But I NEED it!

Durning and Williams pieces really made me stop and think about myself as a consumer. Do I, being just one of billions, really consume enough to have an impact on the environment?

I consume on a daily basis. I can't function without that coffee every morning. I have a coffee maker, but why take up precious time to make my own when I can just buy one on my way to class?

I'm a bit of a technology geek. I NEED the latest and greatest. They came out with a new cell phone? Mine. That brand new Macbook Pro. Mine. If I don't have the newest gadgets how will I function?

Actually thinking about the amount of unnecessary "stuff" I consume makes me question my lifestyle. Thinking that since I'm just one person I don't really impact the world around me is foolish. That kind of thinking is the reason our environment is being ruined. We live in a society of take, take, take. We see it, we want it, we get it.

The simple things in life just don't cut it anymore. We aren't happy enough with having a family who loves us and a job that keeps food on the table. We need more. We have been taught our whole lives that money is happiness, and the things we can buy with it are even better. Everyone aspires to be the next Oprah. Not because of the great things she has done, but because she can buy anything her heart desires.

I'm not saying that working hard and becoming successful is a bad thing, but using that success to consume more than necessary is.

After reflecting on how much I consume, I want to make an effort to reduce it. I can make my own coffee, and get a reusable mug. I realize I don't need to be the first with the new technology. Consuming is something that everyone has to do. It's part of life. But being smarter about how we consume will only benefit us, and our future generations.

Are you kidding me?

"Today, there is no place in the lower 48 states farther than 30 miles from a road."

That is a quote from Ted Kerasote's "What We Talk About When We Talk About Wilderness". This quote not only got me thinking, but it made me a little angry. At first I almost didn't believe it. How could this really be true? Have we as a nation really tainted this beautiful place that much?

Indeed, there is a problem with the way we treat our environment. We have a misconstrued idea of our place on this earth. The fact that we have the ability to control where wilderness is and isn't doesn't make it right. We view nature as a "thing". As if it only exists when we want it to. Fencing it off and limiting where and when it can be experienced. It disgust me, and the more I learn about our pathetic "Holier Than Thou" ways the more enraged it makes me.

The fact is nature isn't something we can control forever, regardless of how big our egos are.

Lions, Tigers, and Bears

William Cronon's, "The Trouble with Wilderness" got my mind racing with thoughts and memories about how I viewed wilderness, and questioning whether or not my view was correct. I grew up in a very small town where there was no shortage of wilderness, or so I thought. Before reading Cronon's piece I thought of wilderness as being anywhere with trees and wildlife. I realize now, that is a very narrow way of thinking about something so amazing. Wilderness is more than just a place you will find animals and trees. Wilderness is a part of every person on this planet. Whether we believe it or not we have a deep connection with wilderness, deeper than most people realize. I believe it is conceded and ignorant to think, as humans, we are better than the very place that has made us.

The beauty and tranquility of wilderness is often taken for granted. I'm sure there are many people who have never even set foot inside a forest. The peacefulness that radiates from wilderness is what makes it great. I love taking a walk through the woods. Being out in nature walking among the wildlife, breathing in the fresh air and enjoying something so natural is a feeling you can't find anywhere else. As a species we should stop ruining one of the last natural connections we have with our earth.

Everyone talks about going green and saving the trees, but I feel it is put on the back burner most of the time. We are very "right now" kind of people. If we want something we need it right then. If we want a new mall, then we will just chop down ten more acres and build one. I find it mind blowing how we talk about saving the earth so much, but only if it means we don't have to lose our shiny new SUV. To me it's a joke. We are going to keep pushing and pushing until the earth finally pushes back. I don't think we fully have come to grips with how powerful the earth is. It is a living thing, and no living thing goes down without a fight.

So I leave you with this. What happens when the earth decides it's had enough?