The reading was a whole new look at what people think about nature. Growing up in downtown Cleveland the only nature I experienced was the tree in the back yard with the broken branches from being climbed to much. Of course, there was Edgewater park, but, as I look back on it now, the debri ridden sand and murky brown water wasn't much to enjoy either. I have never witnessed these majestic places like Niagra falls or the Grand Canyon in person, so I don't know what it feels like to be awed by nature. The wilderness around Athens is like a jungle to me.
I believe that Cronin is right that nature and civilization are one. However, I feel that the human conquest and consumption of nature is inevitable. The other day, I was watching this show on the travel channel about a guy who "roughed it" in the wild. So this man, left is high rise in Brooklyn, flew to this "remote" spot in Alaska and began his triumph over nature. I expected his dwelling to be a tiny log cabin with a few supplies to make it. When this guy got there, he had a compound, complete with four-wheelers, a butcher shop, and even a fuel station. to get my point across, I guess where ever humans can place and use technology, that piece of land or nature will be consumed.
I don't believe that humans will "discover an ethical way to live with nature.". Maybe we will find a lesser way to consume nature, but either way humans will take what they need. I feel that there will always be this constant battle between civilization and nature. There will be supporters on both sides . . . always. Hopefully there can be negotiations to help realize that if nature goes, so will we.
