The Natural World, Assessment Example

No Man’s Land

In the article “in the prairie” by Laura Ingass Wilder, we find a woman who at first wishes to see the making of a new world, which happens as the Americans settle in Indian Country. As a child, the Indians seem as a disturbance that needs to taken care of as they present a hindrance to progress in her young naive eyes. She is influenced by her move to Chicago with her husband which is no mans land due to low human population. She sees the city grow day by day to a modern environment inhabited by all kinds of people. She is afraid about this transformation and wonders if this is the life she wants. Some races dominate most of the population. Effects of population increase start to be felt such as crime.

Basically, the article aims to explore the kind of sacrifice that is experienced when something new is being created and, in this case, we are able to have an almost unadulterated view of what happened to make America what it is today. We see the Indians suffering…” Won’t it make the Indians mad to have to” in showing the Indians would be mad to leave their country

We see the settlers wondering “Will the government make these Indians go west?” in illustrating the settlers helpless.

More than the sacrifice, the article stands out as piece that seeks to demonstrate the contributions of each race in the making of America. “She falls ill and wakes from a fever to find a black doctor attending her.” shows that the black people contributed in the making of the great nation, not as the stereotyped maids but even as medical doctors. “She picks up beads at an abandoned Indian camp and strings them for her sister.” as much as the Indians seemed as an inconvenience, their culture was still beautiful and appreciated

The article also illustrates some of the writer’s interests which is swimming and how what one loves can become a source of fear and a setback to pursue once interests. She says, “My fears of open water have become powerful enough to fight my confidence in my own strength” (par. 28).

We also see the writer share her opinions on the war of terror and what it has done to Americans. The war is portrayed as a tool used by the government to instill fear allowing policies to be made and implemented without question instead of a proper engagement. Fear has been accepted by the majority. Also, there is a feeling of understanding between the rich and the poor. The writer feels it is her duty to give money to the street kids as a form of payment for paltry reparations for her presence. It is fair to give back to the original inhabitants of a place if you are in a position to do so.

All in all, it’s a well-rounded piece showing the making of America as we know it, and the sacrifices and contributions each race made. It raises the question of how America would have been if there were its original inhabitants or if there was only one race. Also, we ask ourselves the role the government has played so far in dealing with the war on terror. This article brings up questions like, ‘who owns and controls America arise’ as well as ‘why are all the races not equal in terms of wealth and representation’.

Elegy for a Garden

In Andrew Lights’ article we see how a community garden is demolished in New York after it is sold to developers without the consent of the people it was serving. Massive protests by those who want to save the garden does not stop the demolition and worse still some protestors are arrested which shows injustice. The garden has so meant so much to the original developers which is seen when Andrew says in his article that the coqui, “In this guise it became both a symbol for community pride and a focal point for environmentalist and pro-garden organizers in the city” (par. 2).

The garden had a powerful connection with the humans because it served as a moral motivator to protect community land against economic gain that was short-term.  People were determined to save the garden by all means including perching tents and spending nights in the Garden. This shows the extent in which society can unite to question bad decisions made by leaders who ignore fundamental issues such as environmental ethics. Here we see New York developing. In general, environmental ethics are changing. Land productivity is viewed in terms real estate development. The Esperanza Garden is an important instrument in trying to understand what basis environmental ethics should be based on.

The environmental importance of a place should also be appreciated even when the actual place has not been threatened and responsibility should be taken at an early stage. The Esperanza Garden demolition also shows the thin line between justice and power. The garden is still demolished even after decision by state magistrate to stop the demolition. A garden built for years is destroyed in hours. The garden was not just a green space. According to Alicia Torres, “This garden was not just a patch of green on a brown landscape or a clever bit of utopian protest art” (par.12).

There is growing concern in decision making of leaders without considering what others strongly feel about the decisions that will change lives of people, affect their feeling or even bury an important past that has been shared by generations. Economic gain has blinded many leaders to the extent of threatening natural environments. Environmental degradation is a major cause of Global warming today.

This article stands out to criticize the decisions made by New York Mayor Giuliani to demolish the Esperanza Garden, on basis of creating affordable housing on the site. Esperanza garden means so much to the residents that they fight to protect it through all means. Even a protest does not stop demolition. This raises the question of accountability on the part of our leaders. They continue to do wotever they like despite the consequences and feelings of the majority. There is a question of Accountability and service to the people.

Where the Wild Ones Are

In Peter Friederici article, Chicago comes out as a wilderness. Tim Sullivan says, “We are in the middle of a convergence of major biomes here” (par.3). Chicago is rich with numerous plant species and a rich geographical history. Chicago was for a long time rich with biodiversity. Human settlements however increased with time and the effects started to be felt. All sorts of destruction have been witnessed highlighting the effects of human settlement on a natural habitat.

Human activities such as settlement have great negative impact on a natural environment such as seen in Chicago. Settlements result in hunting, deforestation among other forms of destruction. From this article we see that Native American Inhabitants were responsible for some wild plants and animal extinction. A human settlement affects a natural environment and should be controlled where it can not be avoided. We see how a rich wilderness can be easily extinct if not preserved. Effects of Western civilization are real and can wipe out natural diversity as seen in Chicago. Jerry Sullivan highlights the unpredictable nature of Urbanization such as when he points out that, “Because it was an urban area from the beginning, a lot of places that would have been turned into farmland elsewhere were kept as open land for speculation” (par. 5).

Despite the urbanization process, some land has been spared for agriculture and National parks. Although not all species of wildlife have been wiped out, there are still some efforts to preserve the remaining ones which show that Chicago has not failed completely in protecting its precious lands. Environments have become smaller than they once were.

This article manly highlights the importance of conserving natural environments in Chicago as a region/place with great natural recourse. It brings out the importance of people realizing environmental benefits in conserving natural environment. Main aim of this article is to highlight protected natural lands of Chicago as a place where human intervention and involvement in preservation has helped save the remaining rich biodiversity that would otherwise be extinct.

Works Cited

Andrew Light.” A journal of the built & Natural Environments.”  Elegy for a garden. 1997: 15 <1997 http://www.terrain.org/essays/13/light.htm>.

Eula Biss. “Fear, Racism, and the Historically Troubling Attitude of American Pioneers.” The believer:  No Man’s Land. February 2008 <2008<http://www.believermag.com/issues/200802/?read=article_biss>.

Peter Friederici. “Chicago wilderness magazine.” Where the Wild Ones Are. 2008.<http://www.chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/winter2008/wildones.html>.