The world is full of many places and over time those places begin to change. Sometimes it is for the better and others it is for the worse but people don’t realize the effect that place has on other things, or how it relates to the future. Throughout this paper I will discuss the historical findings about my place, Honey Creek Park in West Allis, WI, and the reasoning behind why I think that if we don’t fix the way we view environmental places, whether it is a park, city, building, forest, etc that we will develop the world into a place where humans are its unworthy inhabitants. My place exists by a three way intersection and about six point three acres or two hundred and seventy four thousand, eight hundred and ninety six feet squared. On the left side, while standing at the entrance off 84th street, the park consists of a small field where a local high school has football practice, two baseball diamonds and then another open field which runs into a local alternative school for high school students which run into two …show more content…
Next to the tennis courts there are more trees and you can follow a dirt path which then the gazebo comes into view. Sometimes people will play music here, but it mostly goes unused. Continuing along the path you eventually come to a split in the road which is back by the bridge and either leads to the big water tower or you can take the other path which leads to the historical part of the park. Taking the historical pathway of the park there are some benches and some trees, following it a little bit more you pass an old log schoolhouse, the cemetery, a weird part of a jail cell that has “police” written above it, and then you finally reach the West Allis Historical Society which is also a museum showing artifacts from when the building used to be a schoolhouse. The West Allis Historical Society is a non-profit organization and goes off
In Mark Fiege’s book “The Republic of Nature,” the author embarks on an elaborate, yet eloquent quest to chronicle pivotal points in American history from an environmental perspective. This scholarly work composed by Fiege details the environmental perspective of American history by focusing on nine key moments showing how nature is very much entrenched in the fibers that manifested this great nation. The author sheds light on the forces that shape the lands of America and humanities desire to master and manipulate nature, while the human individual experience is dictated by the cycles that govern nature. The story of the human experience unfolds in Mark Fiege’s book through history’s actors and their challenges amongst an array of environmental possibilities, which led to nature being the deciding factor on how
Cronon, William “The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature” ed., Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature, New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1995, 69-90
When people see new construction or a recently paved road, they often do not realize the sacrifice that was made to create these luxuries. Most people pass some form of construction on the way to their jobs or school every day. This simple fact sparks questions regarding what this area looked like before it was inhabited by humans. Illinois forests have undergone drastic changes in the decades since European settlement. Only 31 % of the forest area present in 1820 exists today. (Iverson Pdf) Tearing down trees to build new structures isn’t bad if done in moderation, in some ways with time and good planning its wonderful. However, anyone that hunts or claims to be an outdoorsman will relate to the incomparable feeling experienced when alone in the woods and far from the hustle of the urbanized world.
Yosemite a plagiarism of the garden of Eden, in the first place Yosemite was inhabited by native Indians, Awahneechee tribe who called the land Awahnee “ place of a gaping mouth”. The “white man” came and took the land from the Awahneechee burning down any Indian homes found, after the destruction of the Awahneechee tribe the “white man” before leaving the park decided to name the land. Yosemite, thought to be the name of the tribe that inhabited the land, the industrialists, only interested in making money and violence, thought that driving out the native Indians from the land would prove an effective idea. The destruction of the Awahneechee Indians would give the men free roam of the land with no native interference, also giving free treatment of the land to their will. the name Yosemite in native tongue means “people who should be feared” meaning “they are killers”. A few years after the group of “Mariposa Battalion” left another group of “white men” came, but they were not armed for violence, but were tourists (The National Park: America‘s Best Idea). The industrialists raping the land, not simply picking flowers from the meadow, destruction, a literal hell in paradise. The only thing they have interest in was their on selfish wants, the land, the money, the irresistible hunger for power. Man has always been eager to make his way to the top, not caring who he brings down, steps on, humiliates, or even ruins. Man a beast, extremely hard to control like a mad bull in a china shop destroying everything in its path, only receiving the circumstances at a later date. Man has always been tricked, whether by human or beast it always ends the same way, with disaster.
Daniel Duane addresses a pressing modern anxiety surrounding technology’s destruction of the natural world. Duane is an author of seven books and many articles featured in The New York Times and Food & Wine. Also an editor for Men’s Journal, Duane’s experiences in rock climbing, science, and the beauty of the outdoors make his writings seem more passionate and credible. He recently wrote the article “The Unnatural Kingdom” in The New York Times explaining his ideas towards technological advancements and their effects on wildlife. In his article, Duane offers insights to the question, “If technology helps save the wilderness, will the wilderness still be wild?” (Duane 1). He utilizes kairos, pathos, ethos, logos, and other rhetorical devices,
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
Located just beyond the south entrance to the park is the visitors center and ranger station. Here you can find maps to trails, information about camping, fishing and boating, and information about the flora and fauna to be found within the park. This is a good place to start your visit, get oriented, and plan your day.
People in the northern United States during the early nineteenth century wanted to rapidly industrialize and increase the amount of money they were making. The Erie Canal they believed was a great way to reduce the distance and time of shipping goods to the west. They also realized that the canal would probably increase their markets, which would mean a larger profit. The problem with all of this was how people had to destroy parts of nature in order for this to happen. Nathaniel Hawthorne, a prominent writer during the time, described the canal as “too rapid, unthinking advance of progress.” (57) Hawthorne and his supporters were very upset to see how forests and swamps were being destroyed and ruined in order t...
The environment in America today is far from Eden, but there is a valiant battle being fought by many to return the earth to a more "natural" state. Green and clean is the preferred vision of the future1. This trend towards environmental awareness, or environmentalism, is a prominent theme in today’s American society. Politics, industry, marketing, and media all use the environment as a means to sell themselves. With such a high profile, it seems almost unbelievable that there was a time when the word environment was little known or not used. However, the period was not so long ago. Even before World War II nature was referred to as wilderness and wilderness existed to serve humans2. The shift from nature existing to serve humans to humans protecting the environment was not a very complex project, but rather one of many small influences and their resulting effects. Hence, the rise of environmentalism in American society is the result of gradual social changes, which created a shift in social values.
The construction of Stanley Park is important to the environmental history of Canada as it shows how we valued nature in the past and possibly in the present. The building of the park was meant to help with the health and mental wellness of the people of the country, however, it did not take into account the value of the ecosystem itself. This can be an indication of the stance that was present about nature at the time and how it was only seen for the value that is visible, but not the invisible services it provides. This point can be further proved by the fact that many aspects of the park were actually altered by humans and yet called “pristine”. The building of the roads, causeways, and seawalls all changed the ecology and landscape of the park and all these changes were for the benefit of the people that were using the area.
Many years ago, people saw the wilderness as a savage wasteland, but today, it is viewed as “the last remaining place where civilization, that all too human disease, has not fully infected the earth.” (Cronon) He discusses this changed point of view by stating the difficulties that society will have rectifying environmental ailments if it stops viewing wilderness as “a dualistic picture in which the human is completely outside the nature.” (Cronon) This is understandable because humans rely on others to create opinions, and they do not know how to form their own thoughts and solutions to issues such as environmental ones. Therefore, it is with great importance that humans begin to learn how to formulate their own thoughts and share those personal thoughts with others, such as sharing solutions about environmental
In Does a Place Still Have Value When It’s Not Use to People the author Jason Mark, writes about how nature is taken over by man. Beginning his article, he talks about how the peaceful noises that make nature peaceful are overpowered by mans machines. These being background to his journey to find a place untouched by the noises and destruction of man, article talks about how in order to find a place untouched by man one must go to great lengths to find it, as is his journey. Once it has been found there are many parts of nature that go unnoticed that will continue to be but just because they are unnoticed does not lessen their value to nature or make them any less beautiful. Mark ends his article by talking about how man is ending multiple species on earth and how his peaceful oasis will no longer be full of the natural beauty that it once held. Mark overall discussing how there is natural beauty that will go unnoticed yet that doesn’t take away from the beauty of it.
This anthropocentric theme continues throughout his narrative but is personified on a societal level. This matter is first introduced in the chapter “Polemic: Industrial Tourism and The National Parks.” In this chapter Abbey notes the expansionist nature of the industrial economy and how it is affecting the national parks. Abbey critiques arguments for uni...
Flourishing nature is most beauteous in areas which have not been maimed by the human race. The idea that spiritual and philosophical wellness can be found in nature is supported world-wide. Many different cultures use their eco-rich surroundings to become more spiritually/philosophically endowed. In the short story “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett there are two fundamental relationships with society and nature that reflect the author’s point of view in support of this idea. The first is a good example of how nature can positively affect the spiritual/philosophical wellness of a person through an appreciative, loving, and tolerant relationship (Sylvia). The second is a destructive, parasitic relationship that is only beneficial to one party (the hunter). Sylvia struggles with her loyalty to her own innocence and respect of nature because of the exciting new possibilities the hunter promises to her. I will elaborate on topics such as the nature of Sylvia’s relationships, the narrator’s point of view, and the writing style in the text to demonstrate an understanding of how the author saw the relationship of society and nature in “A White Heron”.
My favorite place as a child was County Park Lake. When we had family picnics because we all got together and there was great food and kids playing and the adults playing horse-shoes and could tell there was love for one another. There was no other place like this when I was a child. Some of my fondest memories was at that picnic site we should all have memories likes those.