Never has a man left the embrace of nature once he found himself enamored by it; this infatuation is found in both John Muir’s and Aldo Leopold’s writing, a sense of wanting to protect this deity they call Mother Nature, a moral and ethical responsibility which every human being has to this Mother. Both John Muir and Aldo Leopold recount their almost romantic encounter with Mother Nature in their books Our National Parks and A Sand County Almanac, respectively. However, in both books it is notable that each man carries instilled in the very fiber of their being a sense of dissatisfaction toward the process of mechanization and industrialization; processes which unfortunately…
In Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass, she makes a compelling argument for the planet’s sustainability. Through several chapters, she illustrates how, despite how the Earth provides for all of our needs, we do not repay the favour and instead destroy the life it has left. We are not realizing the value of preserving the environment; instead, we are adapting to the thought that the extended use of fossil fuels is typical, climate change is irreversible, environmental pollution is an unfixable problem, endangered species are beyond salvation, and society has become increasingly disconnected to the planet as it once was. Kimmerer articulates this throughout multiple chapters.…
Nature being important part of everyone’s life is something both Emerson and Muir can agree on. Emerson shows how nature isn’t there to judge or influence one’s…
As time has progressed, our society has increasingly accepted false reality. We can now each create the experience that we feel will appease our desires. Whether this be through picking a movie to watch, selecting a song to play, or striving to beat a video game, we have become masters of what is not truly present. This message perfectly embodies Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods, written in 2008. Writing to a pleasure-seeking, self-centered American society, Louv brings attention to the truth that we have lost interest and, therefore, respect for the natural world. In a melancholy and reminiscent tone, he writes in hope to begin a change, a return to a time where we were entertained by the world around us. Using paradox, polysyndeton, and parallel sentence structure as rhetorical strategies, Louv illustrates our gradual but definite separation from nature.…
Through his experience he’s concluded that humans must learn to coexistence with nature. Thomas wants people to appreciate nature and believe it’s part of being human, and those who don’t are committing, “a debasement, a loss of individuality, a violation of human nature, an unnatural act.” (Thomas 565). He also learned about himself and human nature through his observations of Otters and Beavers, “I learned nothing new about them. Only about me, and I suspect also about you, maybe about humans beings at larger: we are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well” (Thomas 564). Overall, Thomas wants his readers to focus on the broader picture when it comes to understanding nature. “Much of today’s public anxiety about science is the apprehension that we may forever be overlooking the whole by an endless, obsessive preoccupation with the parts” (Thomas…
In his critique, “The Trouble with Wilderness or Getting Back to the Wrong Nature,” William Cronon argues against the romantic conceptualization of nature that a great portion of the environmentalist movement has embraced. Subsequently, Cronon revokes the Romantic and even quasi-religious notion that wilderness spaces are separate from those inhabited by man. He argues that by eliminating the divide in perception between the human constructs of the natural world and the civilized world, man will be encouraged to take more responsibility for his actions that negatively impact the environment. In prefacing his conclusion, he writes, “Home, after all, is the place where finally we make our living. It is the place for which we take responsibility,…
Aldo Leopold was a conservationist, forester philosopher, educator, writer and outdoor enthusiast and was among the founding fathers of the North American conservation movement during the first half of twentieth century (Leopold, 1981). He argues that humans are part of a community that includes the land, from the soil to the rivers and seas (Leopold, 1981). According to Leopold (1981), until humans recognize that they are part of the land and act accordingly, they will continue to negatively impact the environment and their own health by extension (Leopold, 1981)…
This willingness to reevaluate our basic understanding of nature must occur on a far larger scale in order to bring about any real effects in political policy reform and individual practices and overcome the individualistic attitude that pervades our society and has caused a detachment from our environment and its subsequent…
Over the years, the planet’s luscious greenery, vast bodies of ocean, and clear blue skies have declined at a steady rate with the overtake of industrial buildings and pollution from technology . For the explorers and hard-core transcendentalists who devote themselves to living on the healthy and undeveloped parts of the world, nature and “the life and simple beauty of it is too good to pass up.” (McCandless 12/7/16) If technological advancements continue to occupy most of Earth, this appreciative view of the planet will no longer be attractive to those whose lives depend and thrive upon its bare soil. To some Transcendentalist preachers, like Henry David Thoreau, nature is also perceived as “daily to be shown matter to come in contact with,” giving people a chance to ask “Who are we?…
Although a lot of effects have manifested in today’s time, there’s only a little effort exerted to lessen these harms. First, critics pointed out that the nature is an ever-evolving entity. As it is ever-evolving, whatever we do to it – may it be good or bad – actually doesn’t have any bearing because it is destined to change the nature that we once knew. Another thing that critics pointed out was that humans are part and parcel of nature itself. Critics say we are one with nature. If this is the case, it is possible for ourselves to be blamed for whatever experiences nature we have and we can be held liable because we are nature.…
12-14 Reflection on the loss and what this means; thoughtful people are not so free.…
In humans recent history there has been an increased noticeable mistreatment of the world around them. Humans need to know we are not the only ones living there, there are plants and animals and future offspring for all. Not only does the earth need to be treated well for them but it also needs to be treated well for us, because we rely on them for a healthy life. Many people may say that there is a connection between nature and humans theses thoughts are expressed in Annie Dillard's short story, “Living Like Weasels”. Both authors have their point of view on topics but both agree that human behavior needs to improve for a bigger better future.…
It is practically impossible to finish a history class without the mention of Henry David Thoreau. “Civil Disobedience” became one of the most important pieces of literature during the 20th century. This concept was utilized by some of the most influential people of the time like Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. (Frederick). While his political impact might arguably be the light in which he is most often discussed, in the field of biological conservation he is a giant as well. The natural world has come to the forefront in many societies around the world. It has expanded beyond science and affects the political and economic realms along with many others. Henry David Thoreau can offer an interesting and important take on what nature is in respect to humans and these subjects. He…
The article expressed the idea that if more people found a love for nature, a wonder or an awe regarding nature, we may develop a new sense of appreciation for the natural world around us. With this newfound appreciation for nature it may push more people to want to preserve the natural beauty all around us, which would aid in fixing many of the environmental issues we are faced with today due to our anthropocentric view in which we have about the Earth. The article can be found through this link:…
Aldo Leopold, in his essay collection A Sand County Almanac explores the natural world, and the symbiotic relationship that’s shared between plant and animal, while also insinuating how humans live in opposition to that fragile synchrony, for we live to reshape our environment for contemporary gains. Leopold is able to write the essay as an ecological historian, who’s knowledge comes from the topography of the Wisconsin landscape, the rings of an Oak tree, or a single atom entombed in a limestone ledge. The first two sections of the book gravitate around two opposing forces conservation and modern progress (scientific advancement, economical growth.…