Our Impact on Nature - assignment 3/2/10

Rachel Carson's essay, Silent Spring, reminds us the fact that humans have a great impact upon the Earth and nature. She sets the story up well and backs her beliefs with good facts and experiments supporting her side. I am slightly torn on this issue. I grew up on a farm and know that pesticides are vital to growing a good crop. On the other hand, humans have been neglectful of the environment and how we affect it. I believe it is essential to find a balance so that we can make produce efficiently but preserve the environment by doing more experiments with new chemicals before they are commercially used. Chemicals can done be banned or farmers would have a very hard time making a living and this would affect the prices in other markets too much.

Friends of Nature - assignment 2/25

John Muir's, My First Summer in the Sierra, is a descriptive piece of writing that is unmatched compared to any other excerpt in this book. His words painted scenes and he gave every detail so anyone could visualize his story. The way he told his experiences of the animals he met made me feel like I was right there with him, watching the scene unfold. I was quite surprised in how different My First Summer in the Sierra was compared to A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf. To me, the style of the two writings contrasted in their descriptiveness and the way the story was told. I was amazed that both were written by the same author. These stories might have been written during different periods of Muir's life.

The Rulers of the Earth - assignment 2/25

It was very interesting to read John Muir's religious views on human superiority. Although his writing was hard to follow, he clearly emphasized how humans believe that anything it can't conquer is considered evil. He made a point that it is important to realize when God created everything, everything was created equal. We should not despise creatures or places just because they can hurt or kill us. I fully believe Muir's views and I think we should take them into consideration.

Campaign for the Parks

Wendell Berry's essay, "Preserving Wildness", makes a very good point in revealing the flaws of national parks. His writing captures the readers because of the way he is able to describe his ideas as tangible things. Some of his metaphors are amusing to say the least and the list of ideas he makes in his writing gets straight to the point and does not distract the reader from the focus of the story. I enjoyed reading Berry's point of view on change for national parks.

The Indian Way - assignment 2/18

"A First American Views His Land", tells about the history of our land. The structure of the story is different than most. About every 2 pages, a poem consisting of one or two word lines is inserted. I honestly do not understand the impact the poems are supposed to provide on the reader. I liked how the beginning explains human's changing views of the land and its uses. I find it interesting how Native Americans find a hard time comprehending the fact that we put ownership on land. I admire the way Native Americans view the land because I don't think any of us could feel as connected to it as they are.

Living a New Life - assignment 2/16

It is clear that Henry David Thoreau has an unique writing style. He does an excellent job describing his experience of building a cabin and living in the woods. Much like "Into the Wild", Thoreau explains how being immersed in nature can purify the mind. I didn't care for his way structuring sentences. They seemed to be run on sentences and this made it hard to follow and comprehend his story. Despite his style of writing, everyone should be able to take something from Thoreau's works.