I wanted to create a conversation between my initial selfish thoughts about overpopulation and the real environmental impacts. My hope was that if I didn't already get the reader invested by talking about lines, bringing up the environment would. I believe this line of inquiry fits into the theme of the paper. Later on, I explore ideas about the betterment of individual humans versus the whole species.

Selfishly, I must admit that nearly everywhere I go I wish there were less people. When I'm in a line or somewhere crowded, I know that everyone's just trying to do the same thing as I am, however, I'm always left thinking I would be be happier if they weren't. I know that some others must feel the same so I wanted to share my own thoughts and engage with the reader in the beginning. I imagined I was speaking to someone when I wrote this. I wanted it to feel very direct for the reader.

I returned to Thanos because a snap would be the easiest solution but will never happen. For example, humanity is like a dog afraid to jump into a pool. A snap from Thanos would be like an owner pushing their dog into the pool. The owner knows that it would be unpleasant at first, but that the dog will swim on their own and be fine in the future. The dog instinctually knows how to swim but will never jump into the pool by itself. Humans know how to solve the climate crisis, but it's likely we will never "jump in the pool" by ourselves in order to save the world. A snap from Thanos would solve the problem, but that will never happen, so are we just screwed? Humans are not dogs, however, so we can use reason. We will have to "jump in the pool" ourselves, but we have the ability to recognize that we have to defer our gratification to save ourselves. I included the rhetorical question "does an alien villain have to do it for us?" and the sentence after it in order to emphasize to the reader how there is no easy solution and that it is completely up to us.

I added this writing because I wanted to explore solutions as well as possible drawbacks. I touched upon the subject previously but did not give concrete examples of the possible effects. I think specific examples of how gratification might have to be deferred on a large scale gives readers a better idea of what I'm talking about, as well as the massive scope of the climate crisis.

I think it was unclear why I was referencing the pandemic since I originally mentioned it right before the quote. I split the sentences up and made my point about the pandemic after. I decided to include this to emphasize the fact that emissions are a big problem. Even though many people were in lockdown for months, emissions were still 2% higher by the end of the year.

I was aware my readers wouldn't know what "(IEA)" meant, so I wrote out "International Energy Agency." It gives more context and shows the reader that my quote comes from a reputable source.

I originally said "It is no secret that "the largest single threat to the ecology and biodiversity of the planet” (CBD) is the greenhouse gasses caused by humans." During my conference I became aware that "it is no secret" is quite vague and that my readers might not all be on the same page. I decided to say "The vast majority of scientists" in order to establish more credibility. I was trying to make the point that it is known by nearly everyone and I said scientists in particular because that is more specific and more relevant. I explicitly mentioned the source before the quote because I had previously only wrote "(CBD)" after the quote. I think it is now more clear because the reader would have no idea what "(CBD)" was if they read with no context.

This piece originated from the one detail at a place short essay. I included the story about the igloo in my meditation on place essay, but I wanted to revisit this piece in particular. Building the igloo was one of my favorite experiences at BC and I want my written record of that as perfect as possible. I know if I visit this website in a few years I will be very happy to read this piece because it will take me right back.

I added this detail because it is a clear image that anyone at BC can picture. Even if the reader is not familiar with BC, I think they can still get the idea just as well.

I added this whole sentence because I really wanted to emphasize how impressed I was by the construction and that I felt proud every time I looked at it. I wanted to bring specific attention the change the igloo underwent as it melted and give concrete checkpoints about my thinking over the igloo's lifespan.

It has obviously been well over two weeks since I built the igloo, but for the sake of the piece I am revising as if I am still there.

I changed this sentence in order to keep related words together. I omitted specifically saying "Welch Hall" and moved it to the sentence before. I think it is now clearer that the collection of three buildings is College Road.

I added these first two sentences because I wanted to have more context about the space and let the reader know my initial thoughts even before the igloo.