Yong Scared To Death

As a child, I unraveled nature’s beauty and existence. Each new experience brought me feelings of excitement and joy, sparkling my imagination and igniting my curiosity. It all seemed so large back then. Oceans appeared endless as they reached towards the horizon. Treetops seemed to make friends with the puffy-looking clouds as they soared to the sky. Over the years however, as I have grown older and life has become more complex, I am beginning to think less and less about the natural world around me. I glimpse sunset stuck in rush-hour traffic trying to return school after debate practices and only listen to the pitter-patter of the rain when there’s a storm outside. Forests and oceans seemed less appealing as they became intertwined with the urban development. In a way, I was becoming more and more distanced from the so-called nature. So, with an overwhelming desire for adventure and to escape the masses, my family and I drove to Big Bend National Park in Southwest Texas last summer.

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land, A Photographic Journey is an editorial that argues in favor of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and how it must be protected from the dangers of human industrialization and oil exploration that would surely destroy the land. The author of the passage dwelves into great detail about the vast, untouched beauty of the Arctic Refuge and how its majesty is among the greatest things he has witnessed. Banerjee, however, fails to support his argument using substantial facts that might otherwise sway skeptics. For instance, Banerjee states: “I was saddened to think of the tragedy that might occur if this great wilderness was consumed by a web of roads and pipelines, drilling rigs and industrial facilities”. The author here uses an ethos and pathos standpoint, coming from the perspective of personal experience and opinion of how distraught he should feel if the land were

By using Pathos, Carter makes a strong emotional argument for the preservation of the wildlife refuge. Carter first uses fear of loss to motivate his audience. Carter even says, “I was saddened to think of the tragedy that might occur if this great wilderness was consumed by a web of roads and pipelines… ” (Carter 4). Carter uses imagery and speaks of the tragedy of a world where the wildlife refuge was lost. However, Carter also makes an emotional argument for the promise of gain. Throughout the article Carter refers to the refuge in many ways such as a “special birthplace” (Carter 3), “America’s Serengeti” (Carter 3), and “America’s last truly great wilderness” (Carter 1). Jimmy Carter explains, “It would be a grand triumph for America if we can preserve the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge… To leave this extraordinary land alone would be the greatest gift we can pass on to future generations.” Carter clearly aims to instill a sense that much will be gained emotionally by keeping the refuge

• The citizens appear to have some sort of fear of the outside world known as the Uncharted Forest. In the Uncharted Forest there is thought to be scarce food, wild beasts, and ruined cities it has grown over.

This type of exposure to wilderness is merely an extension of the many desires that are inherent in the American culture to which society is dependent. In other words, wilderness has become part of the consumer society, the same society that deep ecology claims to aim to reconceive. Guha refers to this as a consequence of economic and political dominance. This dominance leads to wilderness being a manifestation of American nationalism. Admittedly, the American national park system is one of America’s defining characteristics. Hence, Guha states that Western civilization is the ideal medium for both wilderness and civilization to live in conjunction yet this medium dismisses its economical and social consequences.

Since the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone they have created an astounding and advantageous trophic cascade. A trophic cascade is an ecological phenomenon triggered by the addition or removal of top predators and involving reciprocal changes in the relative populations of predator and prey through a food chain. These often result in dramatic changes in ecosystem structure and nutrient cycling. In a three-level food chain, an increase (or decrease) in carnivores causes a decrease (or increase) in herbivores and an increase (or decrease) in primary producers such as plants and phytoplankton according to briticanna (how to make better). The entire ecosystem was able to become whole again because the wolves, a key species, were reintroduced. Now this may seem weird, a predator comes into the area a begins to kill animals, how can this be beneficial in any way? Well the fact of the matter is that it is extremely beneficial. The reason being the problem in Yellowstone was the overpopulation of the elk. These elk had no predators, they were free to roam and reproduce, and they did this very well. Now elk are also a

“Restoring an ecologically complete ecosystem in Yellowstone requires the return of willows--and with them, beavers. There's a clear threshold for ecosystem recovery. Willow stands must be more than 6 feet tall, the scientists found. That height is important, says Marshall. Then willows are beyond the reach of browsing elk, and can serve as seed sources for new young willows. Once willows have returned, beavers will gnaw down a certain number of them to build dams. The dams will further slow stream flow, allowing yet more willows to grow. The results offer new insights on the role of wolf-driven trophic cascades in the Yellowstone ecosystem, says Hobbs. Trophic cascades like that in Yellowstone occur when predators--or the lack thereof--in an ecosystem change the abundance or alter traits of their prey, in turn affecting the next lower trophic level.” ("National Science Foundation", 2013)

Ed Yong makes very valid points on how the wolves of Yellowstone have impacted the overly populated elk herds. He has this to say about the herds; “Today the population stands at just over 6,000 down from 19,000 in the elk’s wolf-free heyday,” (ll57). This might seem like a terrible drop in the elk’s numbers, but it is actually a good thing. Yong tells us, “The large deer had run amok in the wolf-free decades, causing serious damage to the park’s trees,” (ll5-6). So in reality, while there are far less elk now, the trees can start to build back up again.

When herbivorous species such as white-tailed deer and elks are the main predators in a habitat, they create an imbalance in the habitat, and force other species in the habitat to go extinct. Natural predation also has a stronger impact in stabilizing or reducing the population of white-tailed deer than human hunting alone. One of the main reasons for the overpopulation of the deer was the extinction of their predators. Every animal in the food web is highly important in keeping the balance in the ecosystem. Yellowstone National Park was a great example of how every species support the

The text explains to the reader about the importance of wolves in the Yellowstone National Park and how they affect the environment around them. The book is written in a way so it does not seem like and it is informational but is giving the reader a great deal of facts. Information such as how the wolves were forced to leave the park, and the cause and effect relationships of their absence and reintroduction. George illustrates how the food chain works in the text, and how a domino effect can happen by human interference in the ecosystem.

The Yaak Valley of northern Montana is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the continental United States. It has cores of roadless wilderness that have been untouched by human activity and I believe that they should remain as such. The biodiverse ecosystem of the Yaak Valley benefits its human and non-human inhabitants and we should protect it from the detrimental effects of human activities, especially the violent changes caused by large timber companies and their practice of clear-cut logging. There are sustainable and pragmatic solutions that would address both human needs and protecting the biodiverse ecosystem.

McCandless does not know how to gauge nature’s dangers because of his shallow view of it. McCandless often focuses on the superficial, more physical view of nature and never really takes into account the possible dangers it might pose. McCandless says that “there is all kinds of fantastic scenery and the climate is wonderful” and that “the

In this article, authors William Ripple and Robert Beschta focus on the issue of predation and the way it affects biodiversity and otherwise alters ecosystems. While many other studies have stressed the lethal effects of predation by carnivores, the authors of this study have chosen to focus on how nonlethal outcomes of predation affect the structure and function of ecosystems. The authors give two main objectives to their study: first to provide a short synthesis of the potential ecosystem responses to predation risk in a three-level trophic cascade involving large carnivores, hoofed animals, and vegetation; and secondly to present research that centers on wolves, elk, and woody browse species in the northern area of Yellowstone National

Brokaw depicts nature as this delicate being unable to protect itself leaving it dependent on the human race. “All of God’s creatures are now counting on us to make sure it stays good,” throughout the poem Brokaw has one repetitive idea, that nature is counting on us, and that it’s a gentle object. Brokaw is extremely relatable when it comes to this idea, most believe that nature can be dangerous, but we only really experience the backyard cuddling nature. We feel that we are lucky to see the coyote or the bear; because they are afraid of us, the question is should we be afraid of them? Personally nature is something we look for on hikes, on kayaking trips, not because we want to be put in danger, but because we want to experience and see what needs to be protected.

Paton uses Anaphora of “the fear” to explain man’s relationship with each other by quoting, ‘ the fear of the unknown, the fear of the great city” (Paton 44). The repetition of “the fear” creates a fearful tone describing the city as a place full of terror. In quote, “Dead, down the fear of