Gene Stratton-Porter

Born Geneva Grace Stratton in 1863, this woman eventually became one of the most read authors in the early 20th century. Her books about nature, and especially those concerning the Limberlost area of northern Indiana, introduced multiple generations to the beauty of nature, the importance of biodiversity in the natural world, and the idea that a woman could be more than just a wife.  In the area of environmental awareness, she was sighted by many who came after her as an influence in their lives, including Rachel Carson.

I just read about Stratton-Porter in the March edition of The Smithsonian magazine.  What spurred me to post about her, besides the above mentioned plaudits which just scrape the surface of her life, was the following quote:

It was Thoreau who in writing of the destruction of the forests exclaimed, "Thank heaven they cannot cut down the clouds".  Aye, but they can!...If men in their greed cut forests that preserve and distill moisture, clear fields, take the shelter of trees from creeks and rivers until they evaporate, and drain the water from swamps so that they can be cleared and cultivated, they prevent vapor form rising.  And if it does not rise, it cannot fall.  Man can change and is changing the forces of nature.  Man can cut down the clouds.

She was talking about climate change before the term was coined, and in particular the actions of humanity which may change the climate. We know that the earth's temperature is slowly rising and that incidents of extreme weather have increased.  Wildfire season out West starts earlier and lasts longer.  Winters have certainly been more mild in the recent past. 

Despite these observations, and her desire to awaken her readers to become more in tune with nature, Stratton-Porter did not write her books to warn of a coming environmental crisis but to inspire her readers to higher ideals, ideals which included a respect and appreciation for nature, among others.

We are currently in the throes of a pandemic, caused by the Covid-19 strain of the family of corona viruses, the same family which brought us SARS and MERS.  Are these instances of viral infections the result of our over populating the earth, in that more people equates to more of a chance for a virus of this type to jump from animal to human populations?  Or the result of the continuing thaw of the permafrost in the Arctic which may release bacteria which has heretofore remained frozen in the ground?  Or just a reflection of a lack of respect which we give to nature through our belief that we can do whatever we want without regards to the consequences?

Or perhaps, it is all just another episode in the great game of life, in this case, the game which pits us against ourselves.  Our ambition to improve our lives versus the risks we will take to achieve those improvements.  Stratton-Porter wrote her books about nature and its beauty while her husband increased his fortune selling oil from the 60 oil wells on the family farm.  Does one cancel out the other, or just reflect the difficulty in trying to achieve two goals which produce opposite results?

They say that the wise man learns more from his mistakes than his successes.  It is hard to label humanity as wise at this point for while our successes are numerous and impressive, we seem far less willing to even acknowledge our failures, let alone learn from them, seem far too willing to take the credit when things go well while being quick to point the finger of blame when things fall apart. 

When the current crisis passes, will there be a widely circulated report detailing how we can best handle the next viral outbreak?  Will we wash our hands more, less or the same once things settle down?  Will we remain conscious of our individual responsibility to avoid contact with the immune compromised if we are sick?  Will we push for paid sick leave for all Americans, especially those in the retail, food, and care giving industries who are now bearing the brunt of the national shutdown? Will we demand that our government and private sector employers replace their tired platitudes which pretend that they treat their employees like family, with actual laws and policies that reflect the genuine belief that without the efforts of the American worker, there would be no profits, stock options or GDP growth?  Will we strive for a more equitable distribution of wealth so that everyday families are not so often one missed paycheck away from financial ruin?