The exhaustion of natural resources has gradually been one of the greatest crises for the whole planet and human beings since the latter half of the 20th century. It is known that the earth, like our mother, is the home for survival, which provides us with abundant resources. We, human beings, are the master of the earth, so we should protect it as we treat ourselves. No one wishes his home to become worse. However, the environment on which human beings depend for survival and development has been severely challenged, the ecological environment has been severely damaged and various pollution accidents occur frequently since the start of industrialization. The rapid exhaustion of resources, especially non-renewable resources in a short period, like coal, iron, or oil, has been a huge concern of human beings. Thus, the conservation of natural resources has become a consensus of human beings for sustainable development. Pinchot also states that “the conservation of natural resources is the basis, and the only permanent basis, of national success.” (1) Here we could analyze the values of two naturalists to expound on the issue.
Gifford Pinchot and John Muir are American naturalists. According to their essays, we can find that they share some similar fundamental environmental values. The first one is that all-natural resources need to be protected, and waste is a huge issue to protect the resources. According to Pinchot’s description, natural resource protection should include both renewable resources and non-renewable resources. He points out that “As a people, we have been in the habit of declaring certain of our resources to be inexhaustible.”(2) The received information is stupidly wrong. Just as coal, it is far from being inexhaustible because the data show that anthracite coal only could last fifty years and bituminous coal would last less than two hundred years. But we “continue to treat our coal as though there could never be an end of it” (Pinchot, 2) because now only 5 percent of the potential power residing in the coal is mined and used now. Meanwhile, waste is another big problem. The waste problem is not only in coal mining but also in other minerals. “Mention should be made of the annual loss of millions of dollars worth of by-products from coke, blast, and other furnaces have now thrown into the air, often not merely without benefit but to the serious injury of the community.” (Pinchot, 2) Meanwhile, Muir writes that in the mills near forests of King's River, the “waste far exceeds use.”(4) Therefore, the conservation of natural resources should not only include those exhaustible resources, like coal, iron, oil, and gas, but also the soil, water, forage plants and animals, and so on. Muir also gives an example that “king trees, all that there are of their kind in the world, are surely worth saving, whether for beauty, science, or bald use.” (Muir 4) He realizes that it is generally recognized that the forest is important whether it is from the economic view. He thinks that government should pay more attention to forest protection because it is good for people and nature. In short, conservation should include all natural resources, no matter what is used now.
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The second similar point is that conservation should benefit the public. As Pinchot concludes that “The conservation idea covers a wider range than the field of natural resources alone. Conservation means the greatest good to the greatest number for the longest time.”(9) He points out that conservation addresses public matters with people’s foresight, prudence, thrift, and intelligence. The value orientation is the public good, rather than the private interests. Conservation aims at protecting the earth from pollution and abuse to “make the country the best possible place to live in both for us and for our descendants.” (Pinchot 10) It is in the public interest for the future. People want to live in a better condition, and they are willing to create a better condition by themselves. Also, they want to leave something to descendants, rather than various problems. Muir finds that only the “isolated Mariposa Grove has been reserved as a park for public use and pleasure.” (4) Yosemite is a wild land that is far from prosperous cities, and many of the parts in it have not been developed. But the natural resources are plentiful, and their value of it is vital. It would be a place for people to travel and explore, and its abundant resources would be helpful for people. Some of the development actions destroy Yosemite. So conservation is called for to protect the common good.
There are differences between the ideas of the two naturalists. Pinchot values more on the protection of resources like water, soil, and forest. In his perspective, he approves the suitable law and governmental regulation to do the conservation with the strict policy. At the same time, he also encouraged every citizen to try their best to contribute to the protection work in daily life. He combined the development and preserving together on natural resources. He considers that “The natural resources must be developed and preserved for the benefit of the many, and not merely for the profit of a few.” (Pinchot 9) Developing the resources reasonably would generate profit, while the profit would drive people to change their attitudes toward conservation. Conservation must benefit most people, not the interest of some people who possess the resources. He concluded the principles of conservation: “development, preservation, and the common good.” (Pinchot 10) What we should do is the “development of resources and the prevention of waste and loss, the protection of the public interests by foresight, prudence, and the ordinary business and home-making virtues.” (Pinchot 10) Interest is the base to carry out the policy and measures for conservation.
The important tip of Pinchot’s value is that conservation is a moral issue. As he says that conservation is a moral issue, because it “involves the rights and the duties of our people—their rights to prosperity and happiness, and their duties to themselves, to their descendants, and to the whole future progress and welfare of this Nation.” (Pinchot 13) There is one example of it in his essay—water power. The development of water power is always the private ownership. At this time, the private interest comes first, though it was under public control. The conservation actions would not be strictly completed, because the common good is not the first thing that the private would care about. So he insists that “congress must decide also whether immensely valuable rights to the use of water power shall be given away to special interests in perpetuity and without compensation instead of being held and controlled by the public.” (Pinchot 11) It is vital to prevent our water powers from passing into private ownership because only the public good could make the resources sustainably and develop. Even some people who get the water power would pay for it because the surrendered profits are the public good and could help the development of conservation when the power is developed. All these are good for our future.
Muir values more on the development of the wildland. In his essay, we find that it detailed introduces the scenery of Yosemite. Yosemite is a wild place that has not been fully developed. The author considers the development, but he also believes that protection and conservation should carry out at the same time. He replies that natural resources in Yosemite are mainly the flora and fauna, which is the most valuable treasure that calls for protection.
Currently, the conservation of natural resources is prominent. It is known that natural resources are vulnerable, and can easily be destroyed. In order to keep sustainable development, the conservation of natural resources is pressing and urgent. Also, t is the base of national development. All kinds of natural resources, including renewable and nonrenewable, need to be protected, and the waste of resources is a fundamental problem, which demands governmental regulation. The conservation must benefit the public, or it would fail.
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