Environmental Semantics

Paper Summary:

In this paper, the writer explains that, although the concept of wilderness preservation seems idyllic and mostly undisputed by Americans, it perpetuates Western society's harmful dualistic and disassociated relationship with nature. The writer believes that the concept of wilderness is inept in transmitting the potential solutions and social transformations necessary to address the widespread environmental crisis. The writer argues that the concept of wilderness is based upon an American ideal, which cannot be matched by other nations and often times by its very inhabitants. The writer then suggests that, instead of wilderness, nature would be a unifying term for the environmental movement.

From the Paper:

The concepts of nature and wilderness can also be strange and non-useful to inhabitants of The United States. For instance, oftentimes individuals who reside in urban and inner city settings tend to disassociate themselves from wilderness. What is wilderness, for example, if you claim you have never experienced or seen it? Again, when nature and wilderness are an "Other," it is difficult to relate to a place that is substantially distant from you. Many inner city children have never experienced being in the wilderness and most fear such encounters as the first people who landed on America's shores."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 21 February 2008. 21 Febraury 2008 <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wilderness>.
• Nash, Roderick Frazier. Wilderness and the American Mind. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001.
• NationalAtlas.Gov. 21 February 2008. 21 February 2008 <http://nationalatlas.gov/articles/boundaries/a_nwps.html>.

More papers on Environmental Semantics:

• Research Paper # 25513 : "Memory Mechanisms for Visualization of Different Environmental Phenomena"
• Case Study # 109605 : "Environmental Analysis for a Competitive Advantage"
• Comparison Essay # 24121 : "Language Acquisition"

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