Inventing problems in In a Forest of Voices"Interesting title, nice alliteration, white E, perfect." That's exactly what I thought when I found "Sootfall and Fallout" in A Forest of Voices. I find it difficult to write about another essay, so often there isn't enough material to use and you're stuck criticizing turns of phrase or punctuation. But White, in this essay, gives the reader a lot of meat to chew, and much of it is difficult to digest. His main point seems to be that the radioactive fallout must be stopped, because the current generation is acquiring atomic energy with the lives of future generations. It has now been 44 years since this essay was written, and many of White's worries and predictions seem to have blown away like the dust he hates so much. White's main complaint appears to be the radioactive dust created by nuclear explosions and the problems it creates. I think that the gradual and creeping contamination of the planet by man, the emission of dust into the air, the strontium additive in our bones, the dumping of industrial poisons into rivers that once ran clear, the mixing of substances chemicals with fog on the east wind, add up to a fantasy of such grotesque proportions that it makes, by contrast, everything said on the subject seem pale and anemic. (White p.494) This doesn't stop White from adding his "pale and anemic" thoughts on world pollution, and indeed, like the anemic blood that doesn't hold together, neither does his essay. White complains about pollution, but finds no effective way to reduce it, except vague ideas about politicians becoming unconventional. As for nuclear testing, part of White's wish came true, as nuclear testing is very rare and... middle of paper... impacts future generations. Hopefully the kids growing up there in ten years won't have to worry about bombs in their streets and soldiers segregating their neighborhoods. So all decisions have positive and negative impacts on the future. At the end of "Sootfall and Fallout", White worries about acid rain and its effects on the environment. I think getting angry about issues you can't predict or prevent is more destructive in the long run. Acid rain poisons the earth and plants, but worrying incessantly poisons the soul and its acid affects the form of indecision and paranoia. Both acids impede the growth and understanding that are White's ultimate goal. Works Cited White, E. B. "Sootfall and Fallout." In A Forest of Voices, eds. Chris Anderson and Lex Runciman. Mountain View: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1995. 492-500.