For this topic, there were two different sources present, one being an reading, and the other being an interview with Donald Worster. The reading talked about vast variety and large amount of flora and fauna which would lead to great wealth for early settlers. With the discovery of gold, and “mining” of other resources, California’s beautiful landscape would soon begin to fade as forests were cut down and local species of all sorts were decimated to be sold elsewhere. In the interview, Donald Worster discusses how early European settlers had begun to appreciate nature for its beauty. With this, he mentions John Muir who played a significant role in shaping how the public viewed nature, and ultimately the beginnings of preserving it. He also describes what a mining economy is.
The purpose of the reading was to show the driving factor that led so many settlers to California. The rich supply of natural resources was excellent for boosting the economy. With large forests and plentiful mines, early californians would begin exporting the wood, coal and gold, as well as other resources, to other parts of the country. The point of view of this piece would be that of a bystander watching the mining of these resources. The purpose of the interview is to show how Americans’ views of nature has changed over time, from wanting to obtain as much profit from the land to wanting to preserve nature and keep it unaltered. He goes on to mention that a mining economy is “one that will always find new resources to replace the ones that we have already depleted”. He stresses this quite well and makes the argument about whether or not it is safe to continue pushing the ecosystem.
In class, we were shown a series of pictures ranging from the use of hydraulic mining, to wash heavy minerals from the sides of mountains to pictures of the vast amount of wood coming from the forests of California. We see the integration of hydraulic mining technology to expose more gold that would become available for panning later. In one picture, we see numerous cargo wagons stocked with piles of lumber ready to be sent to the rest of the country. This picture shows the vast exportation of natural resources taking place in the 19th century. Another picture we were shown was of trees being cut down, and the feature that stuck out to me personally was the width of the trunk of the trees, some exceeding 8-10 feet in diameter. This was particularly interesting as the width of these trees symbolized the isolation from society for several hundred years and the true beauty of nature itself.
I find myself asking “What becomes of the ecosystem after the forests are chopped down?” and “Were there conflicts with the natives of this land before the industrialization of California?” Finally, “Was there any initial thought to preserve the land when the settlers arrived in California, or did they only see the potential for profit?”
