Why history?

My sister and I are often asked: “why do you focus on history in your efforts? Why not just focus on the problems of today?”

We focus on defining events in the history of environmentalism based on a belief that the past holds insights into solving the riddles of the present. Through the study (in a fun, entertaining way of course) of these defining events and themes, important lessons and insights can be learned and applied to the pressing environmental problems of the day.

In our first title, THE LAND OF CURIOSITIES, perhaps one of the greatest lessons is that diverse interests and social forces successfully united to help create Yellowstone as the world’s first national park in 1872. Railroad pioneers, scientists, explorers, reporters, politicians, emerging spiritual-ecology thought leaders, and the preservationists of the time period united in a common cause to preserve this magnificent place called Yellowstone. This event marked the first time in recorded history that a country set aside land and wildlife to be forever preserved and protected. The lesson – diverse interests uniting in a common cause to achieve tremendous progress – is applicable to virtually all of our environmental problems today. (more on coalition building in a future post)

Another key lesson of the story (and in real life led by folks of the era like John Muir) is that environmental protection is a worthy value and effort in-and-of-itself, even without direct and recognizable benefits for people. This is a more spiritual and ethical approach that treats all life and wilderness as sacred. This teaching is certainly applicable to environmental problems today, such as with the recent killing of around 1,600 bison that roamed beyond the borders of Yellowstone National Park (see http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/04/29/yellowstone.bison.cnn?iref=videosearchhttp://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/index.html )

We are certainly not alone in our emphasis on the past as a way to make the world a better place today. Most professions like medicine and astronomy place tremendous emphasis on the past to solve the problems of the present.

Think of today as the culmination of the progress and failures of the past. So, look to history to find enlightening guidance. That’s one of our goals….

New EcoSeekers blog!

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