Environmentalism-Related Matters, People Are Still

¶ … environmentalism-related matters, people are still a long way from being able to have a complex understanding of the relationship between humanity and the natural world and the role that they can play in protecting the environment. What is especially worrying today is that it all comes down to a battle between profits and environmentalism. Many actually feel that they are responsible for the environment and that it would be best for them to adopt environmentalist attitudes. However, some of these people also earn large profits as a result of exploiting the environment and thus have trouble deciding whether it would be in their best interest to refrain from damaging the natural world.

The masses do not only have to think about nature as a concept that has nothing to do with them. They are responsible for damaging, protecting, or saving the environment and it is important for someone to emphasize this. Even with the fact that there is much controversy regarding the global warming process and the degree to which people are responsible for triggering it, it would be absurd for someone to say that society is not responsible for polluting the environment.

The industrial revolution and the recent centuries have played an essential role in performing (in some cases) irreparable damage to the environment. As society experienced rapid development nature came to be harmed to a higher degree and people started to be more and more ignorant as a result of becoming obsessed with profits. It is surely difficult for important international players to refrain from polluting the environment as long as they observe that their actions reflect positively on their wealth.

The cruel reality is that almost everyone, at some point in their lives, played a more or less active role in harming the environment and actually realized that they were doing so. This makes it possible for people to acknowledge that perfection does not exist. Even with this, this does not mean that individuals should express lesser interest in trying to save the environment. People need to leave their past behind and realize that they can be especially helpful in saving the natural world.

While most people perceive the modern world as the perfect place to be, they fail to observe that society tends to be restrictive at times and that people are virtually slaves to their own dreams. Many are not even going to be able to accomplish their dreams because they are too busy trying to set the basis of their dreams. Aldous Huxley's "Time and the Machine" provides important information with regard to concepts like time and industrialization. The text makes it possible for readers to gain a more complete comprehension regarding their role in the world. It is practically meant to raise public awareness concerning how the masses wrongly direct their attention toward profits. This makes it difficult for them to concentrate on more important matters like health, happiness, and the environment.

Similar to Huxley, Edward Abbey wanted to enable the masses to see that it is up to them to change the world. "EcoDefense" is not only important because it criticizes corporations for destroying nature, as it is also significant because if condemns simple people for not doing anything to preserve the environment. Abbey wanted people to realize that the environment belongs to them and that individuals and communities polluting it are practically harming the world as a whole. Simply ignoring the problem will not make it go away and it is essential for the masses to acknowledge that it is up to them to save the world and to actually go through with getting actively engaged in protecting the environment. Abbey reaches out to people's feelings by making them understand that the situation is personal and that now is the perfect time to act, as there will be nothing left to protect in the future.

Annie Dillard's "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" provides an innovative perspective regarding the environment and the world in general. The writer highlights the fact that people can practically employ an ignorant attitude with regard to destruction occurring around them and that this attitude is probable to make them happier. The text actually highlights one of the problems that most environmentalists are familiar with: being self-conscious can be very damaging for one's mind in a world where the powers that the respective individual has to fight are especially strong. This is why many environmentalists consider that it would be impossible for them to succeed and eventually abandon the cause. However, this is actually one of the most important things about protecting the natural world -- it is especially difficult, but the results pay off.