Julia Butterfly Hill: Environmentalist

Since the beginning of time Earth has helped all inhabitants to survive. Earth provides all living organisms with air, shelter, vegetation, water and food. However, with recurring advancement in technology, people have forgotten how our everyday actions can impair the environment. We live in a heavily self-centered time where people worry only about themselves with no connection to the environment or others. Although, its apparent that the Earth has changed due to pollution and waste, people prefer to discount the issues. Nevertheless, there are those who go to great lengths to educate people the seriousness of harm towards the environment. In particular, a woman by the name of Julia “Butterfly Hill corroborates that a selfless act such as tree-sitting can prompt realization to the detrimental effects of logging. Julia “Butterfly” Hill before the tree-sitting act embodies the common disposition of people and the environment, but renders people conscious of her mission to save the redwood tree while in the act; in addition, after the act, it epitomizes her goal as a committed advocate for the sustainability of the Earth.

Julia “Butterfly” Hill’s life before the act not only betrays nature by conducting her life through unconscious decisions, it violates the ecosystem, leading to the ignorance characterized by humans toward the environment. From Don Oldenberg’s “Julia Hill Butterfly, From Treetop to Grass Roots,” we learn of her upbringing where Julia grew up “dirt-poor” and set her sights on making money with no aspiration to “making the world a better place.” Her “backdoor activist” attitude substantiates that nature wasn’t her first priority. Likewise, she was insensible to the consequences her lifestyle had on the ecosyste...

... middle of paper ...

...the recognition, she remained committed to her mission. Julia’s popularity aided people to become more insightful of the logging issues; who then wanted to help the cause. In addition, her speaking engagements helped educate people of solutions to creating a more sustainable Earth. Its been said that fame transforms people. I say its inevitable, the most humble and practical would certainly find pleasure in so much attention. People shouldn’t bother with how she looks and start contemplating how the world would be if we continue this ignorant path of destruction. Its distressing to see that people care more about the image of a person rather their inner qualities. A person who is good-natured and strives wholeheartedly to help make the world a better place should be rightfully acknowledged. A person who embraces such qualities deserve utmost support and appraisal.