Introduction
Global warming is increasingly becoming a major problem in many parts of the world. Researchers have produced significant work that details some of the possible causes and solutions. The environment is increasingly becoming polluted. As a result, the wilderness is slowly disappearing. One of the researchers who have focused on the environment is William Cronon (1995). In his essay The Trouble with Wilderness, he describes the measures that are necessary to save the vanishing wilderness. David Kidner (2000) reviews the work by Cronon and recognizes the special role it plays in environmental protection.
On the other side, David Cole (2012) asserts that there are necessary changes in the stewardship of the wilderness and that these changes should take into account the impact of climate change. Cole (2012) raises several issues on the stewardship of the wilderness areas. These issues need to be addressed in the most efficient way. Some of the ways that can address these issues include the ideas by Cronon (1995) in his claims about the trouble with wilderness, or by the application of Kidner’s (2000) critique of the social construction of nature. This essay provides the ways of addressing the issues raised by Cole about the stewardship of wilderness areas. Besides, it proposes a method that is the better between the two.
Definition
In the claim on the wilderness issue raised by Cole (2012), several terms are important to the discussion. They include wilderness, the sublime, the frontier, nonhuman nature, constructionism, naturalness, historical fidelity, ecological integrity, resilience, planned diversity, and redundancy. According to Cronon (1995), the wilderness is the uninhabited natural environment that is devoid of pollution that is associated with other areas where human beings have dominated. He states that it is “the last remaining place where civilization, that all too human disease, has not fully infected the earth…is an island in the polluted sea of urban-industrial modernity, one place we can turn for escape from our own too-muchness” (Cronon, 1995, p. 70).
Cronon (1995) uses two terms to explain the transformations that took place in the United States in the century in terms of environmental consciousness. These terms include the sublime and frontier. The sublime represents the natural landscapes that were associated with the sight of God. These landscapes represent the modern-day uninhabited naturally beautiful environments. On the other hand, the frontier represents the adored beautiful landscapes that were initially present in the US in their original form (Cronon, 1995). They were later changed by the occupation of the invading Europeans in the periods before independence.
In addition to other terms, Cronon (1995) uses non-human nature as another term in his essay. Nonhuman nature is used here to mean the natural environment other than man. Constructionism as suggested by Kidner (2000) is the practice of learning by considering the opinions of other people. He states, “Constructionism therefore implies a relativistic stance within which one attitude toward or interpretation of the natural world is not better or worse than any other” (Kidner, 2000, p. 341). Naturalness as applied in this essay is the quality of not being obstructed in any way by a human being, as it is evident in the natural environment.
Resilience is the ability to adopt change. In relation to the environment, Cole (2012) observes resilience means the ability for ecosystems to retain their character despite undergoing future changes. Historical fidelity as described by Cole (2012) is not different from resilience. He describes it as the ability of ecosystems to retain their original look with changes in time (Cole, 2012). Ecological integrity means that the ecosystems are intact and able to serve their intended purpose (Cole, 2012). Planned diversity or redundancy is another term that may be applied to the ecosystem. Cole (2012) uses it as a means of preventing any future pollution to an ecosystem. He describes it as one that uses a variety of methods to protect the environment (Cole, 2012).
Issues Raised by Cole
Cole raises a number of issues that are related to the conservation of the environment and those that have led to the demise of the natural environment. Climate change is a contemporary topic with many effects on the natural environment. Cole (2012) confirms that human activities are the main driving forces to climate change and global warming. The environmental influence of climate change is an addition to the existing stressors of the environment. These stressors are currently acting together to cause combined effects on the environment. Human activities that are causing stress on the environment according to Cole (2012) include pollution and population pressure. However, these factors act in combination with other factors such as invasive species to produce the damage to the environment.
The added factors are raising concern on many fronts. Those who try to address the problem have a rough time. Some of the other additional forces in the destruction of the environment leading to climate change include land fragmentation, and altered disturbance regimes (Cole, 2012). The likely effects of climate change have been discussed in many forums. Prevention of further damage to the environment is currently an international problem. Cole (2012) confirms how climatic change has elicited much debate and research, with large-scale conservation measures being undertaken. A major implication of climate change that Cole (2012) focuses on is wilderness stewardship. He suggests a change in the notions that have traditionally been held on the same.
Cole (2012) reveals that protection of the wilderness has to take a more central approach. His work focuses on stewardship in the United States national parks. He states that the approach that has been used to conserve these areas has mainly been aimed at serving many purposes (Cole, 2012). An observation that he makes is that the methods used are not effective although they are intended for the good of saving the environment as wells as other good measures. The applied concepts are supposed to serve different purposes. However, these purposes end up being neglected in the process.
Cole (2012) suggests the use of trade-offs to ensure that the different purposes are served. He states, “Management approaches that maximize the protection of biological diversity might do a poor job of protecting a particular species or a nostalgic landscape” (Cole, 2012, p. 11). Cole (2012) claims that the conservative projects that may be put in place in any environmental conservation effort mostly end up being insufficient. They are usually not enough to oversee the complete change of all the required processes. The two possible solutions to the problems include the ideas by Cronon (1995) in his observations about the trouble with wilderness, or by the application of Kidner’s (2000) critique of the social construction of nature. The best of these will be presented below.
Addressing the Issues
William Cronon (1995) reveals a problem with how we understand “the wasteland.” On the other hand, David Kidner (200) sees Cronon’s point of view as being important because it has influenced the debate about protecting the environment. However, he seems to disagree on whether Cronon’s argument helps or hurts the effort to protect the environment. Kidner and his critique of the social construction nature may best tackle the issues addressed by Cole (2012).
In this work, Kidner (2000) proposes that the conservation of nature should be independent of the human intervention. He states that preservation of nature can be done through willingness only, and then letting nature save itself without the use of any scientific interventions (Kidner, 2000). Active management of nature according to Kidner (2000) creates a rather unnatural environment, with human intervention leading to further damage of other aspects of nature instead of complete repair.
Kidner (2000) proposes that human beings should provide the least intervention in the pretext of reclamation or repair of the environment. He suggests restoration of the human relationship with nature, including the interdependence that existed before, since man is part of nature. The wilderness can be saved through the interaction between nonhuman and the human nature. This approach to solving the problems proposed by Cole is not a good one. The damage that is already done to nature and the wilderness is too large to be managed this way. The naturalness of the wilderness cannot be retained using Kidner’s (2000) suggestions.
Cronon (1995) suggested a more human intervention in saving the environment. He explained that the natural environment might not be as resilient as to allow for self-repair. Cronon (1995) provides the most accurate way of solving the issues raised by Cole. These strategies are credible and practical compared to constructionism as suggested by Kidner. The management of climate change needs effective interventions by man such as the legislation of laws that prevent further pollution. Naturalness of any environment can be restored through the active participation of human beings in their different capacities. It can also improve the historical fidelity of any ecosystem.
Ecological integrity according to Cole (2012) can easily be interrupted by human activities. The same human activities can be a source of restoration. Planned diversity and redundancy of any ecosystem can also be a point of influence for human beings. The interventions may accelerate the recovery from any damage to the environment. Kidner (2000) opposes Cronon’s idea of interference with the natural environment to solve some of the environmental issues. The reason for this stance is that he perceives the interventions as causing more harm to the environment than the intended repair.
The application of Cronon’s (1995) model in environmental conservation and tackling climate change is the most effective way of bringing about change. Some of the activities that may be undertaken to save the wilderness include regular replacement of the vegetation and projects that are aimed at reducing pollution. The environment should also be cleaned of any effluents, with the cut vegetation cover being replanted. These interventions are different from those suggested by Kidner (2000) who prefers to sit and watch the natural environment as it regenerates on its own.
The interventions by human beings are not likely to bring about more damage as Kidner (2000) suggests. The damages that he foresees include the destruction of more natural environment as the replacement of other natural environments is being undertaken. This situation can be avoided through meticulous practice of replacing the vegetation in the depleted areas and/or allowing natural vegetation to grow. The natural environment that is already in place may be protected through the development of special techniques of reclamation and environmental conservation.
Mechanization in the process of environmental conservation is proposed as being a key contributor to more pollution and eventual climate change. However, the pollution and damage that may be done through this process is insignificant compared to the amount of rehabilitation that can be attained through mechanization. Cronon proposes many definitions of the wilderness as used by many researchers and authors. Kidner (2000) criticizes the definition that he finally adopts as being a retrogressive manner of addressing the problems at hand. However, there is no evidence supporting how the ideas proposed by Cronon may be a poor influence to the environmental conservation efforts.
The descriptions of the wilderness by Cronon (1995) are significant steps towards mitigation of climate change and reduction of pollution. This strategy will go a long way in restoring the environment that is currently in a poor state. Through the definition of what the wilderness entails, conservation experts have a lead of the necessary measures together with how to implement the conservation strategies. Climate change is progressing at a fast rate. If people wait for the environment to heal itself, it will increasingly become less manageable. The result is the elimination of the natural environment along with man from the planet.
There is the need to institute more measures that are aimed at environmental conservation. The strategies should not be focused on restoring to the natural environment but rather reversing the negative effects. The important target at this moment should be to produce an amount of environmental conservation and reduction of pollution. Any method that is used to achieve this should not be a cause for concern. Kidner (2000) claims that the interventions put in place in traditional and contemporary environmental conservation measures have had little success in achieving all the purposes. However, the intention of conservation processes is not to achieve a complete resolution of the problem, but to provide an alternative to the existing problem. Therefore, this essay proposes that the application of Cronon’s theory in tackling the issues raised by Cole (2012) is more effective than through the application of the constructionism theory by Kidner (2000).
Conclusion
This essay has looked at three different literatures on the environment, especially climate change. Some of the theories that relate to the conservation of the environment, including climate change have been discussed. Different researchers have different opinions on how the different issues should be tackled. One author suggests that solving the issues should be through letting nature tackle its own problems. This author proposes that interference will only cause more harm than benefit. However, the essay supports Cronon’s definition of wilderness. The changes that he proposes should be adapted to the environmental conservation efforts. Although human beings are part of nature, they should also play an important role in its conservation since they are mainly responsible for the degradation.
Reference List
Cole, N. (2012). Beyond Naturalness: Adapting Wilderness Stewardship to an Era of Rapid Global Change. International Journal of Wilderness, 18(1), 9-14. Web.
Cronon, W. (1995). The Trouble with Wilderness: Getting Back to the Wrong Nature. Ed. William Cronon. Uncommon Ground: Toward Reinventing Nature. New York, NY: Norton. Web.
Kidner, W. (2000). Fabricating Nature: A Critique of the Social Construction of Nature. Environmental Ethics, 22(1), 339-345. Web.