Nature's gonna win.

       I love the outdoors, and I love nature, so you might think I would be a bit of an environmentalist, but the truth is I don't really care much for environmental causes. Maybe care isn't the right word.  I do care very much about the environment, but I don't worry about it.  Who are we to step in and 'fix' nature when we see something going 'wrong'?  For instance, is it any better to save a species that's meant for extinction than to kill off one that's time hasn't come yet?  I don't know, but I do know that we are one of nature's youngest experiments, and we treat her like a child because we think we know what's good for her.  The truth is, she's been around far longer than us, and I'm pretty sure she's got more knowledge and experience than we could ever know and she doesn't need our help to stay afloat.  That's not to say that we aren't hurting the environment all the time, and nor do I mean to say we shouldn't stop it, but I know that if we don't stop, nature's not going to be the loser, we are.  There's a balance in nature; we might be able to tilt it for a short time, but if we continue for too long, then she'll be sure to stop us.  Even if we put all our efforts toward depleting natural resources, and paving the earth flat, we'd be dead ourselves from the consequences of our actions long before we ever completed the task.  So, I try my best to treat the environment well, and encourage others to do the same, but I don't worry for her when people aren't so conscientious.  I know that in the end they're really not hurting her, just hurting us.  

I undertook a short expedition to photograph an abandoned steel mill just outside of Pittsburgh a while ago, and was amazed and uplifted by how quickly nature had reclaimed what we thought was ours.  The mill was only abandoned in the late 80's, but now paved roads were covered by plants; small animals and birds had moved back into the area; and trees had taken root directly on some of the crumbling structures.  This place wasn't ever really ours, and neither is anything else; it's all just on loan, and nature will take it back soon enough.  She always wins.  

  Have a green day.