The nature-human relationship and environmental interaction

Nature/Man Relationship

Hurricane Katrina has shown most blatantly that nature and man live at odds with one another. People and the planet on which they live have for centuries been at odds with one another. However, especially since the Industrial Revolution, nature has posed particular problems for humanity. Before industrialization, nature was our friend when the crop harvest was healthy, when the weather was mild, and when it rained just enough to provide the land with moisture. Nature was our enemy when drought or floods arrived, when we suffered through a particularly harsh winter, or when we had to traverse mountain ranges on foot to reach our destination.

Oscar Wilde said, "Nature is not a great mother who has borne us. She is our creation. It is in our brain that she quickens to life. Things are because we see them, and what we see and how we see it, depends on the Arts that have influenced us." Wilde witnessed the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution first hand. His quote exemplifies the stance that many people have taken toward nature: that it is something to be conquered and mastered. With industrial development and technological innovation, human beings have been able to control the growth of crops and harness the power of wind and water for the conduction of electricity. Wilde's quote suggests that nature is meaningless in the absence of the human intellect and prowess.