Wilderness
Over the weekend, I tried to get a head start on my spring cleaning by starting in winter (maybe overcompensating聽 a bit) and found all of my old camping and backpacking gear.
Needless to say, I didn鈥檛 get as much sorting done as I did reminiscing on the 鈥済ood ol鈥 days鈥 of travelling the world and going into the wilderness. Oh, the wilderness. I miss it. I miss it a lot.
I recall an article I read from New Scientist magazine that talked about 鈥渢he myth of the wild鈥 (by Emma Marris). It led me to sit and reflect for a bit longer and ponder on how we as a species have directly changed the planet. What really is wilderness now? Have we tamed most of the planet? Some of the notable statements from the article, which I jotted down, are the following:
- 50% - portion of Earth鈥檚 land actively used by humans for our own ends
- 2kms/year 鈥 the rate at which insects on the British mainland are spreading north because of global warming
- 50% - the proportion of plants and animals whose range has shifted due to climate change
- Human leftovers mean that white storks in Spain no longer need to migrate.
- In New Zealand, house sparrows have mastered automatic sliding doors, triggering the mechanism to get into lunchrooms and cafes.
- Controlled burning has created many landscapes that we consider natural.
I don鈥檛 think you need to have experienced true wilderness to know that we need it. Maybe at the very least, we just need to know that it exists. That there is still wilderness out there. Maybe that鈥檚 just me, but I don鈥檛 need to have been to the remote places of the Earth to know that even if I were to never venture outside city environments again, I would love to know that there are still areas in this world that wild and largely untouched by people. Why? Maybe it鈥檚 the desire to be in awe; in awe of something that we humans did not create ourselves. Maybe it鈥檚 the romantic and mysterious notion of the natural world, of something, someplace not quite easily reached. I think it鈥檚 a wonderful thing to know that there is some unchartered place and that it鈥檚 okay to let it be as it is; to let it exist just as it is, without having to benefit from it.