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Can you imagine what our forefathers saw when they first entered this land. A virtual eden beautiful trees, fields of flowers, unlimited natural resources, and soil so rich that everything grew without much work at all. The wildlife abundant and how could they not feel they were getting close to God. The streams and lakes almost overflowing with fish and wildlife. The land rich in unlimited treasures and natural wealth more than man could never use up. How foolish sometimes we are to only see what is right in front of us and how we box ourselves in and only see within our box. Future generations would call our forefathers fools  not because they didn’t recognize the advantages they had but because they never looked into the future at what they would leave their grandchildren.

They immediately cut and burned away the trees as they populated the land. They killed great herds of animals not for food but for skins and wealth. They fished the steams and lakes empty. They mined the underground resources and even took for granted the lifes lost to make a few rich.

As the trees fell and the land cleared, the animals dwindled. Their food supply and homes destroyed by a monster greater than any of their natural enemies. The grass and trees that hold the water underground soon showed their power as a creating force, by leaving the ground barren as they disappeared. The land dried up and the soil was lifted up and carried away by the rain. Soon mans appearance in Eden showed its devastating effects.

If man is good for anything it is how well he can destroy everything that is good for him. But alas man can wake from this nightmare and has upon many occasions. He can realize his destructive ways and try to change. He has passed laws and programs to began to save our natural wealth. Some people like farmers have learned to conserve our resources.  They have learned not to plow the same fields year after year because the fields need a rest from the plow. They plant binding plants like grass to rebuild the soil while a field is resting. The farmers also plow around a hill in curves called contour farming to create pockets for rain to catch in.

 Laws passed to save our wildlife like restocking our streams, rivers, and lakes are helping rebuild some of our resources. Laws to protect  also include laws about dumping chemicals in streams, rivers and lakes. The government also takes rich forest areas and turns them into National Parks this protects the wildlife homes. Since they set up Ranger stations they also can control the damage forest fires do to trees to a certain degree. Laws about the use of this land are set up to preserve the natural benefits for the animals, the plants, and the people.

There is still so much to do to return our Eden like environment and with our population explosion it doesn’t seem that that will ever happen. Our delicate balance has forever been changed and for that hell may be just around the corner. What a legacy we are leaving for our children. Shouldn’t we all be ashamed.