Essay Sample on Biggest Turning Point in History

The switch from the late 18th century and the early 19th century to the 21st century was a turning point in the history of how people understand the natural world. The advancements of the automobile and autocamper in the late 18th century and early 19th century led to great understanding of the natural world. Today, advancements to phones, computers, and other electronic devices have slowly dismantled this relationship. With the shift in our relationship with nature and the environment, people will have to find different ways to drive others to want to know about nature and the environment. 

One of the biggest turning points in the history of how people perceived and understood nature was the invention of the automobile and autocamper in the 19th century. The automobile gave people of all social classes and those who live far away from nature the ability to have easy access to some of the world’s greatest wonders. Paul Sutter, an associate professor of history at University Colorado, quotes states that “with the improvement of means of travel, people are finding it possible to go even further afield in their search for recreation and readily travel long distances during weekends to places of scenic interest where their favorite forms of outdoor life may be enjoyed.” The autocamper was another advancement of technology that allowed people to experience nature in a new way. “Autocampers turned to the open road to escape from the ease of modern living and to recreate older domestic routines lost to modernization,” claims Sutter. With this in mind, autocampers allowed people to escape from their reality and explore and learn from nature. With automobiles and autocampers, people were able to embrace the great outdoors. Sutter affirms, “Americans produced and consumed a voluminous literature on nature and wild themes; they built vacation homes and camps; they initiated a wide variety of programs in scouting and woodcraft; they developed a distinctive hunting culture and ethos; they adopted nature study as a prominent hobby.” While the automobile and autocamper gave access for everyone to experience and learn about nature, the further development of technology eventually lost the true meaning of experiencing nature in an authentic way. 

While the advancements of technology in the automobile industry helped people experience and explore nature which led to people learning about nature, other forms of technology have damaged this bond. Such technologies include the modern day smartphones, iPads, computers and gaming systems. Today, “[Roughly] 53 percent [of children] now own a smartphone by the age of 11. And 84 percent of teenagers now have their own phones,” declares Anya Kamenetz, an education correspondent at NPR. While this may not seem like a big deal, children under the age of eleven aren’t getting the experiences with nature as those did back in the 19th and 20th centuries. Rather than seeing kids exploring and playing outside, they are indoor playing with their phones, iPads, computers, and gaming devices. With children spending only a couple of minutes outside and hours in front of an electronic device, they miss out on many fundamental matters and lose the ability to build a bond with nature. “Many researchers agree that kids who play outside are happier, better at paying attention and less anxious than kids who spend more time indoors,” states Danielle Cohen. While television shows and videos about nature can be accessed through electronics, children and adults would rather watch cartoons or reality t.v. shows. Modern day electronics could be used to learn about nature more than ever before, however today’s society would rather watch or interact with something fast paced and intriguing over learning about nature. With the shift of desiring to learn about the natural world from the 19th and 20th centuries to now, it leaves many pondering how we can fix this relationship with the Earth. 

Due to the lack of desire to learn more about the natural world, an imbalance has surfaced; we are taking more than giving. Although our relationship with the natural world has become imbalanced, there are still people today trying to find ways to restore this bond and to find ways to drive others to understand the environment. One of the ways that will drive human understanding of the environment will be the realization that we only have one Earth and once the damage is done, it will be too late to reverse it. With this in mind, people can try to fix this problem before it’s too late. “We have a choice to invest our love… We must align our economies with ecological principles and human integrity,” professes Robin Kimmerer, an American distinguished teaching professor of environmental and forest biology. By having an equal balance of the needs of people and understanding nature, the Earth can be restored. Another concept that will drive humans to understand the environment is the importance of understanding that we are not alone on Earth; that humans have compassion and sympathy for other beings and will respect them. Kimmerer claims, “Reciprocity is rooted in the understanding that we are not alone, that the Earth is populated by non-human persons, wise and inventive beings deserving of our respect.” The Earth is comprised of thousands and millions of different species and we need to learn that we share this space with them. Other than general curiosity of this unknown world, having compassion and sympathy for other forms of life and being aware that our time on Earth is limited will drive human understanding of the environment.

What drove people in the 19th and 20th centuries to explore and learn about nature was the desire to explore the unknown and that electronic technology wasn’t as advanced. Today, human’s relationship with nature has shifted and the willingness to learn more about nature has decreased. To get people today to learn about nature and the environment will be done through the general sympathy and compassion towards other species of life and with the knowledge that our days on Earth are limited; if our actions aren’t fixed, the damage will be irreversible.