Persuasive Speech : Why We Should Spend More Time Outdoors

Vibrant hues of orange and yellow were smeared together and they played with violent shades of red. The rising sun rested in a bed of golden rose, cotton clouds. Its rays of light spilling over the hills like pale orange paint. At least, that's what I imagined this sunrise would look like in a world without skyscrapers and other assorted buildings suffocating the horizon, sucking the life out of the beauty that nature gives us, and replacing it with smoke, oil, and the stench of our ever growing need to expand. Our need, humanity's need to leave no blade of grass behind, to cover every inch of the earth with pollution and man made roads and structures, is what is destroying the beauty that nature provides.

While reading different essays addressing the topic of nature, I came to the conclusion that they all shared the idea that being outside can make an impact in everyone no matter if you believe you only belong in a city or forest because it can bring you serenity and show you all the amazing things you wouldn't be able to see anywhere else. In Wendell Berry’s essay “An Entrance to the Woods,” he states that people can use the quiet of the woods to forget all their problems. Berry wrote “One is that, though I am here in body, my mind and my nerves too are not yet altogether here. We seem to grant to our high-speed roads and our airlines the rather thoughtless assumption that people can change places as rapidly as their bodies can be transported.” Nature has a way to transport ones mind and spirit elsewhere while the body is left behind on earth as we travel deep into thought. Adding on to that idea, the essay “A City Person Encountering Nature” by Maxine Hong Kingston the author explains that nature is a giver of peace and patience with its slow cycles that may frustrate people, but help keep a sane mind. Society is fast paced, making everyone feel that they need to keep the same pace in order to get things done, but we don't realize that although our bodies are moving and pushing, our minds are exhausted and cannot keep up with the fast pace. Kingston wrote “Preferring the city myself, I can better discern natural phenomena when books point them out; I also need to verify

As a child, I unraveled nature’s beauty and existence. Each new experience brought me feelings of excitement and joy, sparkling my imagination and igniting my curiosity. It all seemed so large back then. Oceans appeared endless as they reached towards the horizon. Treetops seemed to make friends with the puffy-looking clouds as they soared to the sky. Over the years however, as I have grown older and life has become more complex, I am beginning to think less and less about the natural world around me. I glimpse sunset stuck in rush-hour traffic trying to return school after debate practices and only listen to the pitter-patter of the rain when there’s a storm outside. Forests and oceans seemed less appealing as they became intertwined with the urban development. In a way, I was becoming more and more distanced from the so-called nature. So, with an overwhelming desire for adventure and to escape the masses, my family and I drove to Big Bend National Park in Southwest Texas last summer.

As reading this “journal” the topic that has come to my attention is how a lot of these “nature writers” are looking at nature either as a positive or negative experience. Most of these shorts journals are looking at nature for not only for what it is, but what it offers, for example in the short “The Marginal World written by Rachel Carson she portrays “"The Shore is an ancient world, for as long as there has been an earth and sea there has been this place of the meeting of land and water. Yet it is a world that keeps alive the sense of continuing creation and of the relentless drive for life. Each time that I enter it, I gain some new awareness of its beauty and its deeper meanings, sensing that intricate fabric of life by which one creature is linked with another, and each with its surroundings."(481). Based off this quote, we can see that a lot of these authors did not only see nature as something that could be touched, but rather seen as a spiritual entity.

The passage from Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv, he uses many examples to prove his argument that we are separating from nature. He starts it off by talking about how they soon will be able to decide the color on butterfly's wings and how they can use nature to advertise. The “Nature” we all go visit is not real nature it's advertised and is not worth going to. They use parks and beaches to get there product out there just for some money to keep the area clean and well kept. It leads into talking about how we she nature from inside a car most of the time not in person. It talks about how now we don't even need to pay attention to the nature now because we have gps that guide us to our destination so we don't need to memorize routes. Even people in the back seat don't have to pay attention anymore as tvs are now in cars to either watch movies or play games. It says “Perhaps we’ll someday tell our grandchildren stories...We actually looked out the car window(Louv). This is a little stretched because most likely kids will still look out the windows when they don't have a movie playing or they are bored of what they were doing beforehand.

The Forest Unseen shows how nature has a beauty on a much smaller scale than what is seen on the larger spectrum of life. Haskell studied a square meter in the forest for an entire year to examine the smallest of details to show how when the large scale is studied there are many things happening in the small scale. The Forest Unseen allows readers to see how much beauty there is beyond what meets the eye. He consistently supports his main themes throughout the book by citing specific examples. Haskell’s endeavor to discover the beauty of the environment is successful in that he uses scientific and poetic language to draw the reader into his study as he explains his day to day experiences in the forest.

Understanding the beauty in nature has always been a struggle of mine. In this world of iPhones, laptops, and television at our fingertips, one can become trapped in the black hole of becoming disconnected with nature. I have always planted a flower garden and watching each color try to outshine the other showed me the purest of joys in life; everyone has a pull inside their natural being to be one with nature. Looking at all the awesome creatures God has made for this Earth made me realize that He wants us to enjoy our time on this physical land while we can.

In “The Last Child in the Woods” (2008), Richard Louv argues that the separation between humankind and nature is occurring because of our rapid advancement of technology. Louv creates his evidence through anecdote of experiments with genetic technology and his friend’s shopping experience to celebrate “survival in the material world,”; imagery of times spent looking outside of the backseat and “understanding of how cities and nature fit together,”; and diction. He writes on this subject in order to remind both his generation and future generations of the beauty of nature and to urge future generations to hold respect and reverence for it. Louv pleadingly addresses the younger generation to hold the same wonder and amazement

For me, reconnecting with nature is a part of the human experience and being in touch with nature can add to the realms of creativity and meditative stillness in one's life. I hope the future people will be able

Some may say we have lost the connection or relationship with nature . The world as a whole has become more and more distant as time has went on. The earth is used for so much but many don’t take enough time to realize how much it is actually used. The relationship between the earth and its people is explored in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Nature” and Mark Twain’s “The Lowest Animal” In both of these pieces the authors go into the relationship between nature and the people though they both have this in common they each have their differences as well. While comparing and contrasting these texts it opens up the mind to view things that may not usually be seen. Such as the behaviors and habits of the many people that live on this planet earth.

Nature is an escape. A way to get away from the tall buildings, the responsibilities and the stresses of life. You are a human being in nature. You become free of your role as a student, an employee, a role model. I am in love with the wildness of nature. The simple beauty of uninterrupted silence takes my breath away; in this peaceful silence, there is life. The trees bask in the sunshine, the birds play in the mud. I find my place in nature to be an observer.

The hoards of advertisements on television, in newspapers, and magazines, use whatever means in order to catch the attention of the viewer. They have gone so far as to use animals and nature in any form they wish. This is far more than just a moneymaking scheme, it is a representation of the relationship between nature and the advancing and dominant culture. It almost seems that the more technologically advanced a culture becomes, the more distant the relationship there is to nature. It is because of this that we are left to view the images that are put before us by others. Buying that carton of orange juice in the grocery store looks more appetizing if the pictures depict the oranges on the tree,

With millions of visitors each year, Yellowstone National Park is a huge tourist attraction to people from all over the world. But underneath its many geysers and hot spots, there is a big issue steaming below the surface. What some people may not know is that Yellowstone is actually sitting in one of the largest calderas in the world, and has been brewing for centuries. When and if it ever erupts, the effects could be enormous, but what if we find a way to prevent it? And what would the effects of that be?

Areas that are managed in natural settings such as parks, zoos, and reserves help create support and social context for interactions with nature. Not only do these managed areas provide interactions, but helps nurture an environmental identity that is inhibited in urban living situations. The natural settings that are found within the urban living areas encourage a perception that people should convene with nature. Maller et al. (2005) refers to the belief that was promoted during the Civil War which claimed that the influences of the natural environment has an effect on people’s

It is the first day of November, and I am walking towards the brook as I experience the warm cool breeze on my skin i realize how much i take nature for granted. This reminded me to stop all the crazy madness of my day and take a deep breath in. Nature can be very enjoying with many green colors and many different feelings. Nature gives us this enjoying feeling by affecting all our senses. Sound of birds, touch of bark on trees, and the sight of moving trees and grass from the wind. Not only is nature pleasing for our senses, it is also very beneficial for our everyday needs,such as materials for housing and food to survive. Nature is very much taken for granted with all the benefits it can give humans.