Nature- Muir, Thoreau, Abbey

I thought all essays were interesting and brought up good points about nature, but Abbey was my favorite writer. While thoreau's vision of nature itself was mostly positive, his essay was a bit hard to follow and jumped around too much and he was unfair with humans. He seemed a bit too extreme in his opinions, offering that nature was better than anything created by humans. While I agree for the most part, I think it's important to keep an open mind and appreciate human creations, after all we are part of nature. I enjoyed reading Muir's story because his message was very positive, but it was my least favorite due to the fact that he had a less realistic view of nature. Abbey on the other hand, was my favorite writer because he presented his story as a hopeful advocate of change during his years as a park ranger, until he saw the demise of the natural park as demanded by society's selfish request for 'adequate' parks -paved and 'civilized.' Also, though in start disagreement to my preferred state of mind, Abbey's negative opinion in the end was realistic and a product of what he had witnessed, a premise that I feel is important as an eye-opener for those who fail to consider the real threats to nature.