Surfing is Supposed to be Paradise
Every time a new 'untouched paradise'; is discovered, the first thing everyone wants to do is visit it. By their united enthusiasm to find these 'sanctuaries'; people bring the cage of society with them. Very quickly it becomes necessary to erect bars to keep people out.
William Tucker 'Is Nature Too Good For Us?';
William Tucker's essay 'Is Nature Too Good For Us'; discusses the complications with the environmental movement to set aside pieces of land as wilderness. One of the main points of Tucker's argument brings up the problem with preserving natural land as wilderness is that these wild paradises often conflict with people's desire to visit these paradises and experience them. Tucker uses the example of Kauai as a paradise that has been ruined by the overuse and overpopulation. Tucker describes how in 1964 the Sierra Club put out an article on the relatively unknown island and by 1979 Time magazine ran an article in which some of the local people expressed their desire to keep outsiders out. The issue of protecting paradise is a hotly debated topic that is currently being fought over by surfers.
To a surfer nothing is more rewarding than the search and discovery of perfect uncrowded waves. This notion of the search for uncrowded surf was brought to the attention of the general public with the 1963 release of Bruce Brown's The Endless Summer. The film documented two surfers traveling around the world to exotic locales previously left unexplored by the surfers of Western civilization. The images that Brown brought back to mainstream movie screens forever changed the lives of surfers. This film changed how surfers viewed the world. No longer were surfers confined to their local coastlines, they were inoculated with desire to seek out their own paradise.
Over the years many surfers have found their little piece of paradise and never left. Instead these surfers have opted to spend the rest of their lives surfing the waves they initially had intended to just visit and experience. They never left these beaches because the waves were uncrowded and the beaches were breathtakingly beautiful. Compare this to the modern industrial places in the U.S such as Los Angeles or San Francisco and you can see why surfers are constantly searching for paradise. Surfers get tired of surfing in crowded, polluted, and poor wave producing areas, so they travel.
The documentary was made in 2007, with 200 plus notorious surf members including Sunny’s brothers, Koby, Jai and Dakota Abberton. It shows the cultural evolution of the inner-Sydney beachside suburb of Maroubra, a depressed suburban community East of Sydney, riddled with drugs, crime, street violence and broken families. All four boys passionately surf which helps them to cope with a disfunctional
Protecting Hawaii’s rain forest from the invasion of Corporate America is Bill McKibben’s intention as an environmentalist. His 28-paragraph article, “Power Play Endangers Hawaii’s Rain Forest,” appeared in Rolling Stone, a popular culture magazine, on May 31, 1990. He argues that producing power through geothermal drilling harms the Wao Kele o Puna rain forest, the environment, and the people that live nearby. He also presents alternative methods for power, hoping that people will consider these, such as solar-water heating systems and energy efficient gadgets. Unfortunately, his elevated, subjective stance and attempt to convince his audience through emotion distracts the reader from considering the other side of the argument because he appears to be a reliable, educated author.
From the beginning, 60s literature advocated that man have a close relationship with nature. This is easily seen in Kerouac's The Dharma Bums. In this book, he repeatedly invokes the names of older writers concerned with living a life in harmony with nature. By mentioning such writers as Muir, Thoreau, and Whitman, Kerouac makes a statement about man and nature. The behavior of the characters in the book is in keeping with this environmentalist message. The high points of the book are characterized by a nearness to nature. A good example of this is when Ray and Japhy climb the Matterhorn. The fact that Kerouac peoples his book with characters inspired by people important to the Sixties, such as Gary Snyder and Allen Ginsburg, helps tie these environmental concerns to the decade as a whole.
The Conservation movement was a driving force at the beginning of the twentieth century. It was a time during which Americans were coming to terms with their wasteful ways, and learning to conserve what they quickly realized to be limited resources. In the article from the Ladies’ Home Journal, the author points out that in times past, Americans took advantage of what they thought of as inexhaustible resources. For example, "if they wanted lumber for their houses, rails for their fences, fuel for their stoves, they would cut down half a forest at a time; and whatever they could not use or sell they would leave to rot on the ground. They never bothered their heads to inquire where more wood was coming from when this was gone" (33). The twentieth century opened with a vision towards the future, towards preserving the land that had previously been taken for granted. The Conservation movement came along around the same time as one of the first major waves of the feminist movement. With the two struggles going on: one for the freedom of nature and the other for the freedom of women, it stands to follow that they coincided. As homemakers, activists, and citizens of the United States of America, women have had an important role in Conservation.
One strength of his article is that it can easily elicit an emotional response from the more sympathetic readers and outdoor enthusiasts. Duane appeals to pathos when first setting the scene of a day in the wilderness. He describes what it would be like if one had the “good fortune” to spot a Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep in the wild. He writes, “You unwrap a chocolate bar amid breathtaking views . . . the sight fills you with awe and also with gratitude for the national parks, forests, and yes, environmental regulations that keep the American dream of wilderness alive” (Duane 1). For the audience that connects to this emotional appeal, this instantly draws them in to the article and can arouse feelings of amazement and wonder toward the sight described. It can likewise leave readers wondering whether or not this scene is truly so perfect. This statement can also appear too dramatic for those less passionate. When Duane writes, “The sight fills you with . . . gratitude for the . . . yes, environmental regulations that keep the American dream of wilderness alive,” it seems almost untrue, as most people do not think twice about the environmental regulations that keep animals in their
The advent of industrialization and mankind's insatiable quest to devour nature has resulted in a potentially catastrophic chaos. Our race against time to sate the ever-increasing numbers of hungry stomachs has taken toll on the environment. Man has tried to strip every resource Earth has to offer and has ruthlessly tried to eliminate any obstruction he perceived. Nature is an independent entity which has sustained and maintained the balance existing within it. Traditionally, spring season hosts the complete magnificence of nature in full bloom. It is evident in the very first chapter when Rachel Carson talks about a hypothetical village which was the epitome of natural rural beauty and was a delightful scenery for the beholder. The village
The Earth Island Journal comes from the Earth Island Institute, an environmental foundation which is dedicated to the protecting of our worlds environment, plants, and animals. It did seem strange that in the mission statement they mentioned one living thing to save, the sea turtle. They were created in 1982, and have 32 worldwide projects. Their journal, the Earth Island Journal, is said to be a “tree free” print. What is it printed on I wonder? This article focuses on more than Lake Powell; it talks about the 11 dams which are now on the Colorado, and the ecological changes which are taking place along the whole of the river. It uses examples from the Glen Canyon dam to help the argument, but still does not talk about any positive changes in the Colorado River ecosystem.
Environmentalist and desert-lover, Edward Abbey in his essay “The Great American Desert” warns readers about the perilous dangers of the American deserts while simultaneously stirring curiosity about these fascinating ecosystems. He both invites and dissuades his readers from visiting the deserts of North America through the use of humor and sarcasm. In this essay, he is rhetorically successful in arguing that the open spaces of the undeveloped deserts are sacred places in need of respect and protection through his clever use of pathos and logos.
Surfing has come a long way since it was first conceived (roughly 1500 years ago). From the Polynesian “watermen” and Hawaiian Kings, to the European takeover in Hawaii and surfing's American debut in the early twentieth century and all the way through present day, surfing has had a rich history. Over the decades, surfing has fit in to a number of roles in society, but whether we surfers are seen as beach-bums or heroes (as of late), we still surf only because we love it, because the ocean’s calls us, because nothing else on this planet can create the sensation felt by riding a wave.
From the lone hiker on the Appalachian Trail to the environmental lobby groups in Washington D.C., nature evokes strong feelings in each and every one of us. We often struggle with and are ultimately shaped by our relationship with nature. The relationship we forge with nature reflects our fundamental beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. The works of timeless authors, including Henry David Thoreau and Annie Dillard, are centered around their relationship to nature.
Since 1840 the Hawaiian Islands have been an escape to a tropical paradise for millions of tourists. People all over the world encounter alluring, romanticized pictures of Hawai'i's lush, tropical vegetation, exotic animals, beautiful beaches, crystal clear water, and fantastical women. This is the Hawai'i tourists know. This is the Hawai’i they visit. However, this Hawai'i is a state of mind, a corporate-produced image existing on the surface. More precisely, it is an aftermath of relentless colonization of the islands' native inhabitants by the United States. These native Hawaiians experience a completely different Hawai'i from the paradise tourists enjoy. No one makes this as clear as Haunani-Kay Trask, a native Hawaiian author. In her book, From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawai'i and through her poetry in Light in the Crevice Never Seen, Trask provides an intimate account of the tourist industry's impact on native Hawaiian culture. She presents a negative perspective of the violence, pollution, commercial development, and cultural exploitation produced by the tourist industry. Trask unveils the cruel reality of suffering and struggling through a native Hawaiian discourse. Most of the world is unaware of this.
Jim is an innocent young man, living on the coast of Queensland. In this peaceful town, everybody is happy and at peace with themselves and with nature. The people enjoy the simple pleasures of life - nature, birds, and friendly neighbourly conversations. Their days are filled with peaceful walks in the bush, bird watching and fishing. Jim and his friends especially enjoy the serenity of the sanctuary and the wonders of nature that it holds.
Both “The Clan of One-Breasted Women” and “An Entrance to the Woods,” gives a viewpoint on the human relationship with nature. Terry Tempest Williams critizes man for being ruthless when it comes to nature and other humans. Wendell Berry believes similarly the same thing. He believes that man needs nature just as much as they need civilization. However, regardless of the differences, both writers offer an insightful perspective on the forever changing relationship between man and nature. And this relationship is, and always will be, changing.
* Daily, Gretchen C., ed. Nature’s Services: Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1997.
Journeys into the wilderness test far more than the physical boundaries of the human traveler. Twentieth century wilderness authors move beyond the traditional travel-tour approach where nature is an external diversion from everyday life. Instead, nature becomes a catalyst for knowing our internal wilderness and our universal connections to all living things. In Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing, Mary Austin’s Land of Little Rain, and Gary Snyder’s The Practice of the Wild, “nature” mirrors each narrator: what the narrators ultimately discover in the wilderness reflects what needs they bring to it. Their points of view, expectations, and awareness all determine their experiences of the wild and “self.” Ultimately, however, each work reveals that the experience of nature need not be restricted only to “self-discovery,” but may well expand to an understanding of the spiritual “family self.”