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The XX century has brought up the environmental issues which declared themselves after centuries of human vital activity. Careless use of the planet resources got revealed a lot of problems and even environmental catastrophes: Global Warming, Acid Rain, Ozone Depletion, Air Pollution, Rain Forest Destruction, Hazardous Waste, Overpopulation, Water Pollution, and Smog. Some environmental organizations, societies, and even individuals are trying to protect the Earth from exhaustion and destruction. But, unfortunately, these initiations face considerable and very often overwhelming opposition from the side of the rest of the people.
A lot of environmental organizations have appeared since the XIX century and inside of the different movements develop. Two major movements developed in the United States during the XX century: Preservation Movement and Conservation movement.
Both movements were set in the XIX century but were reinforced in the XX century, with the growth of environmental issues. Initially, the preservation movement was preoccupied with the preservation of forests and then started coping with other problems: protection of water, wildlife, etc. David Ross Brower was one of the leaders of this movement, trying to preserve the beauty of nature, and not letting people destroy it. In the contrast to this movement, conservationists, being actually a part of the whole environmental movement, tried to preserve natural resources for the sake of the next generations. They wanted to use the maximum of resources given by nature without damaging nature. And Floyd Dominy can be regarded as a conservationist because he tried to let as many people as possible benefit from the resources, taken from nature to where they were needed the most.
It is necessary to give some more detailed information about these two activists’ deeds. At different times David Brower was a leader of the following environmental organizations: The Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, and Earth Island Institute, and due to his efforts he gained support to the Preservation Movement. He held the long fight to stop the construction of dams within national parks. Brower led a great battle to prevent the Bureau of Reclamation from the construction of two dams that would flood parts of the Grand Canyon. But Brower was not against the dam construction in general, but he sought for the wise use of resources: “Emotionally, people are able to look only two generations back and two generations forward. We need to see farther than that” (McPhee 211). He also was one of those who worked out the Wilderness Act of 1964. The majority of his projects succeed due to his energy and publicist talent. Moreover, they vastly implemented full-page environmental campaign advertisements in magazines and newspapers.
One of Brower’s major opponents was Floyd Dominy, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner, who pursued great water public works projects such as Glen Canyon Dam, which resulted in the creation of Lake Powell. But a lot of his projects never succeeded because of strong opposition, for example, the Bureau of Reclamation didn’t obtain congressional approval to construct the Marble Canyon and Bridge Canyon dams (Pearson 114). Dominy was criticized by a lot of people and, of course, by the functionaries of the Preservation movement. For example, Reisner calls the bureau a nature-destroying, money-eating monster which even Congress has lacked the nerve to stop (Reisner 327). Dominy claimed that the dams built by the bureau had ameliorated the living standards of the people living in the region. He sought the natural resources that were used for people who really needed it: “Let’s use our environment. Nature changes the environment every day of our lives – why shouldn’t we change it? We are part of nature” (McPhee 201).
In terms of underlying the subtle line between these two movements it can be interesting to mention another famous figure – Ernest Thompson Seton, who is a hunter, at first, became an activist of the preservation movement. Thus, we can see that a man who lived a conservationist life, killing animals for people sake (for food or for people safety) in a course of time becomes one of the leaders of preservationists, developing the boy scout movement, maintaining reservations for Indians and struggling for wildlife protection. The story of Seton has changed not only his life but the life of the whole country. Seton- conservationist, being a naturalist, loved nature but he still thought that humanity is on the top of the kingdom of wildlife, thus, people decide whether an animal isn’t disturbing people and can live, or it bothers people and is to be vanished. But one episode of his life, only one animal (Lobo, the wolf) turned Seton into preservationist. A long and stubborn struggle against Lobo made Seton understand that Lobo is not a beast which is to be destroyed, but a “creature with dignity, courageous, loyal and loving” (“The Wolf That Changed America”). Seton realized that people have no right to destroy the nature for own sake, he saw that Lobo was “very embodiment of America’s vanishing wilderness” (“The Wolf That Changed America”). So he decided to make the vanishing stop. He started writing stories, gathering people into societies, which struggled for preserving the natural beauty. And a lot of people followed him, not only Americans but people from all over the world, were inspired by Seton.
As far as I am concerned these two movements have the right to exist, for they are two parts of one movement to make our planet better. But I would rather see myself among preservationists. Because I believe that people are the part of nature; human being is only one of the species of this planet, and all the species must coexist, and not destroy and vanish each other. Since people have reached so great results in science and technology, they should use their power to preserve what is left on this planet. They used the natural resources for centuries without giving anything back. Now it is people’s turn to pay. And preservation movement seeks to preserve nature without human interference; they let nature flourish without our “help”. I use quotation marks because even when people really try to make something good (take measures to help the planet to be safer) it turns to be a catastrophe, because we cannot understand the secrets of our nature. My firm believe is that nature is unique and even divine, it creates life, our planet even now can survive without human’s “help”. People just must give the nature time, people must stop consuming and destroying. Preservationists are right, trying to create Parks and reservations, where wildlife can regenerate. And in these parks we can observe the wildlife and learn how to live. I think Brower and Seton made a lot of very good and thoughtful things. Their methods were really effective and must be followed by our generation. And I think everyone should start with oneself, and maybe all those actions, taken and which will be taken by the preservation movement, will succeed and we will really preserve our nature for us and the next generations. The only regrets can be expressed at the fact that these movement appeared a bit late, for so many unique and beautiful creatures and places could be saved and remained for us to observe. But, of course, it is never late to start sensible actions.
Thus, in XXI century the environmental issues even graven, for the population of the planet grows and the natural resources are depleting. Moreover, the Earth is so polluted that there is a risk of an irreversible process of self destruction. Maybe we all should be inspired by the example of Ernest Seton, who finally decides that it is more important to safe the gifts of nature, than to think that people are in charge of the nature. I’d rather say people are responsible for the nature and the whole planet, and should use everything very carefully. The whole humanity is still split into two camps: one of them try to protect the planet from the destruction, and others still consume without thinking about the consequences. But, without fail, this situation with two polarities can bring positive effect to the whole issue, because two points of view can work out the only one right solving of the complicated problem, which will let us stop loosing the best examples of our wildlife.
Works Cited
McPhee, John. Encounters With The Archdruid. NY: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1977.
Pearson, Byron E. Still the Wild River Runs: Congress, the Sierra Club, and the Fight to Save Grand Canyon. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2002.
Reisner, Marc. Cadillac Desert. NY: Penguin USA, 1993.
“The Wolf That Changed America.” Nature. 2008. pbs.org.
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