed of Grendel’s perception of language when Grendel meets Hrothgar for the first time. Grendel attempts to speak to Hrothgar, but fails in communicating his words, for he speaks somewhat of a different language for the humans. This introduces to us the fact that the humans cannot understand Grendel’s language; however, he can understand them.

 As the novel develops, and Grendel sees the Shaper, Grendel begins to love language. The beauty and power of the poet’s words attracts Grendel, and draws him in. He even begins to use poetic words and varies in his interpretations of events and the human’s inner thoughts.  This is displayed in the later chapters when he plays with the script and the way he describes his surroundings and the things taking place. The line “Thus poor Grendel, anger’s child, red eyes hidden in the dark of verbs, brachiating with a hoot from rhyme to rhyme” is the introduction to Grendel’s interpretation of Hrothulf’s arrival at Hart. It shows how Grendel has developed and improved in his language, since we are first introduced to him. Toward the end of the novel, Grendel had developed logically, which fostered improvement in his vocabulary and his language overall. Although his language improved, as well as his analytical thought of language, the humans still could not understand Grendel’s language.

Journal Two.

Topic: Epic poetry usually embodies the attitudes and ideals of an entire culture. What values of Anglo-Saxon society does Beowulf reveal? What universal themes does it also reveal? Use specific examples from the poem to support your answer.

The typical values that were important to the Anglo-Saxon society were bravery, loyalty, friendship and generosity. In the epic poem “Beowulf,” bravery, loyalty, generosity, and honor are displayed repeatedly. Generosity and friendship were revealed in “Beowulf” with the arrival of Beowulf and his warriors. The arrival of Beowulf and his warriors signified generosity because they travelled to Herot to help relieve Hrothgar and his people from the threats of Grendel. Hrothgar also took this as a sign of friendship as seen in line 191, “’Beowulf, you’ve come to us in friendship’” (Beowulf).

 Loyalty, bravery, and honor were repeatedly highlighted throughout Beowulf, and very important to the development of the poem. Beowulf was a perfect example of bravery and honor. He displayed his bravery and the reason he should be honored in his boast to Unferth’s challenge in lines 266-267:“’No man swims in the sea/As I can, no strength is a match for mine’” (Beowulf).

The universal themes of bravery and honor/fame are universal and apply to every culture. In basically every culture, the value of bravery in a person remains and is important. Sometimes, this bravery can contribute to a person’s honor or fame, which is equally as important. In every culture, people either want to be brave, want be brave and honored, or want to obtain fame or honor in any way possible. Bravery and honor are revealed multiple times in Beowulf, especially in lines 308-310. “’Of sea-huge monsters I killed. What man/Anywhere under Heaven’s high arch, has fought/In such darkness, endured more misery, or been harder’” (Beowulf). 

Journal One.

Topic: In an essay analyze the monster Grendel, focusing on the character’s nature. Begin your character analysis of the monster with a sentence stating your general assessment of Grendel as a character. Then, support your assessment with details from the epic.

In the poem Beowulf, the character Grendel is the one feared by all. Grendel represents the evil and hatred of the world trying to overcome and destroy everything in his path. Grendel’s character did not display moral values or good intentions. His twelve-year war with the people of Herot has inflicted a blanket of sorrow across the land. King Hrothgar is heavily inflicted with pain and sorrow for the eradication of his people by this evil monster Grendel.

 Grendel’s origin leads all the way back to religious characters. The poem states that Grendel is the offspring of the descendents of Cain. Cain was the evil son of Adam and Eve who committed the first murder against his brother Abel. Cain’s actions were eternally punished by God, and he was sent into exile. Cain’s wrong doings resulted in all of his descendents representing evil in different forms. In this poem, Grendel represents evil in the form of a human monster. From this, it can be said that Grendel’s motive was somewhat inherent. Grendel was born of evil; therefore, his motives were due to his nature of evilness.

Hell on earth or the devil on land is what Grendel symbolizes. With no good intentions or morality in him, Grendel represents the devil in all aspects.  He invades Hrothgar’s meadhall at night and kills all of the warriors in their sleep. Grendel creeps on them in the darkness and eats the humans, which also relates to evil because of his dark, sneaky and cannibal nature. The age or appearance of the person does not matter to Grendel. If presented with the opportunity to kill the elderly or defenseless children, Grendel will pursue it.

The people of Herot greatly feared Grendel. Upon the first attack, everyone was filled with lament and tears. Even Hrothgar wept and was deprived of all joy and happiness. For the twelve years that this war with Grendel continued, Hrothgar’s Herot was vacant. The only person who had a different response to Grendel was the noble warrior Beowulf. Beowulf approaches Hrothgar and states that he will neither fear Grendel, nor use weapons in his battle, but fight strength against strength.

Grendel symbolizes the all-feared evil. He is a horrid and dreadful character in the poem. Grendel represents the difficult task in life that at some point we all must overcome. In Beowulf, Grendel is the task that not only Hrothgar and Herot most overcome, but the ultimate task that Beowulf must defeat. His origin of evil and his displayed evil intent makes Grendel the center and conflict of the poem. Grendel also contributes to the implied moral of the story that evil never triumphs and will always be defeated.