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?

Blog #15 Carson

I would like to express my admiration that Carson is able to be so passionate about something. She is obviously VERY concerned with the lives of the birds. It is interesting how she describes the dead birds as bodies and corpses. She then backs up her argument with relating that to humans. I’m not sure that I believe that the two (birds and humans) are that closely linked, but she does support her argument well. The idea that we kill things that we dislike just because they bother us and it’s easier falls along nicely with Muir’s approach as well.

Blog #14: Muir #2

I thought this excerpt’s interest was in its description. This was surely one of the more descriptive pieces I’ve read. I loved how Muir describes the Grasshopper and Fly just as much as he describes the Bear. And I have had encounters with bears and can tell you that seeing one in the wild is scary, magnificent, and so much more terrifying that you would ever expect. However, Muir decides that the Grasshopper is more impressive and a better representation of the land. I can agree with him there as well. Sometimes it is the little things that define a place for us. Some of the more common things can mean the most.

Blog #13 Muir

I think Muir is voicing a lot of extreme and one sided opinions. In some ways I do agree with him though. I agree that some things are “beautiful” even if they don’t seem it. Many dangerous animals are beautiful or interesting, and not evil. On a side note, that actually reminds me of Patricia Smith’s poetry. I find it very ugly and harsh, and that harsh, grotesque way about her writing is what makes it beautiful and honest. In the same way I think that all things have a purpose. I don’t think that Muir disagrees with this; he just believes that things have their own purpose, and it is not to serve humans. I can also agree with that. However, he said at one point that people look down on others who sympathize with creatures other than humans. I just don’t think that’s true anymore. I think if you looked down on an animal people would look down on you, no matter how ugly it is. There is also a line where he states that our earth has “made many a successful journey around the heavens ere man was made” and if he is talking about the Christian God in this story, which I believe he is intending to, he would know that God made the world in seven days and humans on the 6th day. That line kind of threw me off as to if he really had a stable argument since a lot of his rant was about how men are trying to play God and decided what God is like. Those are some pretty radical statements.

Blog #12 Abbey

I have been fortunate enough to visit many of the National Parks that Abbey mentions in this rant of his and honestly, I completely agree with him. I remember going to Yellowstone and noticing how beaten down the paths were just from foot traffic. Or how you would drive along the highway and suddenly it would stand still because everyone and their mother is gawking at the mountain goat a little off the road ahead. I think his plan is brilliant. I was sad to realize that this was written in 1968 and (to my knowledge) nothing of that nature has been done with the parks. I will say that in parks like Denali in Alaska there is definitely limited car traffic seeing as you have to take a bus into the park. I thought this was a really good idea and kind of an intermediate step. I do like his idea of riding bicycles much better though. I am terribly interested to see how this article impacted the park service at the time. Obviously it didn’t because he’s told us that it didn’t, but maybe it has impacted the park service today. I also really enjoyed his dry sense of humor. He has a way of writing that really draws you in and makes you feel comfortable. He sounds very honest. I think this is my favorite piece of work we’ve read so far.

Blog #11 Momaday

I liked how Momaday describes the man as the lord of his particular universe. He talks about how he could not possibly exist outside this time and this place. I think this is a very interesting observation and could be true for a lot of settings. I also love how this story flows nicely without seeming to. It is composed of a bunch of different Native American stories (mostly one’s based off of Momaday’s experiences) but manages to all fit together with the overall theme, that we should follow the Native American’s example of how to view the land. Not to own the land, but to love it. There was also one line that I really loved. He says that “we are what we imagine ourselves to be” I think that is really true and powerful. It fits in with that self fulfilling prophesy thing. It makes all of our life goals and efforts seem a bit more attainable.

Blog #10 Thoreau

In this passage Thoreau is talking about building a house, among other things. I found a few parts particularly interesting. I thought that when he was talking about how it would make sense for students to build their own houses that that would indeed make a lot of sense. It was interesting that he mentioned wanting to paint your house the color of dirt and then related your home to you final home, a coffin. I also thought it was interesting how he brought up how he has a bit of a beef with the mail and the media. I think I would agree that many times all that is in the media is death, destruction, and despair. I feel like I don’t really learn anything useful that I would want to know about another country. The story about the messenger being sent out to receive information for his master was a good one. I think you have to go for yourself though. You can’t rely on someone else’s second hand opinions to give you a clear understanding of things. Overall, it is quite easy to see how this relates to Christopher McCandless from Into the Wild. They both were ready to denounce society and try to find some higher understanding by being closer to nature.