An an essay I wrote in 1994 about an Issac Asimov article. Must have fun with this one.

Isaac Asimov’s essay “The Villain in the Atmosphere” demonstrates the straightforward and no-nonsense explanations of complicated natural phenomena that so typifies his unadorned style, explaining clearly concepts and ideas that otherwise might be confusing. Comparison to another writer and his style will highlight Asimov’s unique and effective style. Examination of what is written in the essay will provide us with the reason why the essay is so effective. Discussion of his other books and writings will provide us with a background of how his lucid style developed and why it remains as popular as it is.
The essay “The Villain in the Atmosphere” states a premise: There is too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, because this will cause a ‘greenhouse effect’ which keeps heat in that would normally be reflected back in to space from the surface trapped in the atmosphere, making the Earth warmer. Asimov States what will happen: It will result in temperature changes, drought and flood. To prevent this from happening we must do the following he explains: Save the forests and replace our carbon dioxide producing fuel sources (Out of). This essay is informative. It explains what is happening, why it is happening, what the consequences of inaction are and what can be done to stop it. The style is plain and it is meant to be. In this way it can best demonstrate in the easiest possible way what is happening.
It is useful to compare essays so as to better show how styles can differ and to see what can result from these different approaches. We find out near the end of Asimov’s essay that the actual ‘villain’ of the atmosphere is people. This gives a little twist, a little shock, a little prod that might make the reader think a little harder (Villain 330). Here is another example: Asimov explains that it’s humanity's expansion in to rainforests, breeding of cattle (which produce methane) and burning of fossil fuels which increases carbon dioxide levels in the Earth’s atmosphere to dangerous levels (Villain 330). Asimov’s style is clear. He defines what is actually happening, explains the consequences of continued inaction, then presents necessary steps to stop the buildup of carbon dioxide.
In Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” the author suggests that Irish babies be used as a food source. He goes on to explain why this is a reasonable thing to do and how it could be so beneficial solving Britain’s food shortages effectively. Swift is actually satirizing England’s oppression of Ireland by shocking his readers and concluding that England is in the wrong in its policies towards Ireland. This take on writing can further entrench the opinions of people on both sides of an issue. It is obvious that Jonathan Swift’s style is radically different from Asimov’s, but both attempt to change behavior in their own way. Unfortunately Jonathan Swift’s essay is much more likely to be misinterpreted, or ignored because of its biting enditment of English policy in its satirical and irony laden style.
In Bill Schermbrucker’s Aims and Strategies of good writing the author states that the aim of informative writing is “...to present the facts about a subject, without distorting the truth or distracting the reader's attention from it” (39).Unlike other types of writing like Jonathan Swifts’ “A Modest Proposal” (Buscemi 412), informative writing deals only in facts. Isaac Asimov’s “The Villain in the Atmosphere” does this. It carefully explains what is going on in the atmosphere, how the people, plants and animals on Earth effect it and explains the consequences of its continued abuse.
To better understand why Asimov writes the way he does and why people read when he writes, an examination of his other writings and who his readers are is warranted. Isaac Asimov is considered a “Grand Master” (Science Fiction 234). Like the Grand Masters of chess, these are the top ranked, the most highly skilled and from only the upper echelon of their game. However Asimov is not a chess Grand Master. He is a science fiction Grand Master. There are a few others in this exclusive club: Robert A. Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, H.G. Wells and Jules Verne are some. These are names that even those who shun science fiction know. The reason for this is that they have written seminal works; works you could name without trying to hard. Works like: Stranger In A Strange Land, Fahrenheit 451, The Time Machine, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and Asimov’s Foundation and Robot series. These works cross the borders of science fiction becoming a part of our culture. The others in the Grand Master’s club generally stick to science fiction but Asimov is a writer first, not just a science fiction writer. Credited with 500 books, 400 short stories, a few thousand essays and a monthly magazine bearing his name, Asimov is the third most prolific writer ever to have lived (“Out of” 134). This is one of the reason that his writing is so relentlessly logical and unadorned with flowery language, by necessity he would not have been able to write as much as he had had it been flowery. He says in his “Out of the Typewriter, Endlessly writing” that he writes every day several hours per day (143). The respect Asimov garners from science fiction readers translates in to clout in their minds ‘This guy knows what he’s talking about.' This allows him to inform the readers on what the facts are in his non-fiction works. When Isaac Asimov writes, people read.
To explain where this clout comes from more fully, which allows Asimov to attract readers to his essays, a background on his writings is warranted. Asimov has written guides to “Shakespeare, the Bible, quantum mechanics, overpopulation and sex” (Ferrell 22). The reason for the enduring popularity of the science fiction of the Grand Masters is that it still has relevance to modern society. Heinlein described the waterbed and atomic rocket in his books years before they were invented. Bradbury invented, chaos theory before it existed and examined the omnipresent danger of censorship in his books. Jules Verne described a nuclear submarine before nuclear fission or submarines existed. Asimov’s contributions are just as impressive. In his Foundation series, he invents the science of Psychohistory (the prediction of future events by probability study and mob psychology) which is now under serious study by sociologists. In his Robots books Asimov describes the "three laws of robotics" which is a fundamental tenant in the creation of artificial intelligence and even more amazingly created the modern science of robotics (Rest 69). Psychohistory is in a sense what Asimov’s essay is about. Through our actions as humans in a careless disregard for our environment we have allowed the Earth to start to heat up. The only possible solution to this dilemma is to change our ways. Asimov predicts the future if we don’t change “Eventually the sea will reach a maximum of two hundred feet above the present water level, and will be splashing against the windows along the twentieth floors of Manhattan’s skyscrapers.” Asimov lays it all out for us. ‘If we don’t change our ways, this grim event will come to pass’ (Psychohistory’s prediction) is his message.
Although it sounds silly The Foundation series of books is a foundation stone in science fiction. Its clear and astonishing story explores the life of a scientist without the swashbuckling heroics of a science fiction stereotype. It is in this series that Asimov creates the scientist as hero, proving that the protagonist must not always be a bare-fisted brawler or spaceship pilot. This concentration on the facts and not the flower makes Asimov the perfect science populist. As Robert Heinlein once said ‘Give me a slide rule long enough and I will change the world.’ Asimov did this with Hari Seldon (the hero of the Foundation books) making kids want to be mathematicians not intergalactic time cops. Like other well-known popular science educators Carl Sagan or Dr. Stephen Hawking who are scientist first and writers second, Asimov is a scientist, but before all else, he is a writer. It is this devotion to the written word that makes his writings as profoundly easy to understand as they are.
Isaac Asimov explains how he writes in his article “Out of the Typewriter Endlessly Writing" and through this we see Asimov the man as well as the writer and his passion for writing. Averaging over 13 books a year for the second half of his writing career (Out of 137). Asimov states in an article about writing “I rarely, if ever, worry about the sentences that reel out of my mind. If I have written them I assume the chances are about 20 to 1 that they are perfectly all right” (Out of 140). He explains how his writing flows together “I see a story or an article or a book as a pattern and not just a succession of words. I know exactly how to fit each item in the piece into the pattern, so that it is never necessary to work from an outline.” (Out of 141). On style Asimov admits “It... helps if you don’t try to be too literary in your writing....” subsequently “I have therefore deliberately cultivated a very plain style, even a colloquial one." He defends himself from the critics who say that he has ‘no style’ by writing “if anyone, however thinks that it is easy to write with absolute clarity and no frills, I recommend that he try it” (Out of 141). That is what Asimov does; he writes ‘with absolute clarity and no frills’ which makes him the perfect person to show us science-ignorant-types the important scientific issues effecting our lives today. Unlike Dr. Stephen Hawking, Asimov will not call a ‘black hole’ a ‘singularity’ until he has explained that a black hole is a singularity and what a black hole is. In the article “Endless Summer: Living With The Greenhouse Effect” meteorologist Howard Ferguson, (the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Canadian Atmospheric Environment Service) is quoted as saying “The longer we wait to take action and the weaker the action the larger the effect and the more likely it will be negative.” Asimov states clearly “First, we must save our forests... Second, we must find new sources of fuel” there is no waffling only: What is happening? The greenhouse effect. Is it good or bad? Bad. What must be done to stop it? “First.... Second....” In this way Asimov can explain what is happening and proscribe a solution all in four pages unlike the “Discover” article (which is billed for lay persons) stating the same thing rather clumsily and in 11 pages.
The book Exploring The Earth And The Cosmos, Asimov describes (in depth) the nature of the universe in a clear and precise manner. He explains clearly to the reader the complex ideas and theories of modern science in a lucid manner. In an examination of the greenhouse effect gone wild Asimov gives the planet Venus as an example: Its dense atmosphere of carbon dioxide (the primary greenhouse gas) and increased cloud cover has raised its temperature to hundreds of degrees. Giving us an example of what might be our future if we don’t, smarten up.
“The Villain in the Atmosphere” is a very effective essay. With a plain style, Isaac Asimov has written a clear essay typical of his work, which allows us to understand concepts that can be baffling, but which he can turn in to simple understandable information for any non-scientist. His style developed over sixty years has made him the most prolific writer alive and one of the most understandable ever to have lived. Instead of a divisive style that could further polarize the opinions of its readers he uses a consensus of facts style to inform liberally. His popularity gained from fiction draws readers to his non-fiction. Isaac Asimov’s main concern in life was not to be remembered as the inventor of Psychohistory or Robotics and its three laws, but to be remembered as a writer (a person who shares information). He has shown us that with a little knowledge and some real understanding we can change the world.
Works Cited
Clute, John, Nichols, Peter. Eds. Science Fiction Encyclopedia 2nd ed. New York: St. Martins, 1994.
Asimov, Isaac. “The Villain In The Atmosphere.” 75 Readings Plus 2nd ed. Ed. Santi Buscemi and Charlotte Smith. New York: McGraw-Hill, ` 1994. 327-31.
------. Exploring The Earth And The Cosmos. New York: Nightfall, 1982.
------. “Out of the Typewriter, Endlessly Writing.” Magazine Of Fantasy And Science Fiction. Vol. 79. Is. 4. 1990: 134-43.
------. Rest Of The Robots. London: Grafton, 1990.
------. Foundation Trilogy: Foundation, Foundation And Empire Second Foundation. Garden City: Doubleday, 1951.
Ferrell, Keith. “Requiem.” Omni. Vol. 14. Is. 9. 1992: 22.
Revkin, Andrew C. “Endless Summer: Living with the Greenhouse Effect.” Discover. Vol. 9. Is. 10. 50-61.
Shermbrucker, Bill. The Aims and Strategies of Good Writing.
North Vancouver: Capilano College, 1976. 39-46.