Blog #19 Leopold

This piece was a very dry one. It was definitely my least favorite to read. It talked about many ethical and moral issues, which is all well and good. However, the attention to detail in this piece was too much. It dragged on and on. There are some pieces in this book that I enjoy even though I disliked the topic. This one seemed like it in no way reached out to the reader who wasn’t completely into it. The parts about X and Y were confusing and slow to read. The parts about land ethic had a good overall viewpoint, but just didn’t quite get me there. I think that being able to meat your readers where they are at in your story is really important. If you don’t write with them in mind you will lose them. Leopold could have added some humor, dialog, or more action to get my attention better.

Blog #18 Berry

I really admire Berry’s description of his life on his farm. I have only been to a couple of farms in my life. The ones that I have seen however, are far from self sustaining. I think that is a really noble thing to undertake. It must have taken up a ton of his time and his wife’s time. Also, raising children in an environment like that would be interesting. I wonder how the child’s view on ecological issues will develop.

Blog #17 Snyder

This was a very creative piece to say the least. I have to say that I am not too familiar with Smokey the Bear. I am pretty familiar with Buddhism though through my Religion 205 class this semester. The way that he compares Smokey to a Buddha and what he stands for as a religion is really interesting. I always enjoy new ways of looking at things and that is exactly what is happening with this piece of literature. He is taking an iconic image (Smokey the Bear) that usually stands for forest fire prevention, and turning it into something much more. He now stands for a kind of religious aspect of wildlife conservation. He even portrays Smokey as a kind of extremist protector. It’s quite extreme, but I do think that it displays its point very well.

Blog #16 Steingraber

This was an extremely thought provoking piece of writing. I loved how Steingraber laid out her argument. She explained all the facts and background, inserts a personal story about her family and daughter, throws in a current event with the food recall in Belgium, and then ends with more facts and a final (unnerving) statement. I never thought of how our breastfed children are actually at the top of the food chain and how that isn’t the best place to be. I kept thinking that she was going to state that although our babies get all these chemicals thrown into them, it is actually good for their immune systems. Something along the lines of the old phrase, what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. However, that statement never came. I found this a little unsettling as a woman and future mother since I have always heard that breast feeding is much better for your baby and they receive more nutrients. Apparently, they receive a lot of really harmful contaminants along with those nutrients. It’s also scary to think that we know so little about the very dangerous chemicals that we have detected. It just shows that we are an advanced society that knows a frighteningly miniscule amount of knowledge about something that is obviously so important. I only wish that she would have included some tips on how to combat this issue. Perhaps eating organic food could help?