Smith A Land Remembered

After finishing the Book I found the novel to be very entertaining and easy to read. My favorite character in the novel was Zech. I connected a lot with his story and the way he thought throughout the novel. He was Tobias and Emma's son. His story begins as a young boy growing up in upstate Florida in a little cabin his father built in the shrubs. His family did not have much of anything to give him during his early years in life since they practically lived without an income and fed off animals his father could kill. As he grew up he helped his father herd cattle down to a port where it could then be sold. He and his father along with the help of other hired men practically built a fortune herding cattle. He later got married to Glenda and they had a son named Sol.

Since Zech grew up in the middle of the woods and was always surrounded by wildlife I think he had a strong connection to nature. Simply because there was really nothing else around him. He was a great horse rider and knew how to deal with nature as if nature was in his blood. He felt really awkward being around more civilized areas and always went back to his woods where he felt at home.

I think Zech experience a sense of place at the custard-apple forrest where he went to visit the Indians. I think to his this was a sacred place where nature was running a full coarse and he felt he was part of it. I think this is why knowing there was not much that could be done with that land he chose to buy it and ultimately wanted to preserve it. Throughout the novel when this place was mentioned by him it felt as if he was part of this place and it was where he felt at home.

I related to Zech in the way that like him I grew up fairly poor but was always happy with anything given to me by my parents. In the novel when Zech was a young boy he was really happy being out in the woods and riding horses and herding cows. To him nothing else matter and he was happy. When I was a young boy even though I did not live in the wilderness riding horses and chasing after cows I was happy playing sport with my friends in the streets and being out in parks and not worrying about expensive toys other kids had. After Zech's family started to gain more income he was still very appreciative of what he had and never took all the struggle for granted and that is how I am today.

Leopold A Land Ethic

"In short, a land ethic changes the role of Homo-sapiens from conqueror of land-community to plain member and citizen of it. It implies respect for the fellow-members, and also respect for the community as such..." Leopold

I think many people can agree with the author when he says this. growing up we always hear that humans are the superior race of animals. And that may be true in many ways but we are part of this planet as much as all the other species that have been here long before us. We have taken the planet as if we own it. We have killed many species of animals as well as plants sometimes for necessity and sometimes for sport. We should not think just because we have evolved more than other species and consider ourselves superior that we are owners of the planet and we may choose to do with it what we please. We are merely another member of a community and must learn to share every resource provided to us.

"The less violent the man made changes, the greater the probability of successful readjustment in the pyramid." Leopold

I think that no matter how violent, the changes we make to an environment will affect the species that live in it. The best thing to do would be not to make anymore changes to the environment. Or to make sure that if we are going to make changes to plan ahead and think of all the life we might be destroying and find ways to preserve that life. In class we learned how Florida environmentalist saw how much destruct6ion change would bring to the land and they fought to keep part of the land reserved. But not a lot places thought or simply cared about what and who change would affect.

"One of the requisites for an ecological comprehension of land is an understanding of ecology, and this is by no means co- extensive with 'education'; in fact, much higher education seems deliberately to avoid ecological concepts."

I dont understand what the author means by "much higher education seems to deliberately to avoid ecological concepts." I think that not only in our class but other classes ecological awareness is taught and is a subject that can be discussed about in any subject. I think that as we grow we are starting to better understand the land and we are staring to appreciate it more everyday. We are taking precautions when building making sure that all life is accounted for when making changes to an environment.

 

Louv Nature Deficit Disorder

"Television is only part of the larger environmental/cultural change in our lifetime." Lou 4

This sentence really stood out to me when doing the reading. ADHD is something that has been around for a long time but it is a disorder that flourished recently due to the advancement of technology. As new technology bloomed our attention for it grew. Walking around the streets or taking public transport one will see people on their cellphones, listening to music, or even on their laptops or tabs. Every day we let technology draw our attention away from nature. 

"ADHD may be a set of symptoms aggravated by lack of exposure to nature." Lou 11

I don't agree with the author when he says this. I think that the lack of exposure to nature can have a great effect on ADHD but if lack of exposure to nature caused ADHD a lot more people would have the disorder. Many people live in cities where nature is hard to find. Having lived in a big city myself I can say that it is very hard for a child to go outside without experiencing danger. Of course humanity has learned to integrate nature to these cities because theres nothing more beautiful than nature. 

"Much about ADHD remains a medical and political mystery" Louv 3

What does this disorder have to do with politics? I have always been skeptical about this disorder in that I don't understand why people and kids believe they suffer from it simply because they can't focus when working or doing a task. This disorder is over-diagnosed. Doctors are giving diagnostics based on little information and not many ways of testing for these symptoms. I believe we all have times where we can't function without some sort of stimulant but it does not mean that we suffer from a disorder. I believe that kids growing up hearing more and more about this disorder become more prone to "catching" it. 

All in all I think technology is requiring us to multitask more taking our attentions and making us have to split it in many ways to compensate for all the new things we have. We should really take back to our roots sometimes and spend sometime away from technology. Focus on our sense of place take in the surroundings and breath in fresh air. I see people that are constantly looking at nature through a phone, computer, or tablet rather than being out there enjoying it and taking it in.