One Boring Essay Coming up!

To anyone who knows me well already knows well enough, I'm an environmentalist. It's pretty darn frustrating when you're trying to tell people why they should do things differently and your speech abilities are way behind your ideas =w=". Writing is a different story.

This essay concerns environmentalism. The essay topic is roughly as follows:


“Humans seemed to have gained a high degree of independence from the natural world...humanity appears to have very nearly lost a sense of deep connectedness to nature” (Searle, 2000, p.33) Do you agree or disagree?
What to Searle (2000) is natural human induced change?


This is probably the best essay I've ever written in my life thus far and it sums up a good portion of my ideas about human and Nature. If you're an environmentalist too or if you just like reading essays for whatever reason, please do take the time to read it. I don't mind if you disagree, I like hearing opinions! =) And I definitely won't be offended if you don't read it at all. It's pretty...looooooong. 


Note: The excerpt above was taken from Searle's influential writing Phantom Parks, concerning Canada's National Parks. Human Dimensions is a branch of management that's really new and that you've probably never heard of. You don't really need to know about it to understand this essay. Oh and any opinions in here are the sole yadi yadi yada of my thoughts and does not reflect... Oh whatever who cares just read it! 
   

“Death by a Thousand Cuts”- Have Humans lost Connection with Nature?

Conservation 200 Essay #2

“Humans seemed to have gained a high degree of independence from the natural world...humanity appears to have very nearly lost a sense of deep connectedness to nature” (Searle, 2000, p.33). What Searle (2000) writes in his book, Phantom Parks is very thought-provoking indeed, and it leaves much to ponder. Firstly, what does he mean by “independence”? Secondly, what does he mean by “connectedness” to Nature, and how have we as humans lost it? Searle (2000) further one of the results of this loss of connectedness to Nature is “unnatural” human-induced changes, such as genetically altered life-forms, clear cutting...So what, to Searle, is natural human-induced change?

           
First, I must say that I do not agree with Searle’s claim that humans have gained a high degree of independence from the natural world. Searle himself writes: “genetically altered life forms, space stations and thermal clothing all contribute to the illusion of being able to escape the limitations imposed by Nature” (Searle, 2000, p.33). “Independence” from Nature would imply that Humans and Nature are separate entities of each other. In other words, one can easily exist without the other, albeit perhaps at the price of inconvenience. As far as I can see, this is not the case at all. Although it is likely Nature can run its course with the complete absence of our species, as it did for 3.5 billion years before humans existed, the same is not true of humans. Much as we would like to believe we have grown independent of Nature’s imposed limits, we are undeniably still bound by the same laws. Most basically, no one human can possibly deny himself/herself air, water or food for any lengthy period of time. No one human could possibly tread on the ice of Antarctica without thermal clothing, and certainly no sane space explorer would ever think to try to survive in space without his protective space suit. Is this independence? I argue otherwise. Furthermore, the first principles of Human Dimensions, “Human and Ecosystem interactions are natural and depend on one another” (Cordell et.al., 1999, p.7), asserts there is a two way dependence: that humans depend on Natures bounties for survival and health and Nature in turn depends on human management so we do not to overuse Nature’s resources. He further states “[humans] not only depend upon natural systems for material needs and wants, we also depend on them for inspiration, relaxation, fun, renewal and a sense of belonging” (Cordell et.al., 1999, p. 7).

           
Searle also mentions the “loss of a deep sense of connectedness to nature” and that one result of this disconnect is human induced change to the ecosystem (Searle, 2000, p.33). What does it mean to be connected to nature? Searle’s use of the word “loss” implies that this connection was once to be had. His claim that a result of this disconnect is “unnatural” human induced change to the ecosystem leads to me to believe that this connection is the realization of the relationship/interdependence between humans and Nature. In other words, it requires realizing human actions and their consequences on Nature’s well-being and thus in turn, our own well-being. This connectedness will, of course, vary across both cultures and time. In the past, when in general humans must live close to or within the vicinities of Nature, they were forced to acknowledge the relationship/interdependence of humans with Nature. With the advent of technology however, individual humans may not be exposed to Nature as much as before and thus, their everyday lives may not be Nature related. As may be seen today in urban environments, our daily lives not governed by Nature-related choices, individuals may make choices without Nature’s interests in mind and thus, “unnatural” changes are made, causing a certain disconnect from Nature. I hesitate to extrapolate our Western urban environment to the rest of Humanity, but I believe this general trend will continue if we do not consider how to “reconnect” humans to Nature.

           
I believe it is necessary here to clarify what Searle terms “natural” human-induced change. Searle asserts human induced change is only “natural to the degree that it respects the inherent worth of all other species and remains within the limits set by planetary and local ecosystems” (Searle, 2000, p.34). He further states, “The essence of nature is that it is a system of relationships in which no part takes precedence” (Searle, 2000, p.33). Therefore, in order for a change to be natural, humans must accept that human wants and needs are not above those of any other creatures and therefore, our actions must have impacts only to the point where all other species needs are taken into account. Today, where human demands can easily pass this point, reconnection to Nature is more critical than ever before.


To have a sense of connectedness to nature, one must recognize the interdependence of humans and Nature. Times have long changed and today, this connectedness requires many fields of knowledge, including ecology to understand the interconnectedness of Nature; Human Dimensions to incorporate human actions as a part of ecosystem management; recreation to provide feasible ways for urban people to enjoy Nature and thus, reconnect to Nature; finally, a recognition of the key role of humans today in ecosystems: sound and responsible management (Cordell et.al., 1999, p.8).    

            
Although Searle (2000) states humans appear to have gained a sense of independence from Nature and lost a sense of connectedness, I argue that not only have humans not gained independence, but to gain independence from Nature’s limits is physiologically impossible. Even if physiological limits were not taken into account, our health and well being is still tied to Nature’s (Cordell et.al., 2000, p.7). In fact, the first principle of Human Dimensions is based on recognizing the interdependence between Nature and humans (Cordell et.al., 1999, p.7). Humans may never be able to gain independence from Nature, but forgetting this relationship can lead to disconnectedness from Nature, as is observed in Western urban society today. Because our (urban) environment tends to segregate the natural environment from urban environment, our everyday lives often do not concern Nature. Therefore, we are more likely to impose impacts on Nature without seeing the consequences, leading to what Searle terms “unnatural” human induced changes, in which “natural” human induced change “respects the inherent worth of all other species and planetary and local ecosystem limits”. “Unnatural” change can hence, be avoided by fostering human connection to nature by acknowledging our relationship with Nature through scientific understanding, holistic management, recreation and recognizing our responsibility to apply sound management.    

REFERENCES

Cordell, H.K., A.P., Hoover, G.R. Super., C.H., Manning. 1999. Adding human dimensions to ecosystem-based

management of natural resources. In H.K. Cordell and J.C. Bergstrom (Eds.), Integrating Social Sciences with

Ecosystem Management: Human Dimensions in assessment, policy and management (pp. 1-12). Champaign, IL: Sagamore Publishing.  

           

Searle, R. 2000. Death by a thousand cuts. In Phantom Parks: The struggle to save Canada’s national parks (pp. 27-44).

Toronto, ON: Key Porter Books Ltd.