Urban Sprawl

Even the National Park Service doesn't seem to seem to be championing the planet to simply safeguard natural ecospheres ("Mission Statement"). They state: Government has always had an interest in the development of [American] land in a beneficial, efficient, and aesthetically pleasing manner. Since these variables are highly subjective, land use law, which covers environmental takings and zoning issues, are among the most contentious issues facing local, state, and federal officials. They preserve the land as it is because it will serve them in some function, that of some obscure goal of outside recreation for the people. Our "recreation" truely is based on "re-creation," as Ventura points out (216). The noble act is revealed as a selfish one, something that will ensure their remembrance as "good ancestors." They wish to please as many people as possible, marketing the land to satisfy expectations. However, "safe, clean and aesthetically-pleasing" is not natural nature. Powerful storms become "natural disasters" to our eyes, and weather is judged "inclement" based on our perceptions. And those perceptions are not just the normal range of senses dictated by species, but are directly affected by the environment. The senses are heightened or dulled depending on dangers encountered in daily life, and the more one is shielded from the environment, the less one is prepared to handle it when it changes suddenly. A person living in a so-called under-developed country more easily accepts local phenomena - such as sand storms or tsunamis - than someone caught off-guard by an earthquake in a city. A resident of Florida posted desperate pleas on the Family Gardening message board, under the thread of "How do I get the sand out of my lawn? HELP!" after one particularly heavy rain ("Message Posting"). The trouble just seems to come with the territory, yet fifteen concerned replies did follow, explaining just how to remove the foreign matter from the sacred backyard.