Never Retreat

 from  Eyes Wide Open

Argument by Paul Fleischman

This summary of the argument includes

targeted passages from the text for you to
read on your own.

BACKGROUND
An argument is a type of nonfiction writing. In this argument, the author
gives his opinions about how to solve our environmental problems. Burning
fossil fuels—coal, natural gas, and oil—can pollute oceans, lakes, and rivers
and the air we breathe. Renewable energy—such as solar and wind power—
can help reduce the need for fossil fuels.

NOT ES

SUMMARY
The author explains that people’s use of fossil fuels has
developed over many years. New uses for coal, natural gas, and
oil have been discovered. Some of these new uses have helped
people meet their needs for heat, light, and transportation.
However, other discoveries have created new things that are
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not really needed, such as dishwashers and cell phones. Over

time, these new things have become part of everyday life. Now,
people cannot imagine life without them.
Fossil fuels have been cheap, not expensive, for many
years. Cheap fossil fuels help people in countries like the
United States enjoy a high standard of living. Conveniences standard of living:  how
comfortable life is, based on all the
like dishwashing machines make life easier. Cheap gasoline goods and services people have.
lets people drive as much as they want. People are used to
a comfortable life. Today, people feel that this easy life is the
lifestyle they must have.
The author does not think that people have to totally change
their lifestyles to protect the environment. But he does think
people need to make changes. People can do this by using less
fossil fuels and focusing on more renewable energies to make
electricity.
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A harder change to make is using less oil. People use oil in
all areas of their lives. People depend on oil for cars and trucks.
They depend on it to grow food. Oil is also used in asphalt to
pave the streets. It is used to make plastic—and people use a lot
of plastic. The author thinks using less oil would be one of the
hardest things people have ever done.
One threat to people’s standard of living is running out of
resources, like water. But instead of using less water and other
resources, people are using more. The author writes that people
do not want to make do with less if it lowers their standard of
living.
People in the United States and in other countries all want
the same things—roads that are paved; water that is clean;
refrigerators that keep food from going bad; and more. No one
wants to have a lower standard of living.
The author wonders if people can use more renewable
energy and less fossil fuel. He thinks that people can, but they
would have to use less energy and buy fewer things. This step
would help the environment but might hurt the economy. If
people buy less, many people might lose their jobs. The phrase
“never retreat” means that people want to keep both their jobs
and a high standard of living. But the author asks, can people
keep both? He thinks they can and has a solution.

Read this passage from the selection to learn why the

author thinks a new type of economy is better for people
and for the environment.

TARGETED PASSAGE

sustainable:  not harming the

environment.
9 Many have sketched a sustainable economy
decentralization:  having more
that doesn’t rest on unnecessary consumption.
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local control over things. These proposals often favor decentralization—a

dispersed: spread out. more dispersed and rural society, with people
growing more of their own food and generating
resilience: strength. more of their own power. This would give us
an economy with greater resilience than our
✔ Reading Check current highly connected one.
What does the author think
people might do if they lived in a
more rural society?

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SUMMARY (continued)
When systems are not decentralized, but are all
interconnected, problems can happen. For example, right now
the world’s economy is a tightly connected system. Fruit comes
from South America and computer parts come from China.
However, if something stops this trade, or exchange of goods, it
can affect people in many countries.
At one point in history, life was more decentralized.
People were not so tightly connected together. Today, some
organizations are trying to help people live more like they did
in the past. They are helping people use less energy and grow
their own food. This helps people be more self-sufficient, or
independent.
The author wonders if more people could also have a simpler
lifestyle. During World War II, Americans had to lower their
standard of living. Because of the war, supplies of food, gas, and
other products were limited. Americans adapted and survived.
However, the author is not sure people today are willing to
change how they live their lives.
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(b) ©Peathegee Inc/Blend Images/Getty Images

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Read this passage from the selection to learn why the
author thinks the ability to adapt, or be flexible, is so
important.

TARGETED PASSAGE

adaptability:  able to adjust and 13 Adaptability is one of humankind’s

survive when things change.
climatic times:  long periods of
hallmarks. We evolved during difficult climatic
weather conditions. times, when temperatures swung between ice
interglacial periods:  before and ages and warmer interglacial periods, times so
after the ice ages.
challenging that the twenty or so other strains of
flexible: adaptable; not rigid.
humans who weren’t as flexible all died out. Is
that ability to adapt still within us?
✔ Reading Check
How did adaptability help
humans survive?

SUMMARY (continued)
In his conclusion, the author says that he thinks people can
adapt and live more simply. People have already shown that they
can do so. For example, when the price of gas goes up, more
people use subways and buses. Because people have made big
changes in the past, the author thinks people can make the big
changes needed today.

TURN & TALK

With a partner, identify the key points the author makes about how
people live today and the causes of environmental problems. Make a list
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of changes you could make in your life to help reduce your impact on the
environment.

Excerpts from “Never Retreat” from Eyes Wide Open by Paul Fleischman. Copyright © 2014 by The Brown-Fleischman Family
Trust. Reprinted by permission of Candlewick Press.

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