I have always believed that nature was in opposition to man made objects and environments. Although having read an article Nature Gone Wild by Dorothea Born, I now see that we as humans are a part of the natural world and I feel we should be including ourselves in the definition of nature.
The term ‘nature’ is problematic in the sense that it infers that, humans are somewhat artificial or alien to the planet when in fact we are a part of this planet, shaping the environment to suit us.
Granted, humans have destroyed habitats and have had a negative effect on the planet we call home while shaping our environment but if we look at what we term ‘nature’, there are so many other examples such as beavers damming rivers blockading the route for fish and other creatures and chewing down trees, destroying a habitat for other parts of nature like nesting birds.
If you type 'nature' into Google images, this is the result. There are no man-made structures and only one image containing a human overlooking nature; almost a godly view point looking down on creation.
Comments