The Coyote and the wild
[Assigned Reading]
Evaluating Turtle Island
The “Call of the Wild” is a powerful poem that captures the negative impact of humans interacting with the environment. It starts off with a call of the wild, being the Coyote's singing, which was ended by mans trapping of them. In America, Snyder writes, ex drug users are finding peaceful ways to live with the earth, even though they are still “stuck like warts” to the Earth. He then goes on to talk about the government or American system that thrives by war and bombing, who are really conducting “A war against the Earth”. This systematic contemporary influence is negatively impacting what was once nature. This change is already taking its toll and when the wars are over there will be no place for the Coyote to hide, no place to call wild.
The poem above demonstrate the importance of human actions on the environment, as they can be both detrimental and conservative of life. The life of the American Indians were peaceful, resembling some of the teachings and practices of Zen Buddhism. Both the Indians and the Buddhists view life as sacred and something worth preserving, which Snyder suggests is the most beneficial way to act in relation the the wilderness. American society is a consumer society, which has lead to massive deforestation and expenditure of fossil fuels. He suggests that the awareness of our place within the natural environment will result in a change in attitudes about the wild and will cause a change in our future behavior. This change is necessary, says Snyder, because the environment is beginning to defend itself against us and will lead to further human difficulties (i.e. techno-fix). This book brings an awareness to the severity of the negative impact that humans have on the world, and encourages a massive culture change to protect the future.
-Zach Swanson
Evaluating Turtle Island
The “Call of the Wild” is a powerful poem that captures the negative impact of humans interacting with the environment. It starts off with a call of the wild, being the Coyote's singing, which was ended by mans trapping of them. In America, Snyder writes, ex drug users are finding peaceful ways to live with the earth, even though they are still “stuck like warts” to the Earth. He then goes on to talk about the government or American system that thrives by war and bombing, who are really conducting “A war against the Earth”. This systematic contemporary influence is negatively impacting what was once nature. This change is already taking its toll and when the wars are over there will be no place for the Coyote to hide, no place to call wild.
The poem above demonstrate the importance of human actions on the environment, as they can be both detrimental and conservative of life. The life of the American Indians were peaceful, resembling some of the teachings and practices of Zen Buddhism. Both the Indians and the Buddhists view life as sacred and something worth preserving, which Snyder suggests is the most beneficial way to act in relation the the wilderness. American society is a consumer society, which has lead to massive deforestation and expenditure of fossil fuels. He suggests that the awareness of our place within the natural environment will result in a change in attitudes about the wild and will cause a change in our future behavior. This change is necessary, says Snyder, because the environment is beginning to defend itself against us and will lead to further human difficulties (i.e. techno-fix). This book brings an awareness to the severity of the negative impact that humans have on the world, and encourages a massive culture change to protect the future.
-Zach Swanson
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