Essay Questions

What is the symbolic meaning of the Ecological Rift?

This title is significant because it is symbolically used by the authors to represent the unfair human practices to the environment. According to the authors of this book, the primary reason for the climatic downfall is the introduction of Marxist ideas. Marxist ideas are interconnected with the capitalist economic concept in which people strive to excel on their own without considering the wellbeing of others. For instance, people are engaged in mining and logging for personal benefits without considering the negative impact on human beings and the entire ecological life.

How does the theme of affluence and supremacy manifest itself in the book The Ecological Rift: Capitalism's War on the Earth?

This book depicts the affluent and powerful people as inhumane because their primary goal is to increase their wealth without caring about the future of the environment. In modern society, capitalist economic ideas have taken the center stage in which wealthy people are destroying the environment using their power to increase their wealth. The wealthy people are behind the destruction of the rainforest because they are often engaged in illegal logging. Similarly, wealthy people are controlling various industries that emit dangerous gases into the atmosphere which endanger the ecological life. The environmental activists and other true iconological movements are trying their best to save the environment but the efforts are hampered by the rich people who are involved in the climactic downfall.

Why are rich countries such as China not so keen on environmental preservation as opposed to poverty-stricken countries?

The authors of this book are categorical that the rich and powerful individuals and countries are behind the destruction of the ecological life. For instance, the so-called industrialized countries like China are in the front line in destroying the ecological life because they are leading in the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. It is a paradox that such countries can support any reasonable effort to stop environmental pollution. The modern cities in China are highly polluted because of the industrial and motor vehicle fumes.