Beyond the Hundredth Meridian

This book made me think a lot of the topic of exploiting nature. When they brought the topic of how the land could be divided so that people could come settle the west I’m sure they never thought of the consequences it would have. Even in the in class lecture when we spoke the resources and whether or not the west could support so many people it seemed irrelevant to me. If there is one thing history has taught us is that man will find a way to survive anywhere where survival might be profitable. It also seems that from the second of their arrival they manipulate the environment into whatever seems to suit them best; stripping down forests, damning rivers, burning away brush to make room for livestock to grow. They even go as far as hunting down and wiping out entire native species just so that they could bring non-native species in. I wonder if they ever really stopped to think of what the consequences would be in the long run. Still, you can’t really hold them entirely responsible because even in modern days things haven’t changed. Areas where I used to play when I was little have been turned into housing subdivisions and are local river is so polluted I would never think of swimming in it much less drink from it. I know this isn’t entirely relative to the book but that’s what it made me think of… here is a visual http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tlmD5_mtEM&feature=related