John Muir has greatly contributed to the conservation and preservation of America’s wilderness. His belief that America’s great wilderness should be federally protected as national parks has given generations of people an opportunity to appreciate its beautiful landscapes as they exist naturally. His writings still continue to inspire many naturalists and conservationists in America and the whole world. He will always be known as the Father of Our National…
n this chapter, Oelschlaeger discusses John Muir and his many theories. The author contends that Muir is the father of the American conservation movement. Muir’s work was heavily based on a biocentrism and nature-as-an-organism. Muir’s animistic concepts in his later works are similar to Paleolithic ideas discussed previously in Oelschlaeger’s The Idea of Wilderness.…
Plastic vs. Reality Lucy Grealy compares her interactions with her family and with animals in Autobiography of a Face. Throughout this passage Grealy’s connection with her plastic animals mirrors her relationship with her family. Leaving the toys alone every night, Grealy is testing the toys to see if they can survive without her. While Grealy was in the hospital, her family had to continue their lives as they casually visited her. Comparing her situation with her plastic animals, “How could I explain why it was crucial for me, safe inside my bed at night, to think of them out there, living their continuous lives regardless of my presence” (89).…
In “Rattlesnake” written by John Muir, John Muir is a loving husband, father, and father of the National Park Service. Not only was he able to take care of his family, he took care of the forests by saving over 83 million acres of land. John Muir’s whole message is: Doing something you know is wrong could lead to improvement. Throughout his essay, his tone is regretful and sorrowful.…
In the book () written by () , the author explains the challenges the founding brothers including George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr faced as the formed the new government of the united states. The author splits the book into seven sections, each telling a different story or series of events. The author tells the reader that they should understand the events both on how they actually occurred, and how they were portrayed when later revealed. The book focuses on important aspects of the revolutionary war as well as the influences each founding brother and their contributions to American history, and how it all helped shaped America into what it is now. “…
In the article, “A change of Hearts about Animals,” by Jeremy Rifkin, he argues that the new findings by scientists show that animals are more similar to humans than we thought. In these findings we see that animals have emotion like they feel pain, get stressed, get happy and feel love like humans do. To support his claim he explains that there are studies that suggest that animals can acquire language skills, use tools, show self-awareness and pass on knowledge to the next generation. Through stating that animals are more like humans he wants humans to treat animals better.…
The Elements Paying Tribute to Friendship is a sculpture created by Louis-Simon Boizot in the year 1783. The sculpture is made out of “marble presenting the depth of carving by producing space and sense of physical presence” (Boizot). There are four figurines that symbolize the “elements of clouds, flames, waves, and earth” (Boizot). The four elements are paying tribute to lady named Friendship who is “standing on a platform with her arm wrapped around an elm tree stump wearing a wreath of myrtle” (Boizot). Cybele is the representation of “earth, are leaning over two lions that are both kneeling in front of Friendship” (Boizot).…
“Walden” by Henry David Thoreau attempts to demonstrate the benefits of straying from “civilized society” and learning about life by living in the woods at Walden Pond. He documents the ways in which he was not only able to survive, but learn from the simplicity and beauty of the woods. Thoreau expresses that his interest in such an experience was all in an effort to “live deliberately” so that when “[he] came to die, discover [he] had not lived” (892). He expresses his appreciation for nature and says that “nature is just as well adapted to our weaknesses as to our strengths“(849). Thoreau ultimately believed that nature was the essence of life and it was to be valued for all it did.…
“A Whole New World” Living in a twenty-first century society having a relationship with the natural world is the last thing on a person’s mind. In this century, nature is taken for granted. One might say nature is underappreciated and not as valued as it probably should be. Jane Goodall’s essay “In the Forests of Gombe” shows the flip side of what we believe the natural world to be. In Goodall’s essay she describes the many things she has learned while spending time in Gombe.…
One of my personal heroes who displays naturalist intelligence is Steve Irwin (1962-2006). As a kid, I grew up watching Steve’s television series, “The Crocodile Hunter”, a wildlife documentary show which followed Steve as he went out into the wild in various countries around the world to interact with animals. His show went on to become the highest ever rated on the Animal Planet channel. Steve was a strong supporter of environmentalism and the conservation of endangered species. One of his accomplishments was the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation, which is now known as Wildlife Warriors Worldwide, an organization established with the intention to educate people in the protection of injured, threatened, or endangered wildlife, and some of…
Finally, environmentalist Aldo Leopold describes wilderness as a way when “We all strive for safety, prosperity, comfort, long life, and dullness”…
In “Under The Snow” John Mcphee expresses the connection he has created with the bear cubs in his care. He even compared them to his own kids “When my third daughter was an infant, I could place her against my shoulder and she would stick there like velvet... The first cub I placed on my shoulder stayed there like a piece of velvet”( ). Mcphee continued to describe what his job working with the cubs entails. Taking care of abandoned cubs in teams to help them through the winter and then placing them with mothers that are willing to take care of them. I have always harbored a love and curiosity about animals.…
Surprisingly, animals often times take on unusual relationships during their lifetime. Sometimes the relationships are used just for comfort, while other times the relationships benefit both animals to achieve survival. Animals can help to protect each other in ways not thought of often. Most animals are stereotyped to stay within the facility of their own kind. This does not mean that some animals will not adhere to the normal way of life.…
Can two people that have completely and utterly different political views be best friends? In the Ted Talk by Caitlin Quattromani and Lauren Arledge, titled “How Our Friendship Survives Our Opposing Politics”, gives us pointers on how you really can be great friends with someone who you don’t agree with on a big level, such as politics. They argue against our society’s view on politics now by saying that if people are willing to listen to the other side and put aside their views enough to care about the person more than their political status, they would be able to create a great friendship that is built on respect and a sense of understanding of each party. (who says this) states in their talk “Our friendship is more important than…
Sara D'Esposito Professor Mary Pollock JSEM Essay 2 17 October 2017 The Relationship Between Animal and Man The article "Why Look At Animals" by John Berger is very engrossing in a way that it grabs the attention of the reader and brings one such thought. In the article, Berger thoroughly studies the gap between a man depending on an animal. He argues that humans have moved to a higher position above animals, and explains that this is because we as humans have an ability to surpass the range of our planet's natural environment. Berger brings attention to the fact that in earlier times when we first recognized animals, they were only seen simply as clothing, or a pair of horns, and things of this nature.…