Elixir Of Greed Research Paper

Preservationism: The Elixir of Greed? “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” Henry David Thoreau could not have been more lucid in his explanation as to why humans have this inherent trance that has become an unfortunate ethic for far too many people. An ethic of corrupted morals, misunderstandings, and improper knowledge, that could ultimately result in the demise of our beautiful planet. Thoreau is a man that took a philosophy and ethic to his grave that will have him forever remembered as a man who chose to march to a beat of a different drummer. The philosophy with which he resonates, termed preservationism, is progressively revealed as the crux for combatting the detrimental worldview

This revolution also further drove the concept of our worldview on the planet to be understood as a gift for our exploitation, a Godsend that engrained this mantra of gaining life through money, rather than through the source itself. Preservationists hope to explain how this is not the way we are meant to look at our ecology. This idea does not have to be about living a minimalist lifestyle in the same manner as Thoreau, but it does demand that we take responsibility for the havoc we are wreaking on the source of life itself. Saving the earth from experiencing catastrophic destruction can be possible, but only if our world can adopt a worldview that incorporates preservationism. The closer we become to our materialistic possessions results in an inverse relationship with ourselves and reality. Areas like Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Serengeti and the Sierras have become iconic to mankind. Years ago when these land masses were coming about to be preserved as sacred national parks, it was indeed a battle that very few were willing to fight for. These awe-inspiring land masses provide an aesthetic appeasement that no multitude of materialistic items could ever come close to producing. However, due to how strong of

As an explorer of the unknown, activist for preserving nature, and an author whose words have left a lasting impression on what value can be gained when living life in companionship with mother nature, John Muir is a name that will forever be remembered in American history. John Muir found his life’s calling when he migrated to America from his birthplace of Scotland at a young child. Muir was raised in Wisconsin where he received an education at his local university which would become the birthplace for his admiration and passion for the natural world. Being the inquisitive person he was, he decided that in order to fulfill his aspirations and make the impact he felt destined to achieve, leaving Wisconsin was a necessity. He began his trek in Indiana where he traveled to Florida, Cuba, New York, and finally, ending his trek in beautiful California. It was at this destination that he realized everything he had read or seen in pictures regarding Yosemite and the Sierras was astronomically lesser than its true splendor. Muir fought battles for protecting what he considered to be the integrity of life itself, victorious in battles such as petitioning for Yosemite and the Sequoia’s to be preserved in their organic form, sights that he described as an ineffable experience. His legacy lives not only in these achievements, but also in the