David Suzukis A Planet For The Taking :: essays research papers

David Suzuki's A Planet for the Taking In the essay "A Planet for the Taking," David Suzuki describes Canadians' odd appreciation for this great natural bounty we call our own. He is an internationally acclaimed scientist who is concerned about the welfare of Canada. Suzuki's intended audience is the Canadian population that does not realize the grave danger they are instilling upon themselves by haphazardly taking our resources without looking at the subsequent repercussions of their actions. The essay is persuasive and informative. He compares various facets of science and gives reasons why none of these fields can explain why we are destroying nature. The organization of the essay supports the author's views well. It begins with general opinions about the Canadian population and is followed by more detailed explanations. The general opinions in the beginning are well- chosen considering the audience. Suzuki's tone is evident when he states "We have both a sense of the importance of the wilderness and space in our culture and an attitude that it is limitless and therefore we needn't worry." These words suggest that we are willing to reap the rewards of our vast resources but we fail to see the harm that we are doing, and will continue to do if we do not stop these actions. Although his approach for explaining his beliefs changes, Suzuki's tone of great concern remains consistent throughout the essay. After his views are presented, Suzuki begins to tell us what we have done to our country and how we are destroying it. Present day Canadians are compared to native Canadians which successfully serves its purpose in illustrating how, for centuries, people lived off the natural resources in Canada. With the development of science and technology, we have developed better ways of mass harvesting resources but these methods are taking at a faster rate than nature can sustain. Science suggests means of replacing these resources we are taking but there is no quick replacement for ecosystems that have taken thousands of years to evolve. Following his explanations of how we have destroyed nature, Suzuki discusses science and how society deals with it, "I believe that in large part our problems rest on our faith in the power of science and technology." This statement and the following sentences are used to describe how people deal with great developments in science and technology. Because there have been so many great advances in these fields in the past century, people are comfortable placing their faith in science though scientists are still far from discovering all of the secrets to the universe. Scientists interfere with nature without