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Summary Of Rethinking The Wild By Christopher Solomon Essay
1530 Words7 Pages
Humanity co-exists with nature in a relationship that periodically shifts between symbiotic and parasitic. We maintain this relationship in order to survive. In exchange, we carefully monitor how our behavior alters the natural environment and affects those living within it. This responsibility is the price we pay for our species’ sentience and dominance. To help fulfill our duty, America established the 1954 Wilderness Act in hopes of becoming passive “guardians” of nature instead of encroaching “gardeners.” However, the Wilderness Act has failed. In his article, “Rethinking the Wild”, Christopher Solomon questions the effectiveness of the law and correctly concludes that, after fifty years of dormancy, mankind must take an active role in environmental protection, the role of the gardener. Though critics may argue that the passivity of the “guardian” should be maintained, realistically, little can be done to preserve the environment when we refuse to do anything. Because mankind has a greater stake in the wilderness than we realize, we must assume a proactive role in protecting the wilderness out of respect for nature and our own ethical standards.
Boundaries and Investments
Assume for the sake of our argument that nature holds no intrinsic value. Why, then, is the wilderness worth protecting? Truthfully, the wilderness can be a valuable indicator of the planet’s overall health, which is not easily gauged in industrialized and populated areas due to human influence.