genevieve wakutz
Q1: Social Construction of nature and Rethinking Wilderness
“The task of making a home in nature is what Wendell Berry has called “the forever unfinished lifework of our species” (Cronon, 87). Centuries ago humans lived among nature, hunting and gathering to survive. Yet the advent of agriculture pulled humans away from nature and gradually we isolated ourselves from the wilderness, only to return on occasion. From the capitalist-consumer culture to our urban centers, we have found solace in modern technology and turned away from the unpredictable environment. Consequently, it is those behavioural changes that have fabricated the divide between humans and wilderness, and produced global catastrophic environmental issues. William …show more content…
Wilderness was shaped in the image of particular groups of people by playing on their cultural values. Interweaving strong values into the landscapes stimulated a stronger response from the public through spiritual connections, opportunities for recreation and opportunities to prove self-worth in dangerous environments. In the same way that a presidential candidate platforms the prominent values of the dominant ideology to get votes, “wilderness hides its unnaturalness behind a mask,” (Cronon, 69) so that it is accepted. On the other hand, wilderness spaces such as conservation parks promote surreal landscapes while hide mining, logging and development in zones off-limits to tourists. Despite the hidden hypocrisies, wilderness is widely accepted as a space of beauty, nature and …show more content…
Additionally, taking responsibility for local environments can change the way one sees nature. Forest management is trending towards community conservation practices, which gives individuals the opportunity to take care of their local environment (Khare et al., 8), putting their appreciation for nature into practice. Through transferring management rights to the community, more attention can be paid to sustainable, lower-cost practices like variable-retention logging and replanting. Additionally, local management would be less likely to accept a development for profit trade-off than governments or large corporations. Furthermore, their efforts in “biodiversity protection and ecosystem maintenance” have been recognized as significantly improving forest cover (8). Community ownership of forests is an effective way to take responsibility for the environment while wilderness encompassing both the forest and the
Q1: Social Construction of nature and Rethinking Wilderness
“The task of making a home in nature is what Wendell Berry has called “the forever unfinished lifework of our species” (Cronon, 87). Centuries ago humans lived among nature, hunting and gathering to survive. Yet the advent of agriculture pulled humans away from nature and gradually we isolated ourselves from the wilderness, only to return on occasion. From the capitalist-consumer culture to our urban centers, we have found solace in modern technology and turned away from the unpredictable environment. Consequently, it is those behavioural changes that have fabricated the divide between humans and wilderness, and produced global catastrophic environmental issues. William …show more content…
Wilderness was shaped in the image of particular groups of people by playing on their cultural values. Interweaving strong values into the landscapes stimulated a stronger response from the public through spiritual connections, opportunities for recreation and opportunities to prove self-worth in dangerous environments. In the same way that a presidential candidate platforms the prominent values of the dominant ideology to get votes, “wilderness hides its unnaturalness behind a mask,” (Cronon, 69) so that it is accepted. On the other hand, wilderness spaces such as conservation parks promote surreal landscapes while hide mining, logging and development in zones off-limits to tourists. Despite the hidden hypocrisies, wilderness is widely accepted as a space of beauty, nature and …show more content…
Additionally, taking responsibility for local environments can change the way one sees nature. Forest management is trending towards community conservation practices, which gives individuals the opportunity to take care of their local environment (Khare et al., 8), putting their appreciation for nature into practice. Through transferring management rights to the community, more attention can be paid to sustainable, lower-cost practices like variable-retention logging and replanting. Additionally, local management would be less likely to accept a development for profit trade-off than governments or large corporations. Furthermore, their efforts in “biodiversity protection and ecosystem maintenance” have been recognized as significantly improving forest cover (8). Community ownership of forests is an effective way to take responsibility for the environment while wilderness encompassing both the forest and the