TOW #13 – Article: “Haunted By Waters”

The New York Times

"Haunted By Waters"

By Timothy Egan

December 18, 2015

  

Timothy Egan is a New York Times Op-Ed writer covering the environment, the American West, and politics.  Egan writes in his blog, “I will get to those uncared for rosebushes [national and global issues] in time, one by one providing my opinion... Perhaps even some solutions. For what is an opinion without solutions?” (Blog para. 3) And that is exactly what Egan offers in his recent op-ed, a response to Trump’s denials of global warming and the Paris climate accord.  Published online on 12/18 and in print on 12/19, Egan effectively asserts to the general public the unrealized importance of water in a world where climate change is slowly disrupting the global balance of water.

In the beginning, the author appeals to the audience’s emotions by bringing out the beauty of nature’s water.  He illustrates, “You stand in the mist and roar of Snoqualmie Falls, more than 100 feet higher than Niagara, and feel the liquid power of the Cascade Mountains crashing down… Hope is 4,000 cubic feet of water per second, going off a cliff” (para. 1).  Throughout his op-ed, Egan’s repetitive use of the pronoun “you” prompts readers to consider their own beliefs about climate change.  Water becomes more than just fleeting, bland liquid; water is a powerful force that could mean destruction or life.

Using testimony and statistics, Egan proves the existence of global warming and the extent to which water is part of the problem.  He quotes an Enron executive, “In this century, water will be more precious than oil” (para. 2), surprising, as it comes from an oil-motivated individual.  Egan also refers to the ever-expanding desert in sub-Saharan Africa, slowly rising sea levels bordering Bangladesh, and extreme drought in Syria, which is why “The Pentagon has warned of coming wars over water” (para. 6).  Within the US, Egan specifies the Florida Keys standing a mere six feet above sea level (para. 9) and Lake Mead, which has fell 150 feet in the last 14 years (para. 11).

Once Egan has adequately defined the issue, he offers solutions for the audience to support and vote for in the upcoming presidential elections.  The author references the largest ocean desalination plant in San Diego County (para. 13), but reminds the audience, “[we] will require something more… [We] need waterfalls like Snoqualmie, the spray in the face, renewal during the darkest days of the year” (para. 14).  Egan comes full circle, returning to the image of “you” standing before the incredible nature’s water, because “you” are where change begins.

TOW #12 – IRB: “Stiff” (Part 1)

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

By Mary Roach

In Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Mary Roach writes about various accounts of cadavers and discusses the ethical and moral issues surrounding the use of human cadavers.  Roach has already written six non-fiction books and several articles for The New York Times Magazine, Discover Magazine, National Geographic, and Wired.  Although Roach does not have a science degree, she conducts extensive research and interviews with experts to make abstruse subjects more accessible to the general public through her shocking and humorous descriptions of the dead, ultimately making a curiously sensible argument for donating our bodies to science.

The author begins her book with a surprising comparison to open the readers’ minds about society’s perception of death.  She figures, “The way I see it, being dead is not terribly off from being on a cruise ship” (9).  Death is typically associated with a period of darkness and fear, far from those sunny and enjoyable times on a cruise.  However, Roach logically points out that in both cases, individuals are simply lying on their backs, do not use their brains, and are not expected of anything.  Throughout the book, Roach makes many other similar observations about death, making the undesirable and inexplicable more acceptable and comprehensible. 

Furthermore, Roach juxtaposes the different lives a body could have after death to reveal the benefits of becoming a human cadaver.  First, she visits the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where Roach observes the stages of normal decomposition, describing in great detail the “fresh” smell, “as in fresh fish, not fresh air” (64), leaking liquids, “gloving” skin, and beetles, maggots, and flies.  Then, she moves on to discussing the processes of embalming, erroneously believed to be a way of eternal preservation (81); hideous mummification; and cremation, quoting William Edwin Dunn Evans of the University of London for a grotesque description of the body as it burns (83).  Roach plainly states the ugliness and inevitability of decomposition, but offers a bright side of dying as she explains just how much cadavers can and have contributed to scientific research.  No matter how we choose to prolong the illusion of life, our bodies cannot escape the hideousness of death.  So why not donate our bodies to science while they can still have a life after death?

While reading the often nauseating, sometimes deserving-of-someone-telling-Roach-TMI descriptions of death, historical medical practices, uses and misuses of cadavers was difficult, at times, I also could not stop laughing out loud at Roach’s insights.  Her writing is very different from what I have ever seen before, both her style and subject-wise.  I look forward to finding out more in the second half of the book about how the dead can lead such curious lives that significantly impact those still alive.