Natural history fascinates me, but I still can't stand the inevitable feeling of disappointment that accompanies reading about the destruction of the natural world. There is a small but definite pang at each tree logged, each law passed that allows clearing, and every disease that wiped out any number of plant or animal. This is not necessarily a universal sentiment, but one that I believe I am not alone in experiencing. There is nothing that can be done about the past, but these feelings of regret translate differently in the present. The hopeful passages in environmental texts about what has been recovered or what can be done provide an alternative view, but the helplessness that goes hand in hand with past issues are even stronger when they are happening now. I can be somewhat relieved that in this moment I can do nothing about the forest fires of the early 1900s, but that's only because there is distance between myself and the time of the event. That buffer disappears when the arguments are current, such as the ongoing debates about whether or not to build the new ski resort in the park. Even in a text like the atlas, where the information is presented as a collection of factual information, the facts themselves act as a call to arms.
This post introduces yet another conflict in the story of the Adirondacks, and the natural world in general. When introduced with a serious environmental issue, we are met with two very strong emotions. First, a desire to fix said problem, and second, an overwhelming feeling of helplessness. Most of us feel for the environment, but think "What can we even do?" Often the companies and industries that are creating certain problems such as clear-cutting or air pollution are very powerful and backed by a lot of funding. In our society, it is easy for a power like this to overshadow a smaller group of poorly-funded protesters. This conflict is a pretty scary prospect, and although some of the texts we have read are hopeful in terms of forest regeneration and the like, it is hard to imagine and overthrowing of some of these larger industries without the very strong banding together and a large and opinionated population.
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