In honor of Henry David Thoreau’s 200th birthday this July 12, and in reaction to our own “dear leader” who thought it appropriate to pull us out of the Paris Accord, and just visited his BFF at the G-20, I want to share a paragraph where I address the climate issue in my book, “Tale of Two Cabins: Comparative Stories of Thoreau’s Cabin, Nature and Life.”
“In Thoreau’s time, with the Industrial Revolution in its infancy, there was no idea or concern that human beings could alter the world environment enough to change weather patterns.
I believe that Thoreau himself would have been the first to jump on the environmental bandwagon if he had the chance. With his love affair with nature and his deep connection with all the animals in his surroundings, along with his distrust of the decisions made by his government, he would have loudly spoken out in protest.”
Thoreau did not trust his government; after all, it was he that coined the phrase “The best government is the one that governs least.” Back then, it was decisions that were being made to expand slave-holding states.
One can only imagine his outrage with the present administration’s decision to doom our environment by allowing big oil, coal, and gas companies to run roughshod over this country and beyond. With President Donald Trump’s war on the planet, Thoreau would certainly speak out loudly in protest. He worked his whole life to protect the forests and flora and fauna contained within them. His words inspired both John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt, who worked to preserve vast tracts of wilderness.
Thoreau’s quote, “in wildness is the preservation of the world,” best illustrates his view. Thoreau continues to help us from beyond the grave; his meticulous notes on when plant life would begin new growth in the spring, are helping climatologists better understand the changing temperatures today.
Happy 200th birthday, Henry!
John Clapp
Florence