A Tale of Two Farms

Instead, my trips to Huls and Gardar Farms, thousands of miles apart but visited during the same summer, vividly brought home to me the conclusion that even the richest, technologically most advanced societies today face growing environmental and economic problems that should not be underestimated (Diamond, p.17).

As I was reading through the passage and came across this line, the truth behind it is astounding. The idea that we as a society believe that we are in a much greater state than we were in the past due to technological advances is not completely true. Although we may have more knowledge and more technologically sound farms, these farms continue to struggle both environmentally and economically at times. Reading this really shows that not only are we having the same issues as previous generations, but we are destroying the environment much more along the way.


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What were the fates of its individual citizens? Did they move away, and (if so) why, or did they die there in some unpleasant way? Lurking behind this romantic mystery is the nagging thought: might such a fate eventually befall our own wealthy society? (Diamond, p.20)

This statement that was made really makes you look at things from a different perspective. While we all spend our time looking at historical ruins and societies. Who is to say that one day our societies may come to an end, and that one day other people that are apart of newer societies will look at the ruins of our monumental things such as Washington, DC. Many of these societies were wealthy just like many of us our in today's world. This statement is portraying that wealth is not the solution for long term existence.


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Does it stand to reason that today's human population of almost seven billion, with our potent modern technology, is causing our environment to crumble globally at a much more rapid pace than a mere few million people with stone and wooden tools already made it crumble locally in the past. (Diamond, p.22)

The idea that today's human population has a effected the environment more than any other era of humans is something that we should frown upon. Although  people in the times before these technological advances may have had a "lower quality of life", they were able to sustain the environment rather than destroy it with these technological "advances". Societies that were established prior to ours may not have lasted long term, but they certainly did not have as bad as an effect on the earth as much as we had. Maybe these "Technological advance" are not advances after all.


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Nature Deficit Disorder

Nearly 40 percent of american elementary schools either eliminated or were considering eliminating recess. (Louv, p. 1)

When looking at this statement it truly sends a deep feeling of sorrow. The idea of canceling recess is something that should be never be done. Not only does the idea take away an enjoyable time for students in school but they would also be taking away the time that children need to be active and exercise. Personally when I was in elementary school I really looked forward to the time that we had during recess. Not only was it a time for us as students to get outside and enjoy some fresh air,but it was a time for us as students to interact and have fun playing sports and participating in activities. All of my fondest memories in elementary was during recess and for society to take that away from children is something that I find to be cruel. Although education in life is important, having a time for physical fitness and maintain health is also vital in our everyday living.


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But television is only part of the larger environmental/cultural change in our lifetime. (Louv, P. 1)

This is a very strong statement concerning the development of Nature-Deficit Disorder Television in the last few decades has had a large impact in society. Children growing up in recent years have dropped the toys and have picked up the remote controller. T.V has almost become a culture in the lives of children. Parents have also influenced this in many ways. Rather than playing with their children and taking them outside to play. they would prefer to leave their child in front of a television screen and be able to do their own thing. One could even argue that some parents may use the television as an electronic babysitter. The lack of exposure to nature ties into this. Growing up watching T.V. influences people to stay inside and not have much exposure to nature.

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Michael Gurian stated that "Our brains are set up for an agrarian, nature-oriented existence that came into focus five thousand years ago"

In history before the world was industrialized and turned into urban societies rather than rural society everything was done in nature. For example, before their was electricity, concrete buildings, and grocery stores one had to be outside and use certain skills in order to survive. That is what this statement is trying to reveal. The idea that humans have always been nature-oriented prior to industrialization. One had a sense of nature, skills, and athleticism in order to survive in the outdoors. This was a common occurrence in society and if not you would have no way to survive. Our bodies our made to adapt to our surrounding and when we our put in these urban civilizations, man tends to steer away from nature and become separated from its natural state.



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