Analysis Of Edward Abbey's 'Industrial Tourism And The National Parks'

Edward Abbey is one of the most unique figures in the environmentalist movement. Much of what he wrote was in opposition to the government, and the way the government protected and interacted with the natural world. Because of Abbey’s blatant criticism of this part of environmentalism, he inspired the militant environmentalist group Earth First!, which often hurts others for the sake of the environment. For this reason, they are on the terrorist watch list. His vision of nature seems to be of enjoying nature alone, without other people or the government intervening. Thus, he drove a gas-guzzling car and littered along the highway in hopes that people would have to move to the cities sooner. He also may have done this as a petty act of rebellion against the government in the form of making the government-owned roads dirty. Still, Abbey is a seemingly contradictory character; however, all his writing and actions somehow support his

He didn’t like this idea: “We have agreed not to drive our automobiles into cathedrals, concert halls, art museums, legislative assemblies, private bedrooms and the other sanctums of our culture; we should treat our national parks with the same deference, for they, too, are holy places” (427). He didn’t want the road, as he believed that people should slow down and take in the scenery while respecting the natural landscape. With a road in, Abbey suspects, everyone would just drive their cars all over the park without getting out to look closely or really see any part of the park. This would also attract more people, which would make the park more like a city than a wilderness. Still, Abbey’s not wanting there to be too many people visiting seems to be more of a selfish wish than anything