Myth of superabundance

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The myth of superabundance is the belief that

natural resources to satisfy humanity's wants, and that no matter how much of these resources humanity uses, the planet will continuously replenish the supply. The term was coined by US politician Stewart Udall — a member of the Democratic Party — in 1964 in his book The Quiet Crisis, though the idea had existed previously among 19th-century US conservationists
.

Udall described the myth as the belief that there was "so much land, so much water, so much timber, so many birds and beasts"

North American West George Colpitts, "no theme became as integral to western promotion as natural abundance."[2]: 104  Especially with respect to the American West after 1890, promotional literature encouraged migration by invoking the idea that God had provided an abundant environment where no person or family would fail if they sought to farm or otherwise live off the land.[2]

At that time,

environmental catastrophes
.

18th century manifestations in the US

In 1784, John Filson wrote The Discovery, Settlement And present State of Kentucky,[3] which included the chapter "The Adventures of Colonel Daniel Boon". This work represents an early instance of the myth of superabundance, enticing settlers to Kentucky based on its abundance of resources.[1]

19th century manifestations in the US

Udall described the impacts of the myth on natural resources as "The Big Raid on resources".

marine species
to become extinct as a consequence of the myth of superabundance.

The

overhunting and habitat destruction brought about by the timber industry, the species had become extinct, the last passenger pigeon having died in the Cincinnati Zoo.[4]

The American buffalo was threatened by the myth of superabundance. They were considered to be the largest and most valuable resource because just about every piece of them was usable. The big kill of the buffalo began at the end of the Civil War when armies began killing the animals in an attempt to starve the Plains Indians. Railroad men wanted them killed in order to create more profit for the hides. Buffalo were killed for their tongues and hides, and some hunters simply wanted them as trophies. Pleas of protection for the buffalo were ignored, nearly wiping out the species.[1]

During the

the South and droughts in the North struck in 1959, helping create the conditions that led to the Great Chinese Famine.[5]

US conservationists warnings

George Perkins Marsh, who wrote Man and Nature in 1864, rejected the idea that any resource could be indefinitely exploited. Perkins had been witness to natural destruction and its impact on present prosperity. He believed that nature should not be exploited for economic or political gain. He was, after all, "forest born".[1]: 72  Man's role as a catalyst of change in the natural world intrigued him. He believed that progress was entirely possible and necessary if only men used wisdom in the management of resources. He cast doubt around the myth of superabundance[6] and helped make way for John Muir in 1874.

Muir, who had grown up surrounded by wilderness, believed that wildlife and nature could provide people with a heightened sense of abilities and experiences of awe that could not be found elsewhere.[1] He advocated for the preservation of what he believed to be America's most beautiful nature, building on steps already taken by Frederick Law Olmsted, a young landscape architect who designed Central Park in New York City. Olmsted had persuaded Congress to pass a bill preserving much of Yosemite Valley, which President Lincoln had then approved in 1864. In 1872, President Grant signed the Yellowstone Park Bill, which saved over two million acres of wildlife.[1]

Early successes

Muir saw

sheep farmers and their herds.[Notes 1]
In 1876, Muir wrote an article "God’s First Temples – How Shall We Preserve Our Forests", which he published in the newspaper, pleading for help with protection of the forests. At first, he failed against the overriding ideal of the myth of superabundance, but he did inspire bills in the 1880s that sought to enlarge Yosemite's reservation.

Muir formed the Sierra Club, a group of mountaineers and conservationists like him who had responded to his many articles. The Sierra Club's first big fight came as a counter-attack on lumbermen and stockmen who wanted to monopolize some of Yosemite County. Yosemite Valley, which was still owned by the state, was mismanaged and natural reserves like the meadows and Mirror Lake, which was dammed for irrigation, were still being destroyed even under supposed protection. In 1895, Muir and the Sierra Club began a battle that would span over ten years, fighting for natural management of Yosemite Valley. Theodore Roosevelt met with Muir in 1903 and was instantly fascinated with Muir's passion for the wilderness. Roosevelt approved Muir's argument for Yosemite Valley, and so the Sierra Club took their decade–long campaign to Sacramento, where they won against the California legislature in 1905. With Roosevelt on Muir's side, Yosemite Valley became part of Yosemite National Park and was allowed natural management.

20th century manifestations

According to Udall the myth of superabundance was replaced in the 20th century by the myth of scientific supremacy: the belief that science can eventually find a solution to any problem.[1]: 178  This leads to behaviors which, while recognizing that resources are not infinite, still fail to properly preserve those resources, putting the problem off to future generations to solve through science.[1] "Present the repair bill to the next generation" is their silent motto.[1]: 178  George Perkins Marsh had said that conservation's greatest enemies were "greed and shortsightedness".[1]: 178 

Next steps

Patsy Hallen wrote in the article, "The Art of Impurity" that an ethics development must occur in which respect for nature and our radical dependency on it can take place. Humans see themselves as superior to nature, and yet are in a constant state of continuity with it. Hallen argues that humanity cannot afford such an irrational state of mind and ecological denial if it expects to prosper in the future.[7]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Overgrazing would later spark a feud of conflicting beliefs between Muir and Glifford Pinchot, the Department of Agriculture’s Chief Forester, who were actually friends. They clashed over sheep-grazing practices, because Pinchot believed that controlled grazing was useful in the forest preserves, but Muir believed that it was a bad practice to use at all. Pinchot is known to have later rescinded his argument, saying that Muir was indeed, right.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Udall, Stuart, L. (1988). The Quiet Crisis and the Next Generation. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith Publisher.
    ISBN 087905333X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  2. ^ a b Colpitts, George (2002). Game in the Garden: A Human History of Wildlife in Western Canada to 1940. Vancouver: UBC Press.
    ISBN 0774809620
    .
  3. ^ Filson, John (1784). "The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke". Electronic Texts in American Studies.
  4. ^ BirdLife International (2019). "Ectopistes migratorius".
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22690733A152593137.en
    . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  5. ^ Ed, Mokyr, Joel (2003). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History. Oxford University Press.
  6. ^ Marsh, George Perkins (1965). Man and Nature. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
    ISBN 0-674-54452-8
    .
  7. ^ Hallen, Patsy (2003). "The Art of Impurity in Ethics and the Environment". Vol. 8, no. 1. Indiana University Press.
    JSTOR 40339057
    .
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