The Control Of Nature By John Mcphee

In his book, The Nature Principle, Richard Louv talks about how nature is a natural resource to many of the problems we as humans are facing today, if we would just go outside and take advantage of it. Louv talks about how we (as American’s) have increased our use of technology vastly in the last ten years. While this is not comply bad, it does have negative effects on our physical, emotional and spiritual being if not kept in check. Louv goes on to share that, “the more high tech we become, the more nature we need” (Louv, 2011). Think about a time you have sat in your office for hours on end, working on your computer, at last lunch time came and you went outside for just five minutes because you forgot something in your car. In just those few minutes of going outside, you might have noticed a slight increase in your happiness level. Can you then venture to understand how this could be applied to children, or even increased with taking more time to enjoy nature? Richard Louv challenges his readers to not only be in nature, but to live with nature (Louv, 2011) .

In “The Changing Nature of Nature: Environmental Politics in the Anthropocene” environmental politician Paul Wapner depicts the human impacts on nature, and their significant intervention in ecosystem dynamics. His research outlines the “end of nature” (Wapner, 37) and aims to put emphasis on the beginning of the Anthropocene, suggesting that we are finally realizing that nature is not merely a material object. With this in mind, Wapner argues that the ways in which we protect nature should be significantly different, this, justifying his study. In order to form an argument, Wapner begins by summarizing a general piece of academic research, and through this is then able to provide an organized overview of the logic of his argument. The alternation

Since the mining of Natural gases and energy, Emissions of greenhouse gasses have been slowly releasing into the atmosphere. This happens by burning the natural gases to create energy for our vehicles or even lawnmowers. On Earth we utilize a lot of energy to maintain a lifestyle we know and love today. But most forms of energy, cars and Farming produce large amounts of green-house gases that can heat and change the earth's atmosphere permanently and cause the ice caps to slowly melt because of constant heating.

Alexander Von Humboldt was a Prussian naturalist whose work has helped shape and define our modern understanding of nature. He used enlightenment rationalism to navigate his way through life and his deep connection to his natural environment inspired a visionary movement in ushering out the monotheistic creationist worldview. “Humboldt’s books, diaries and letters reveal a visionary, a thinker far ahead of his time. He invented isotherms...discovered the magnetic equator...came up with the idea of vegetation and climate zones that snake across the globe…and revolutionized the way we see the natural world.” (Invention of Nature, 5). Although his work was extensive, author of ‘The Invention of Nature, Andrea Wulf suggests that his work has largely been forgotten due to his polymath approach of including art, history, poetry and politics that made him unfavorable. While Humboldt gave us our concept of nature itself, “the irony is that Humboldt’s views have become so self-evident that we have largely forgotten the man behind them.” However, although his work individual work may be overlooked, Humboldt’s success in making science more accessible work and as a result, his legacy lives on as the source of inspiration for many influential thinkers throughout history.

The human race all around the world wonders if the climate is changing due to human activity or if it is just a natural occurrence. At certain parts of the Earth's surface, the climate can be observed much differently than other locations. As the years go by the average temperature of the Earth increases by little intervals. There are several different reasons why people believe the climate is changing every year. However, the increase of worldwide population and production of heat to the atmosphere is due to the increase of human activities that take place on a daily basis. Human activity is the main cause of the global climate change. The human impact on climate exceeds any known changes due to natural processes. The impact of this human activity is often misunderstood when looking at climate change.

Chris McCandless probably wasn’t the first to think, “When you want something in life, you just gotta reach out and grab it.” In the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer and the short story “Nature” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, they both have the belief that by living off of nature and preserving it, the closer one will come to understanding the nature of nature.

One of the first topics that environmental historians sought to examine was the relationship between nature and military strategy. The bulk of these initial studies analyze the how both Union and Confederate forces focused their strategies around the acquisition of natural resources such as food and horses in order to gain an advantage on the battlefield. Ted Steinberg was one of the first to adapt this approach to his research in his book Down to Earth: Nature’s Role in History. In his chapter on the Civil War, Steinberg argues that the conflict was essentially a “great food fight” and proceeds to detail how generals on both sides of the conflict had to accommodate their military strategies around the procurement of food. While Steinberg notes

Kerry Emanuel starts off by explaining that the Earth’s climate does not naturally stabilize (hence the chapter title, “The Myth of Natural Stability”) and that even the slightest human interaction could send our climate on a downward spiral that we may not be able to recover from. Emanuel also talks about what he calls the, “two strands of environmental philosophy”, which is simply the scientific vs. religious or mythological view of the stability of the natural state of the universe. The scientific viewpoint credits things like heliocentricity and continental drift, while the other claims that the floods and comets were the works of god or gods.

The choices that we make today will impact our tomorrow. Whether we realize it or not, every single time we do something, we are making a choice. Many of these choices are subliminal, such as the direction we walk or the way we carry ourselves, but some choices impact the way people look at us. More importantly, some choices impact how successful we are in various things. I chose to write about choices because choices are single handedly the most important thing in the world. Everything we do on a daily basis is a choice, and choices are important to me as a person because they are something I am trying to get better at. The choices made in preparation for assorted events are undoubtedly the most important choices that can be made in our

In the piece “Selling out on nature” (McCauley, 2006), Douglas J. McCauley describes how conservation efforts are fueled by the economic advantages it possesses and are carried out solely for the purpose of benefiting our economic markets. McCauley states that ecosystem services are “economic benefits provided by natural ecosystems” (27), arguing that the only incentive for mankind to save nature depends on how profitable nature can be. He emphasizes that our attention should not be put forth in commodifying nature but rather, inculcating respect and love for it so that we can preserve it for many years to come. I oppose McCauley’s argument because it’s impractical and unachievable. Humanity will

In regards to our treatment of nature, you write, “Today, however, the population has grown to the point that nature itself is threatened but we have no ethical tools with which to protect and defend nature.” This problem has existed for quite some time, but has just not began to go widely noticed. A philosopher in his own right, Daniel Quinn, speaks of similar topics using his character, Ishmael, to do so. To best describe this scenario, Ishmael had a poster which read, “With man gone, will there be hope for gorilla?” this quote in itself hold little meaning until you take the deeper meaning by using gorilla as nature; Quinn speaks throughout the book of how earth was not created for man, man is just one more short portion of earth’s history and will be seen as such when times change. The meaning of this quote then becomes, will earth have any hope if man dies? This interpretation requires the assumption that man controls nature, he takes care of it, rather than being a part of it and respecting it. At the conclusion of the book, Quinn shows the other side of the poster which held the quote and it reads, “with gorilla gone, will there be hope for man?” Again, once realizing gorilla is a euphemism for nature, we realize nature what Quinn has been preaching the entire book, man does not control nature, nature was not created for man, but man is slowly killing it. On your statement, saying the population is too great for nature to sustain everyone, I completely agree. Too

The following quote reveals the outcome and effect of modifying creations made by mother nature, “sinkholes broke out, opening in people’s backyards, full of hot steam and carbon monoxide” (Briceno); proving that modifying establishments made by nature can injure humanity. The people living in the area were killed or had their personal belongings destroyed. Also, not so long ago, Mexico suffered a 7.4 magnitude earthquake that destroyed several of people’s homes and unfortunately killed hundreds of people. Nonetheless, the author is trying to confirm that this all goes back to us to the people. We contribute to the environments global warming that leads to certain

Global Warming has silently crept into our society today because of big business, lack of technology, and greed. And now with a new generation of citizens who understand what we have been doing to our earth have to stand up and do what is right. Global Warming refers to the increase in the earth’s average temperature induced by human activity. Most discussions on Global Warming today show similarities between an increase in global temperature and the increase in carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, and chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere. Human activity increases the amount of these gases in the atmosphere and, as a result of the greenhouse effect, increases

​On one side of the political spectrum, politicians tend to believe that the Earth goes through natural processes or “cycles” over time. This theory is more of an abstract idea, because there is no math or science

In the last 100 years, Earth’s average temperature has risen by 1.4°F. The rising global temperatures have caused changes in weather and climate. Global warming refers to the ongoing rise in the average temperature near Earth’s surface. This is causing a climate change, which refers to any significant change (major change in temperature, precipitation, or wind patterns) in the measures of climate lasting for an extended period of time (several decades or longer). Due to this, it is projected that the temperature will rise from 2 to 11.5°F in the next hundred years (US EPA, 2014). The “drivers,” which are the principal causes making this occur, are very controversial. It is debated whether a change in temperature is due to the work of