Environmental History

My view of the environment has transformed from when i was a kid. Growing up, I would go camping or hiking on occasion, but i was always outside. I would play in the backyard or just throughout the neighborhood, I loved it. But as a kid i didn't truly realize why i loved it. I was playing and having fun but i didn't recognize it as just a pure appreciation for nature. My parents had a garden and some fruit trees that we were always tending to, and a compost pile that stunk in the summer. Although it was nature in my very backyard, it was a chore for me. As i grew up, i took interest in more environmental classes and learning about the environment. The more i learned, the more it became special to me. I would spend hours in front of the t.v. and sometimes still do, watching shows about different animals, or different places in nature. It is so exciting to me. I can't get the same feeling i do when i'm standing in a place of nature thinking about how its so big and how it all works together in this grand way anywhere else. Taking environmental science classes would leave me mad, thinking about how we don't take care of where we live and we try to work against it, rather than live in harmony with nature. I don't believe that humans are superior to any other species, and that nature has a greater purpose than to serve one minute species out of the millions that exist. At heart, i'd like to be a preservationist, i don't like messing with nature the way that we do; however, in actuality, i'm a conservationist. We need to use resources from the Earth for our survival, but in return we should use sustainably. I'm content with my viewpoint as a conservationist, i have developed these views throughout my life and my experiences, but i would like to change to act more in sync with my beliefs. I want to do more of the little things, the "green" things, to help make a difference in the health and continued existance of nature and the Earth.