A Newfound Attitude

By Nicole Cruz

In regard to the environment, there seems to be an attitude of ‘you’re a lot talk’ which is true as I’ve seen from these articles, documentaries, and textbook chapters. To quote Bill McKibben in his excerpt from End of Nature; “We never thought that we had wrecked nature. Deep down, we never really thought we could…we are ending nature” explains in short, societies view on nature and our environment. How so? Well McKibben in the same piece talks about the cutting down of tree by describing the sound of a saw, which is similar to Henry David Thoreau who in his article idealized the cutting down of a tree. This leads me to believe that when we talk about change and helping to improve the environment, we tend to fall short. Actions speak louder than words, and hearing so much about wanting to protect our Earth and preserve nature, it makes me wonder about our foundation and how this plays into our attitude.

In my readings I noticed a theme of behavior and attitude when it came to the environment. In Thoreau and Wendell they talked about their experiences with nature and what it meant to them. It was because of their attitude which provoked their behavior. Bill McKibben references them both in End of Nature. I mean, let’s face it when it comes to taking environmental action, it’s much easier said than done. That’s what Communicating Nature was discussing when Julia B. Corbett brought up the fictional tale of Sue  in chapter three. She is a single mother who also attends college and works part time at a bank, not politically active but somehow entirely relatable. “In the last month, it seems that Sue has been exposed to lots of messages about energy and has been thinking more about it.” I quote this line from Corbett because it shows how we hear all this information about what’s happening in our environment and learning as we go along, but we still make little to no effort. If history has taught us anything it’s that positive change can happen and can make a difference.

In the documentary, A Fierce Green Fire, the filmmakers show all these different circumstances, from releasing DDT into the air, the whaling industry, and the tearing down of forests, to where people have worked together to change the negative effects that were plaguing their society during times of environmental unawareness. I suggest watching this to feel inspired  if you ever want to make headway in environmental action. If you don’t believe me, just learn about Lois Gibbs who worked with her community to evacuate them and their children because of the toxic health that was happening at Love Canal. She collected research on the health defects of children, as well as the miscarriages happening to women in Love Canal that she linked to the waste and pollutants in the area. She rallied protests and worked with other members in her public to make some sort of change and it was effective and it’s insane! I mean I never knew about the damaging effects of DDT happening in the 70’s or the other countless reckless behaviors our society did to nature. And it’s not just about DDT which was also talked about in Rachel Carson’s A Silent Spring. Carson examined and talked about the damage to the wilderness and the forest and urged people to try to make a change.

What links all of what I mentioned before together is a sense of personal experience and connectedness. Wendell Berry grew up on farm and felt, at least from what I gathered is association to nature, same as Thoreau for whom when he lived at Walden Pond grew a sense of comfort to his environment. Bill McKibben often stated in End of Nature how he felt more at ease and comfortable hiking in the mountains and being surrounded by nature’s beauty. Lois Gibbs was affected because it was her home and this sparked her foundation and attitude for environmental change, and the same could be said for Rachel Carson who studied science and had a personal connection to it. So thinking back to Sue, her attitude would easily be affected and prove more action if her foundation for it came from a personal experience or has effect on her.

Environmental action is important but is seldom ever talked about because most people don’t know how to go about it. I mean it’s hard when we don’t know how, and it’s even more difficult to find the reason’s to care however cynical that may be. What makes those people different from us, is they had a motivation! A motivation that stemmed from something personal they believed in. That’s why it’s best to inform ourselves and learn from our environment. Take in what we see and take in the knowledge from others about what is happening in our society. Question what we do as a people living in the same community and think back to last week’s blog.

Attached is a link from the 350ActionFund’s channel, which features Bill McKibben and his persuasion to get you to help join the fight in environmental awareness, his message and how this should change your attitude.