The Mercy Journals - Argumentative Essay Sample

Undoubtedly, Claudia Casper's "The Mercy Journals" is a reflective narration of the consequences awaiting the present day's populace if at all it won't be more responsible for taking care of the environment. Through the protagonist Allen Quincy, "The Mercy Journals" predicts all that will involve living in a world of the 2050s. The fact is that the world will be harsh and cruel and less accommodating to convenient living. Regarding that, the story acts a warning through the veteran soldier that there will be more problems than today. Therefore, people are not doing currently enough to make the future better as far as environmental conservation is concerned; hence, the current activities only continue to create more harm to the surrounding.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Allen Quincy, taking the position of Mercy in the story, is an experienced geographical explorer although suffering from PSTD. As much of the narrative covers, the world is in the worst shape ever in the year 2050. As case examples to illustrate this growing problem, the story features a world whose population is "rationing food and electricity," and the climate is harmful to accommodate ordinary living and human convenience. Apart from that, Casper symbolizes a world where people are competing for nutrition and diminishing places of living due to "increased human activities that are not environmentally-friendly as well" (73-77). As such, there is already harm which can only increase with time.

A Prediction of Human Irresponsibility

Apparently and as many authors suggest, the current population in the globe is highly irresponsible on matters involving environmental conservation. Primarily, it is a case of not understanding the consequences but deliberately ignoring the call to act responsibly and control the activities that are known to harm the environment profoundly. As it is manifest from place to place, different signs in the surrounding are accurately demonstrating about human's continued irresponsibility in handling the earth and its minimal resources. With that in mind, the story just affirms the likely consequences as time advances. In fact, it is a wakeup call in that if people overlook it the world will not be a convenient place to live in the future.

Connection to the Present Day's Scenario

As Casper narrates and accurately connects, three areas visualize the dominant aspects of today's environmental concerns. Firstly, the issue of rationing food and electricity is something that requires critical thought, but there is a higher possibility that it will be among the leading areas that will cause people a lot of strain as time advances. With the continued clearing of the remaining arable land for human industrial activities that create environmental harm, the current food reservations and farming lands continue to diminish significantly. If the trend doesn't stop, there is no doubt that people will struggle in that area.

However, even if people are inventing alternatives such as production and consumption of GMOs, the fact remains that the products and processing processes have a significant environmental impact. Indeed, the point of concern isn't how large or small an activity impacts on the surrounding but the responses that people give and the activities they prioritize to avoid additional damage to the atmosphere. Apparently, there is more harm that conservation measures with the possible impact being a dangerous world to inhabit as Casper illustrates in "The Mercy Journals."

Another important observation in the story is on harmful climate. Apparently, this is among the leading areas that the readers should reflect and respond sufficiently. One thing about the predicted weather is that it will be destructive; as such, it will not only be damaging to the people but also make it hard for plants and animals to thrive. In this respect, the current practices on earth can only lead to a dangerous place if it doesn't stop. Irrespective of everything, it has to start with the self hence it is more of individual responsibility as opposed to a universal call.

Another predicted area of concern that requires genuine reflection touches on the issues of increased competition between humans for nutrition. It is regrettable that people will one day get there. Seemingly, this forecast depicts reduced human responsibility in addressing increasing food problems. For instance, with land for growing food becoming less, people are inventing alternative means thanks to technology. But the question that arises is whether these mechanisms check on people's nutrition or are just quick fixes that will create more problems. With Casper predicting a battle for food, it is evident that the current populace is doing very little to check their lifestyles and critical nutritional needs.

World's Current Position

Many authors agree with Casper's assumptions regarding the future of the world. As the story accurately predicts, the future will be more harmful than the present as far as the environment is concerned. As a Living Planet report highlights, there has been increased human activities in the past decade and "regardless the plethora of international conventions that sensitize people on the need to carry out environmentally friendly activities, and the harm is on the increase" (Hale). This way, the world is aware of what is vital but overlooking it in a way to satisfy their human desires and violating present laws (Bennett 584).

However, even if there are so many areas that need an immediate address, the dominant features include increased industrial waste, reducing vegetation, and little intervention. In the first case, the increasing need to satisfy growing human wants has necessitated the world to become highly innovative and industrious. Even if there is no problem with it, most of the by-products of these industrial activities remain on the earth's surface, and it is not biodegradable (Bennett 586-588). Also, increased population translates to more food demand hence the need for more land. Consequently, deforestation occurs and reduces the available vegetation cover which increases dryness (Hale).

Discretion and Conclusion

As The Mercy Journals and different authors highlight, the current problems in the world and the future is not about how people carry out various activities. Apparently, it is a case involving lack of responsibility despite the increased awareness. As a result, in a way to avoid the predicted situation, people should change their attitude towards the environment and focus more on activities that respond to the damage of the increased human activities. Also, there should be stricter laws to address this concern such as hefty fines, suspensions, and closures. In summation, having seen the probable scenario in 2050, people should be more responsible regarding the environment. Thus, they not only need to be more aware of the possible risk of any activity but also respond in equal measure to ensure the damage is significantly low.

Works Cited

Bennett, Nathan James. "Using perceptions as evidence to improve conservation and environmental management." Conservation Biology 30.3 (2016): 582-592.

Casper, Claudia. The Mercy Journals. Vancouver : Arsenal Pulp Press, 2016.

Hale, Erin. Earth's environment getting worse, not better, says WWF ahead of Rio+20. The Guardian, 2012.