Morris K. Udall starts his speech at Valley Forge with a quote from John Gardner. He writes, “…trouble with America was its uncritical lovers and loving critics. What we needed were more critical lovers”. Indeed, Udall shows what it is to be a critical lover and what one can do with harsh yet passionate love for environmentalism. Udall’s speech for Legislator of the Year award in 1974 demonstrates succinct, and thorough problem-detecting skills. It reflects the mindset of a policy analyst and researcher I aspire to be in the future. Udall focuses on three main problems with environmentalism: lack of federal attention to environmental issues, failure of environmentalism to transition from negative to positive efforts, and deeply-rooted sense …show more content…
of elitism in environmental activism. Unfortunately, these problems still remains to be few of the most crucial roots of environmental migration. The United States made headways into federal environmental policy at the beginning of the 1970s; however, as 1973 and 1974 hit, environmental policies hit an unexpected slump. The recognition for environmental policy significantly decreased in the federal arena, and environmental policies were soon neglected from its priority concerns. Similarly, environmental migration has also not been on the governmental agenda for decades. The prospective outlook does not seem to indicate improvement, especially with the current presidency in place. Even when migration has been a topic of issue, environmental migrants were not a priority compared to political or cultural migrants. Udall’s comment on the lack of “positive, compelling programs” and the sense of elitism provide thoughtful criticism towards the outward romanticism of environmental activism and the crude unveiling of the reality.
As Udall acutely recognizes, many environmentalists are considered privileged and naïve in a sense that we care more for “bird life than human life”. This is the very misconception I want to eradicate from the public and academia. Environmental migration is an integration of environmental and humanitarian work that shows deep and inseparable connection between the human society and our surroundings. I inspire to follow Udall’s footsteps and direct my thoughts towards positive policy solutions that not prohibits one from doing, but encourages action. My policies will include protection and practical solutions such as developing educational system for the migrants to help them live sustainably in situation of limited …show more content…
resources. Even though I connect deeply with the problems Udall poses in his speech, I would like to challenge Udall’s solution, specifically one regarding democracy.
Udall mentions that conservationists lack the organization and an institutional space to reinforce organization. He also writes that in a democratic world, there needs to be alliances for conservationists to discuss policies, overcome differences, and pose comprehensive outcome. In theory, this is a reasonable solution. However, in context of environmental migration, this is where the dark face of democracy arises. Everyone may get an equal right to voice their opinion in democracy; yet, it is always the majority who gets to pull the strings. If such policy convention does exist, environmental migration will not be the priority in its agenda and remain a minority. I do appreciate Udall’s solution in that we need cooperative effort in order to implement a holistic policy for the better of the community; yet his advice is only applicable once I set the groundwork for my field. His solution reminded me to be the leader I should be in order to bring environmental migration up to that level of
awareness. I did find his suggestions on coal production and MacKenzie Valley gas line truly inspirational. He acknowledges the limitation of full conservation and compromises to a practical and realistic solution within the framework. His acute grasp of feasibility and his determination to not forego his conservation effort not only increases the credentials of his solutions, but also dismantles the stereotype that all environmentalists are “romantics who do not understand the real world”. This is a noteworthy quality I admire to have and this has made me think about keeping my balance of being comprehensive and thorough, but also knowing when to be decisive and accommodate. Morris K. Udall’s speech was invigorating in a sense that clarified how policy makers should think and approach the issue of their interests. The deep sense of compatibility I felt while reading his speech has given me a sense of reassurance that there have been resourceful intellectuals who shared my concerns in the past, and a feeling of hope that there may be more people out there who are empowered by Udall as I have been. I want to continue his legacy and base his foundational concerns and problem-solving skills in my own innovative footsteps. One day, I hope to become the critical lover and inspire many future critical lovers to continue this stream of advocacy.
He gives an example of a college student that found a red spider. This student, ironically, passes the Endangered Species Act and becomes powerful. This student rose from the bottom because of his “conservationists” beliefs. The example allows the writer to move into a mocking conclusion. He states that these power hungry men and women do not actually know best for the environment as much as property owners do. Just because they state that they are “ all for the environment”, it doesn’t mean that they know
In Mark Fiege’s book “The Republic of Nature,” the author embarks on an elaborate, yet eloquent quest to chronicle pivotal points in American history from an environmental perspective. This scholarly work composed by Fiege details the environmental perspective of American history by focusing on nine key moments showing how nature is very much entrenched in the fibers that manifested this great nation. The author sheds light on the forces that shape the lands of America and humanities desire to master and manipulate nature, while the human individual experience is dictated by the cycles that govern nature. The story of the human experience unfolds in Mark Fiege’s book through history’s actors and their challenges amongst an array of environmental possibilities, which led to nature being the deciding factor on how
What does a man do when the canyon that he so dearly loves is transformed into an unrecognizable monstrosity at the hands of others that have no affinity to the area they have destroyed? Some may bemoan the destruction, yet lament that what’s done is done and move on. Others may voice their concerns with the unsightliness they see. However, rarely does one voice their views in such a poignant and direct way as to grab the attention of the reader and powerfully force the writer’s views into the mind of the reader. The essay “The Damnation of a Canyon” by Edward Abbey is a revealing look into the mind of an environmental activist and his dissatisfaction with man’s detrimental impacts on the environment and the natural world. Edward Abbey is acclaimed
He delves into the history of the word “environmental” as well as the history of environmental activism. He pinpoints the beginning of the movement to Rachel Carson. According to Quammen, she began the revolution by publishing her book Silent Spring. He says the negative connotations of the word began with her book, pairing “environment” and “the survival of humankind” as if they go hand in hand. This played a major role in the distortion of the word and the intentions of environmentalists.
Theodore Roosevelt: The Great Environmentalist This Paper will outline President Theodore Roosevelt’s role in helping to conserve our environment during his administration (1901-1909). It will also examine his theory of a stronger American democracy through environmental conservationism. “The movement for the conservation of wildlife, and the larger movement for the conservation of all our natural resources, are essentially democratic in spirit, purpose, and method.” (Roosevelt 274)
From the lone hiker on the Appalachian Trail to the environmental lobby groups in Washington D.C., nature evokes strong feelings in each and every one of us. We often struggle with and are ultimately shaped by our relationship with nature. The relationship we forge with nature reflects our fundamental beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. The works of timeless authors, including Henry David Thoreau and Annie Dillard, are centered around their relationship to nature.
The Special Olympics date back all the way to the year 1968. Many see these Games as a time to honor someone who is able to “overcome” a task, but author William Peace sees this as an insulting portrayal of people with disabilities. Peace is a multidisciplinary school teacher and scholar that uses a wheel chair and writes about the science behind disabilities and handicaps. As a physically handicapped individual, Peace is able to observe a negative portrayal of disabled persons. In his article titled, “Slippery Slopes: Media, Disability, and Adaptive Sports,” William Peace offers his own personal insight, utilizes several statistics regarding handicaps, as well as numerous rhetorical appeals in order to communicate to the “common man”
After reading both passages, the most prevalent taste left in the reader's mouth is one of "irony". The intention of Wilson's work is to show two views. One is of environmentalists who are upset with the critics because they are not conserving enough and are only inte...
Since the rise of the American environmental romanticism the idea of preservation and conservation have been seen as competing ideologies. Literary scholars such as Thoreau and Muir have all spoke to the defense of our natural lands in a pristine, untouched form. These pro-preservation thinkers believed in the protecting of American lands to not only ensure that future generations will get to experiences these lands, but to protect the heavily rooted early American nationalism in our natural expanses. Muir was one of the most outspoken supports of the preservation ideology, yet his stylistic writing style and rhetoric resulted in conservation being an adopted practice in the early 20th century
The Conservation movement was a driving force at the beginning of the twentieth century. It was a time during which Americans were coming to terms with their wasteful ways, and learning to conserve what they quickly realized to be limited resources. In the article from the Ladies’ Home Journal, the author points out that in times past, Americans took advantage of what they thought of as inexhaustible resources. For example, "if they wanted lumber for their houses, rails for their fences, fuel for their stoves, they would cut down half a forest at a time; and whatever they could not use or sell they would leave to rot on the ground. They never bothered their heads to inquire where more wood was coming from when this was gone" (33). The twentieth century opened with a vision towards the future, towards preserving the land that had previously been taken for granted. The Conservation movement came along around the same time as one of the first major waves of the feminist movement. With the two struggles going on: one for the freedom of nature and the other for the freedom of women, it stands to follow that they coincided. As homemakers, activists, and citizens of the United States of America, women have had an important role in Conservation.
Ehrlich, P. R., & Ehrlich, A. H. (1996). Betrayal of science and reason: How anti-environmental rhetoric threatens our future. Washington, D.C: Island Press.
The commencement speech given by David Foster Wallace in the autumn of 2005, is a very deep speech that examines the whole idea of a Liberal Arts education at an extremely deep and intellectual level. In the 22 minute long speech Wallace talks about how higher education not only teaches you to think but “how to exercise some control over how and what you think.” (Wallace). Wallace later in his speech stresses the importance of this level of thinking by saying “if you cannot exercise this kind of choice in adult life, you will be totally hosed” (Wallace) What he means by saying this is that if you cannot think at a higher level and make sense of real world problems your life will become meaningless and you will become dead inside your head.
Before the 1970s, environmental policy was not the more publicized issue that it is today. After the Santa Barbara oil spill in 1969, the environmental movement really took off. The federal government took the situation into their hands and paid more attention to environmental policy than they had been doing in the past. While the states still have quite a bit of power when it com...
In 1989, seventy five percent of Americans identified themselves as environmentalists, and the number has continued to grow since then (Walls 1). Environmentalism is now the most popular social movement in the United States, with over five million American families donating regularly to environmental organizations (Walls 1). Environmentalists today focus on what kind of world they hope to see in the future, and largely deal with limiting pollution and changing consumption rates (Kent 1 and 9). Modern environmentalists also have much different issues than those Carson’s America faced. With climate change becoming more threatening each year, protection of the natural world is needed more than ever. Pollution has caused the warmest decade in history, the deterioration of the ozone layer, and species extinction in extreme numbers (Hunter 2). It not only threatens nature, but also human populations, who already suffer from lack of clean water and poisoning from toxic chemicals (Hunter 16). Unlike environmental actions in the 1960’s, which were mostly focused on protection, a massive increase in pollution has caused efforts to be focused on environmental restoration (Hunter 16). Like in the time of Silent Spring, environmentalists are not only concerned with one country. Protecting the environment remains a global issue, and every nation is threatened by the
Hawken writes that the movement, a collective gathering of nonconformists, is focused on three basic ambitions: environmental activism, social justice initiatives, and indigenous culture’s resistance to globalization. The principles of environmental activism being closely intertwined with social justice rallies. Hawken states how the fate of each individual on this planet depends on how we understand and treat what is left of the planet’s lands, oceans, species diversity, and people; and that the reason that there is a split between people and nature is because the social justice and environmental arms of the movement hav...