Franco Lichauco ENVI Law 340-01 October 24, 2012 A Truffula Tree, A Preservationist, A Conservationist and A President In Dr.

Seuss The Lorax, a character called the Once-ler comes upon a fertile land where the grass is green, the water is wet and the clouds are still clean.1 Upon coming to this land, he sees the Truffula trees, a potential resource he can use to make a product. He cuts down a tree to make a thneed. As the first tree is cut, out comes the Lorax, a short, old-looking man who protests against the Once-lers action of cutting down the tree. Over the course of the story, the Once-ler continues to cut down Truffula trees to make thneeds and is warned again and again about the effects of his actions by the Lorax. Near the end of the story, after the last tree is cut, the once fertile land is polluted, there are no more trees and the Lorax is gone. The story is told by the Once-ler to a visiting boy, who is told someone like him can plant a Truffula tree from the seed he is given, protect it and maybe, have the Lorax come back. This story is similar to the story of how the American people expanded west to the frontier and in that developed the
1

The Lorax

American character and a consciousness towards the environment. The doctrine of Manifest Destiny lead people on a mission that God had given them the land to conquer. The Land Ordinance of 1785 distributed land to be cultivated to an individuals liking. But in the course of these developments came the resulting degradation to our environment and its natural resources. At the end of the 19th century, people such as John Muir, Gifford Pinchot and Theodore Roosevelt brought to attention the need for preservation and conservation of the environment. Through believed they the were doctrine on a of Manifest from God Destiny, to take Americans over the

mission

seemingly unlimited and bountiful resources of the west. Not only that, they were to also spread their ideals of democracy and freedom. The nation was growing, not just in physical size, but through population increase and demand for more resources. These resources could be found in the land west of the of

Appalachian

Mountains.

What

would

become

the

states

Louisiana, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri2 would allow the American to continue to expand bring in their old lives into a new environment. Individualism would begin to take place as man would own his own land, and

Lynn Clerk Notes

develop it for his use. Distribution was also fair through the Land Ordinance of 1785. The Land Ordinance of 1785 was an act passed by Congress and used as a method to sell out the public lands acquired through the Louisiana Purchase. Under the Articles of Confederation, no taxation was to be done on the states citizens. Therefore, land west of the 13 original colonies was to be sold in order to help refund Congresss debt from the Revolutionary War. This land was acquired through the yielding of native Indian tribes and would soon be divided up in a way that was fair and new to how the original New England states were distributed3. By doing this, America would become different from England as a country of a people who owned and developed a piece of land to their liking, while at the same time benefiting the government through economic stimulation. Land was studied by a team of surveyors and divided evenly out into thirty-six square miles and then divided again into one square mile sections. Each section of land was bought at about $2.00 per acre. Since there was so much land, this made it very cheap and was easily affordable. With land purchased, a man could develop the land to suit his needs. Everything was deemed created by God and made for

Steckmesser

their utilization, whatever that may be. There was a disturbance to the ecological systems that pervaded the area. While changes in nature were nothing new, there was a great modification to homogeny and sameness that man brought.4 In Fredrick Jackson Turners essay about the Frontier he takes a section of Pecks New Guide to the West to describe how man developed the land. He describes a pioneer who relies on vegetation and the earnings of hunting.5 With what seemed like limitless and bountiful resources, there was no thought to conserving them or how human action could affect the landscape. Villages grew into cities, giant orchards and churches could be seen and the latest fashion was being shown off.6 At the same time, trees were being cut down, animals were hunted and industrialization had taken over. It wasnt until near the end of the 19th century that a preservationist, a conservationist and a U.S. president would see that nature was made for more than just being used by man. John Muir was born in Dunbar, Scotland on April 21, 1838. He came to the U.S. in 1849 and lived in Wisconsin. He attended the University of Wisconsin and soon after toured the states of Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and the country of Canada. He also

4 5

White Turner 6 Turner

had many adventures in the Sierra Nevada in California where he learned to appreciate its vastness and magnificence.7 His views on environmental protection were that nature should be left as it is. It did not need to be developed over or its resources used for the production of commercialism. Rather, it should be used for spiritual healing and adoration. He believed nature was Gods gift to man, so that man may admire its beauty and take in the tranquility it provides. At a time when people worked and worked, Muir believed that they had lost their souls to the industrializations of city life. But by going to see nature, be surrounded by nature, people could restore their souls once again. While both John Muir and Gifford Pinchot had the same objective of saving the environment, they had very different ways of doing it. Gifford Pinchot was born in Simsbury, Connecticut on August 11, 1865. He was born into a wealthy family of politicians, proprietors and merchants. He studied forestry in Nancy, France as there were no forestry schools in the states. He applied his knowledge to use in the U.S. For three years he worked as a forester for Vanderbilts Biltmore Forest Estate. He then later became the fourth Chief of the Division of Forestry from 1898 to 1905.8

7 8

Sierra Club Forest History

His views on environmental protection were majorly different from that of Muirs. He believed that nature and its resources should be exploited, but in a sensible way. He believed in conservation. Man should not be cutting down every tree or damming up every river. America should take advantage of its resources, but use them efficiently, for the good of many and leave enough for future generations and to do just the same. Efficient use of resources would mean getting the most use out of them. This way, production of waste would be averted. Pinchot believed that resources should be in control of the many instead of a few who were making a fortune from production and industrialization. If every man was aware of how he used a resource, he would be held accountable for how he provided for the country as a whole. Resource conservation also meant leaving enough for the future descendents to continue on and prosper. Despite critics believing that conservation would hinder growth, Pinchot claimed it was an essential element.9 In 1905, he was appointed the first chief of the Forest Service under President Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt was born in New York City on October 27, 1858. Although raised in a rich family, he struggled with poor health during his youth, but was still able to go to Harvard and

Manetta

later study politics in Germany.10

Through his political career,

Roosevelt started as a state legislator and later the Mayor of New York. His influence about caring for the environment came from living on a ranch in the badlands of the Dakota Territories.11 He became the 26th President of the United States upon the assassination of President Mckinley. He shared both Muirs and Pinchots views on the environment and that it should be protected and conserved. Some of his accomplishments during his presidency include forming the United States Forest Service and appointed Gifford Pinchot as its chief12. Others were He recognized that the opportunities given by the settlement of the west were gone13 and made to conserve vast areas of land where resources could be used in a more efficient and conservative way. He also shared Pinchots views on big business, that they should be regulated and that resources should be shared among the many and not horded by the few. Muir influenced Theodore Roosevelt about preservation by having them go camping together. The two men set out for three days and two nights in Yosemite. During that time, they camped under giant sequoias, journeyed through the forests, got caught in a snow storm and listened to the sounds of the animals.
10 11

White House.gov Grantham 12 Pbs 13 Grantham

During their trip, Muir talked to Roosevelt about bringing in Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove into the national park system. The discussion convinced Roosevelt to sign a bill that would see the safeguard of the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias and the California Yosemite Grant. All of these men were important elements in developing a conscious towards the environment. At the end of Fredrick Jackson Turners essay, he writes the frontier has gone, and with its going has closed the first period of American history.14 At the end of the story The Lorax there is a small pile of rocks with the word unless.15 Much was done to the environment as a result of America expanding into the western frontier. We thought that the resources were limitless, that there was no need to conserve or preserve so many resources. Trees were cut, animals were hunted and the land was refined for our use. Unless there are people like John Muir, Gifford Pinchot and Theodore Roosevelt bringing the awareness of our actions to the environment, we may have developed until the last tree was cut. Americans living in the beginning of the 20th century must learn from what had happened both in with development of land and conservation of resources and continue that practice.

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Turner The Lorax

Bibliography "Gifford Pinchot (1865-1946)." Gifford Pinchot. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2012. <http://www.foresthistory.org/ASPNET/people/Pinchot/Pinchot.aspx>. Grantham, Dewey W. "Introduction." Introduction. Theodore Roosevelt. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1971. 1-3. 62-65. Print. Lynn Gingras Clerk Notes Manetta, Brain. "John Muir, Gifford Pinchot and the Battle for Hetch Hetchy." N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2012. <http://www.ithaca.edu/history/journal/papers/sp02muirpinchothetchy.html>. May, Robert E. "Manifest Destiny." PBS. PBS, 14 Mar. 2006. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/prelude/md_manifest_destiny2.html>. Schaulman, Janet. "The Lorax." 2004. Your Favorite Seuss. 1st ed. New York: Random House Children's, 2004. N. pag. Print. Steckmesser, Kent Ladd. The Westward Movement; a Short History. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1969. Print. (Pg. 88-91) Turner, Fredrick J. Significance of the Frontier in American History, The, Course Packet Theodore Roosevelt Biography . Nobelprize.org 27 Sep 2012 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1906/roosevelt-bio.html "Theodore Roosevelt." The White House. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2012. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/theodoreroosevelt>. White, Richard. "It's Your Misfortune and None of My Own": A History of the American West. Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1991. Print. (Pg 137-139) "Who Was John Muir?" About. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2012. <http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/about/>.