Lucas Spelsberg (10/19): Edward Abbey

Edward Abbey offers a unique perspective on the topic of development within our parks and monuments seeing as he was working in the west at the time of this increased "progress" and was able to cite many changes he had seen firsthand at the time of this writing. One of the main themes throughout many of his texts is a disdain for the presence of motorized vehicles within natural landscapes. More than most I have read regarding the increasing amount of pavement and windshield tourism at the time, Abbey was able to write about how the Park Service dealt with the monetary and political side of development. This insight seemed to lead him to believe that it should be the Park Service's job to pry the tourists out of their automobiles, out of their back-breaking upholstered mechanized wheelchairs, and onto their feet, onto the strange warmth and solidarity of Mother Earth even specifically stating in Industrial Tourism and National Parks that "This is the problem that the Park Service should confront directly" (64). I think there is something to be said for moving through nature on your own two feet. Seeing as this was how humans traveled for the majority of the time that we have existed. I believe that it must have some sort of effect on our cognition while in nature when compared to if one was traveling via car or even horse-drawn carriage. As for having more of an opportunity to fully absorb what is around you, I think that being able to move only at walking speed and also being more aware of the things that you are stepping on would make people more in tune with the environment that they are in. I think that it would be a good way to emphasize the therapeutic effects that nature can have by making sure that those who seek therapy by nature try their best to interact with their surrounding on foot. Vehicles seem to remove us and separate nature and ourselves almost entirely therefore I think that almost nothing that nature has to offer can truly be experienced when in a vehicle especially when motorized.

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