American Environmental Writing

Prof. Meehan

5/4/09

How Language Effects the Environment

            In all languages new words become popular, for the English language that would generally entail the use of words like bling-bling or phat. These words have always encouraged a level of excess, implying that we need to have more or the next best thing. However there are new words that have become increasingly popular that in many ways promote the opposite. These words are Green, Sustainability or Conservation. These words have forced humans to see and understand the impact they are having on the environment and start thinking about change. An environmental writer that has really hit the nail on the head as far as living a life of excess is Ellen Meloy with her writing The Flora and Fauna of Las Vegas. She talks about the excess and always having the next best thing in Las Vegas. Las Vegas is a city that tries to let people’s dreams come true. To be able to achieve this they have to consume incredible amount. One thing that they have to consume is water, and for being a city located in a desert that is no easy feet. They have exhausted almost all of there water sources and are forced to try and make other arrangements.    

            One issue that has been at the forefront of these words has been water. Water is one of our most precious resources that we have and for too many years we have been abusing that resource. About 97 percent of the world’s water is in the oceans, this water is so important to us regulating temperatures, feeding us and providing economic benefit. The last three percent of the water in the world is fresh water, about two and half percent of that water is locked up in lakes and glaciers. So that leaves about half a percent of freshwater for all 6 billion people to share. A large portion of this water is in the rivers all over the world then the other water is in aquifers waiting for us to extract. Though water is not technically a finite resource we are still able to pollute it and waste the water that we have. One of the main issues is the extracting of water from aquifers. For example in the Mid-west the Ogalalla aquifer is what allows us to water our crops there. Most of the water that made up that aquifer had been their since the last Ice Age. We are currently taking so much water that the aquifer cannot replenish itself. If we look at this issue globally it is more then just running out of water, there is the issue of even just getting water to people that need it. In the United States the average citizen uses about 600 liters of water a day, while the United Nations says 50 liters is really only needed for cooking, sanitation and drinking. Many people throughout the world are lucky to receive 50 liters a week for all of these tasks. Water is something that is a right for every person, but people are taking advantage of this fact and are exploiting the use of water.

This is a perfect example of excess; people were using as much water as they pleased while others suffered. Water companies have really taken advantage of the selling and transportation of water. These companies take over municipal water system and privatize the system forcing any prices they wish. These companies are able to produce huge profits, in some cases clearing $60 billion a year. This has been a major part of the issue because if an area is not producing a profit they will pull out their operation. To exacerbate this problem, the places where water is completely privatized the governments are to poor to provide an adequate system. So the people in these communities are left with no water. 

            Las Vegas is the city that tries to let you have every fantasy and dream you can think of. For the most part Las Vegas’s main goal is to promote living in excess and having the next best thing. To be able to give everyone their dream they have to consume a huge amount. In The Flora and Fauna of Las Vegas, Meloy talks about how the city continues to take more water form the Colorado River and how it has taken almost all of the water from the aquifer under the city. I think a perfect example of this is when she talks about the casino Rio; it is a Brazilian themed casino. A rainforest in the desert, this is a perfect example of living a life in excess. There is a reason that the two environments are in separate places one receives a lot of water the other hardly receives any. Some of the hotels in this city have over a thousand rooms, each one of these rooms has toilets and showers. Now imagine every time those toilets are flushed and every time someone takes a shower, the amount of water that is wasted in each one of these hotels is extraordinary. Las Vegas has one of the highest per-capita water consumption in the nation. There are over 800,000 residents with that number increasing every month by several thousand. On top of residents is the 20 million visitors the cities receives every year. It is one thing to think about the water that is used to flush the toilets, take showers and to drink, but what about the water that is used to grow the food they are eating. For a small steak it requires little more then a thousand liters of water or rice which is one of the most water intensive crops you can grow. These casinos advertise all you can eat buffets and I am sure that no one thinks about the water that is required to get all that food. This again goes back to the life of excess, do people really need 24 hour all you can eat buffets, of course not. If anything we should really start cutting back on the amount of food we are consuming for health reasons. A new idea that coincides with conserving water and cutting back on food consumption is going “tray-less” in cafeterias. It is one less thing that needs to be washed and forces people to eat closer to their appetite. As Las Vegas moves into the future it is going to have to figure out how they are going to get all the water they need, as sources around them are rapidly drying up. They already use the allocated amount from the Colorado River, so they may trade with Los Angels to take more water from the river. If the city is not able to find more water how are they going to survive? I am sure that Los Angels is not going to just give up its water rights seeing as how California has its own issues with water. This issue could pose serious problems for not only the city of Las Vegas but also the state and perhaps the nation. The city is huge revenue for the state and federal government because of the taxes that are placed on the winnings of the gaming industry.

            As we leave a town like Las Vegas and move Chestertown, a town that is completely opposite. Here in Chestertown there is small college of about 1200 then maybe a couple thousand full time residents. The city is located on a river and is within one of the largest watersheds in the world. Here water for the most part is not an issue that people should really have to worry about. However, in this small town the environmental movement is in full force. The college has moved to geothermal units to heat and cool dorms and has made an effort to be considered green. The town in some ways has followed suit and this is mainly because they love the eastern shore and many people in the area make their living off of the water. Having lived in this town for four years you are able to see the changes that are made and the effort that has been made to ensure the conservation of the environment. Probably the easiest part of the community to observe make changes is the college. They have really tried to make changes with their “George goes Green” campaign. The college has made a serious effort to try and have the campus as environmentally friendly as possible. They have a environmental club that does recycling throughout the campus and they try to bring awareness to environmental issues through speakers and various other campaigns. The main issue that I have seen is the sense of apathy throughout the students. The students are fine with the way things are and do not make a real effort to try and change their personal ways. Plenty is done by the college but the real issue has now become the motivation of students. They need to understand the impact they are having on there surrounding environment. The issue of water is not one that is readily discussed in general let alone the student body. I am pretty sure that students have no idea the amount of water they are consuming every time they take a shower or flush the toilet. These are obvious uses of water I am sure that they do not consider the amount of water that is used to produce the goods they consume. The amount of water that is needed to grow the food they eat in the dinning hall, these are all things that require water and some require large amounts. As far as how much the actual town of Chestertown is concerned I think they will follow suit with the college. The college is a large part of the community and if it can lead the way in conservation and sustainability I feel that the town will join. I think that the residents do have a concern for the environment but I think it stops at what they can see. They can see the pollution in the water and fight for that, but they cannot see the amount of water that is consumed so it is hard to rally support for that fight. So if the college can bring awareness to this problem the town will be close behind and make a real effort to conserve water. I think that a way the college could really make an impact is by the writing that is done at the college. As students produce works that deal with the environment and its concern to conserve it, they should be published in the local papers to promote awareness to the local residents. This can show the importance of language and how it is used; if students can use words like conservation and sustainability effectively they could really make an impact with the town and raise serious concern for conservation and sustainability. 

  Now if you were to compare these two cities it would be next to impossible, one is enormous and makes its living off of an industry that is illegal every where else in the U.S.. The other is a small town with a close nit community that cares about its patrons and environment. However, there is the possibility to make some connections between the two cities, whether concerned or not they both must start to take action. A city like Las Vegas the change is going to come from laws and mandates being passed down from the governments. Things like making low flow technology mandatory in hotels, forcing them to recycle grey water or cut back on the use of bottled water. For a town like Chestertown it is going to be more of a personal sacrifice. Each person is going to have to take action in there homes and businesses to help conserve water.

            As we move into the future the language is ever so important, but the flip side of that coin is that these words that are paramount like sustainability or conservation need to remain that way. Not only do they need to remain they need to keep their importance and strength. The problem that can happen is that as words become over used they can lose their meaning or importance. As these words are used continuously people can become numb to their meaning. They begin to go through the motions of ensuring the conservation of the environment, this can become dangerous. This is going to be a very important balance that we must strike; we are going to have to use these words in various parts of our life. However, we cannot allow these words to loose their meaning and importance.

            Water is one of our most valuable resources we have and it is essential that we take care of this resource; it is the life line for everything on our planet. When scientist looks for life on other planets the first thing they look for is water or evidence of water. When life started on earth the first species were in the water and eventually they made their way to land. If we continue to use water the way we have been we are going to face serious problems. The issues that could follow from us running out of water are numerous. Not only will countries have to go out and find water for its citizens, wars will be fought trying to acquire this water. So with all this being said the importance of words like sustainability, conservation and green being used can really make a difference in how people see and treat the environment. One of the leading issues in using these words is water. As said before water is one of our most valuable resources and if we do not protect and conserve it, it will become the defining issue of the twenty-first century. A city like Las Vegas, which promotes the life of excess, is going to be faced with serious issues in the coming years. They are going to have to look at their water consumption and start making efforts to try and curb their use so they can continue to prosper. Then there is Chestertown, a quaint town trying to do its part to save the environment. The people here have a deep connection to the environment because many of them have grown up being part of the land. Compared to Las Vegas where people started to move there and so do not have the same connection to the environment. As these words are used more frequently, optimistically they will have the same power they have now. People will move away from a life excess and the need to have the next best thing. We will see and understand our impact and make a real effort to change our ways and improve the environment and most importantly water.

American Environmental Writing

Prof. Meehan

4/29/09

            In all languages new words become popular in use, for the English language that would generally entail the use of words like bling-bling or phat. These words have always encouraged a level of excess, implying that we need to have more or the next best thing. However there are new words that have become increasingly popular that in many ways promote the opposite. These words are Green, Sustainability or Conservation. These words have forced humans to see and understand the impact they are having on the environment and start thinking about change.

            One issue that has been at the forefront of these words has been water. Water is one of our most precious resources that we have and for too many years we have been abusing that resource. About 97 percent of the world’s water is in the oceans, this water is so important to us regulating temperatures, feeding us and providing economic benefit. The last three percent of the water in the world is fresh water, about two and half percent of that water is locked up in lakes and glaciers. So that leaves about half a percent of freshwater for all 6 billion people to share. A large portion of this water is in the rivers all over the world then the other water is in aquifers waiting for us to extract. Though water is not technically a finite resource we are still able to pollute it and waste the water that we have. One of the main issues is the extracting of water from aquifers. For example in the Mid-west the Ogalalla aquifer is what allows us to water our crops there. Most of the water that made up that aquifer had been their since the last Ice Age. We are currently taking so much water that the aquifer cannot replenish itself. If we look at this issue globally it is more then just running out of water, there is the issue of even just getting water to people that need it. In the United States the average citizen uses about 600 gallons of water a day, while the United Nations says 50 gallons is really only needed for cooking, sanitation and drinking. Many people throughout the world are lucky to receive 50 gallons a week for all of these tasks. Water is something that is a right for every person, but people were taking advantage of this fact and were exploiting the use of water. This in a way like the vernacular of excess, some people were able to use as much water as they pleased while others suffered. Water companies have really taken advantage to the selling and transportation of water. These companies take over municipal water system and privatize the system forcing any prices they wish. These companies are able to produce huge profits, in some cases clearing 60 billion a year. This has been a major part of the issue because if an area is not providing a profit they will pull out there operation. Generally the places where water is completely privatized the governments are to poor to provide an adequate system. So the people in these communities are left with no water. 

            Sustainability is a word that has been part of the scientific community for years and until recently had not been part of everyday use. However, until the writing community got its hands on this word not many people paid much attention to it, environmental writers started to talk about this issue and encompassed it into there writing. They were able to see the writing on the wall and started to force the issue and tried to bring it to the main stream. Because of these writers they have been able to bring environmental issues to everyday conversation. Sustainability being one of the most important issue to discuss. If we were to achieve sustainability for just water it would solve and prevent many problems.      

For the final project I would like to focus on Dillard. I found her writing interesting and a little eccentric. I think there are many things that you could possibly comment on with her writing. I think I would like to focus on sustainability. Sustainability is an issue that has really come to light in recent years but has also been a subject for many years. As come to the end of our supply of oil and water become one of the defining crisis of our century sustainability, will then be the defining issue of our time. Through out human history we have exploited resources for our benefit so that we could survive. But as we move into a time when things are being used in excess and resources are not being persevered we will eventually learn our fates as a human race and have to face the consequences of our thoughtless actions. I will need help relating some of her writings to sustainability to ensure that there is a solid connection. It will be interesting to see if there is a direct connection or if it will be necessary to go deeper into her writing to make a connection or if it will right on the surface and be able to make a easy connection.  I think there will be a good connection between Dillard and the idea of sustainability. In her writing she goes back and forth between scientific facts and personal experiences. I think this is an important aspect when talking about sustainability. For us to achieve sustainability we are going to have to make personal sacrifice, we are not going to be able to rely on technology for every answer. So for a writer to incorporate personal experiences and feelings into science is important because sustainability is not all about science it has a lot to do with ethics and personal sacrifice. Traditionally personal feelings and science never go along they are to be kept separate and can not be used to influence data. But the issues we face need to be influenced and in some ways coerced with personal feelings so we do not end up in a situation that is even worse then we are in now.

Prof. Meehan

Environmental Writing

3/ 25/09

Meandering with Dillard and Thoreau

Dillard’s style of writing is one that has really caught my eye and one that I have enjoyed. Her writing almost appears that she has no real purpose to what she is writing. Each Chapter has its theme but within each chapter you are taken for a ride that has its highs and lows and twist and turns. As you finally reach the end of that chapter you are able in a very different way understand what she was trying to say. But what on the whole was she really going for? Was she writing like this because that is the way nature appears to us, many things going on but each with its own incredible detail. For example in the chapter The Present she talks about how she is sitting under a sycamore and her mind begins to wonder. She says that she is no longer in Tinker Creek; she is in Persia trying to order a watermelon in German. She continues this tangent then she brings us back to the present, her sitting under the sycamore tree. As she is sitting there she concludes her more philosophical tangent and proceeds into her scientific tangent. She gives exact numbers on bugs and other life forms that live in the just the one square foot area she is sitting.

This type of writing is interesting and at times entertaining, it forces the reader to think critically and scientifically then try and think at a deeper level about the same idea. Personally I think this one of the most effective and best way get a full appreciation of the environment. I enjoyed this writing because I have found myself writing in a similar style having taken several philosophy and science classes. Her style of writing is hard to compare to others because of its uniqueness. I think in some ways it could be compared to Thoreau it has an element of stepping back and appreciating nature and everything it has to offer along with some scientific perspective. However, it feels that she does have an aspect of mysticism in her writing. It could be thought that there is a more spiritual point of view then in Thoreau. Thoreau writes his own tangents however his writing dealt directly with nature and how it is applied to our lives. Dillard’s would go into different aspects of her life and they would be a little more unexpected and random.

Another aspect of these two writers is the spiritual or religious thinking. Thoreau was someone that appeared to be more spiritual then religious. In Walden he says 

“Where I lived and what I lived for; moral reform is the effort to throw off sleep and millions are awake enough for physical labor; but only one in a million is awake enough for effective intellectual exertion and only one in a hundred of millions is alert to lead a poetic or divine life.”

In Pilgrim at Tinker Creek Dillard says “By a tremendous heave of his spirit, of time the devout man frees the divine sparks trapped in the mute things of time he up lifts the forms and moments of creation…”

What is similar between the two writes is the use of divine. With Thoreau he is using divine as a level of life that is to be achieved and only a few are really able to reach this level. Obviously Thoreau wrote about nature but it was more directed toward humans and how we are to live our lives even though he thought people should lead there own lives. For someone to reach this level of poetic or divine life this person must be fully awake. What is it to be fully awake; someone must be in touch with everything around them most importantly nature and the environment. Thoreau is saying that we must pull this poetic or divine life out of ourselves from nature. Dillard says that a man pulls the divine life out of nature. We must see the divine nature of life in the environment, even the smallest parts of the environment from the largest tree to the smallest of specie in the soil under us. Man helps God pull the divine life out of all the plants and when we are able to achieve this we have a full appreciation of nature and all of its intricacies. Thoreau says that when we fully understand all of the intricacies of nature we will have that divine life. In keeping with Dillard’s theme of pulling the divine or spiritual essence, on page 97 she says “King David leaped and danced naked before the ark of the Lord in a barren desert. Here the very looped soil is an intricate throng of praise. Make connections; let rip; and dance where you are.” This shows the spiritual side of Dillard because as King David danced in either excitement or respect in front of the ark we must do in front of nature. As important and spiritual the ark is the environment has that same importance. It is all around us and makes up every part of our lives. Nature has is more important then just the physical aspects that we see and use everyday but it has its own spiritual being that we must respect and understand so we can fully appreciate everything that is nature.

Dillard talks about our vision and she helps us get great vision with the detail she goes into but vision is something that goes further then what we see. Our vision of the environment must be our understanding of the environment. For me the vision that I got out of this writing was that you must see the big picture to understand the little picture. Just like nature, we can not work as individual and be successful but we must work as a unit to be successful. Both Thoreau and Dillard had unique styles of writing but they were both able to make there mark in the field of environmental writing. Thoreau would contradict himself continually through out the book and Dillard would jump from topic or idea in just one passage. Dillard’s writing could be seen as unusual and even frustrating to read, but in the end you understand the point that she was trying to get across to the reader. One way that she was able to achieve this, similar to Thoreau, is with incredible detail. The reader was able to perceive a perfect image like a picture and as those pictures came together a motion picture would begin to form, allowing us to understand the concept she was trying to get across to us.    

            I think that we are able to separate ourselves from things like people and luxuries but I think that it would be harder or even impossible to completely cut yourself off from time. But what exactly is time, it is intangible it is something that is all around us and is kept by everything including nature. When the universe was created it is said that there was an explosion of matter, space and time. It is somewhat comprehensible to understand the explosion of space and matter but what is an explosion of time? How does time explode? What was time before it exploded? Time is consistent it is always there, living things die, buildings will eventually crumble and things will always change. But time is consistent, it is always there, it is reliable, sure as you move around the world the time may change with zones but as you return to those places the time remains the same. I bring this up because of what he says in Sounds, “Regularly at half past seven, in part of the summer, after the evening train had gone by, the whippoorwills chanted their vespers for half an hour, sitting on a stump by my door, or upon the ridge pole of the house. They would begin to sing almost with as much precision as a clock, within five minutes of a particular time, referred to the setting of the sun, every evening.” This was interesting to me because for someone who talks about having to get away from time and lose yourself he is aware of the exact time the whippoorwills would come and sing in relation to the sunset. No matter how far away form society you get and no matter how many luxuries you give up you are not able to give up time. Time is kept all around you; it is something that is inescapable. We can lose all sense of time but we are always brought back. Nature is always keeping its own time whether it is the singing of the birds, birth of an animal or the changing of the season. So in a way he is contradicting himself yet again, there are many times throughout the book that he does this but I feel that this may have been one that was a little more subtle. In a way nature has its own schedule and stays with it, if nature did not stick with its schedule what would happen to us and the world? So why is it so bad that we keep a schedule and use it to organize our lives and make sense of things in a world that can be crazy.

            Now I find it interesting that I have been making this argument because I am not the type of person that needs a schedule I like going with the flow seeing what happens. Maybe it is because I enjoy playing devil’s advocate, who knows? Whatever the reasons maybe time is something that can not be given up or separated from our lives. No matter how hard we try to get away from time everywhere we look time is around us. Thoreau says that we need to get away from a schedule, but nature thankfully does not. Why is it that we need to stop smell the roses, why is that so important? We live our lives and hopefully complete our purpose whatever it may be. Nature does the same thing and it does not need to stop and smell the roses and take in the beauty of itself. We have been compared to ants and how we have similar practices as they do, I do not see ants stopping to take the time and appreciate everything around them.  Should we do this because we are held to a higher standard and because we are more developed then others? Maybe he means that we just need to escape time for just a few minutes a day so we can collect our thoughts. But there is that pesky time again, with only giving up a few minutes you are putting a time limit on the time you are escaping and that seems to defeat the purpose. So is it really possible to immerse yourself into nature or is it really only a superficial attempt? I think that we like to think that we are able to escape from everything in life and not worry about time, people, or the other issues in our lives. But if you really look at it you can’t cut yourself off completely it would be impossible and maybe irresponsible.