Caroline Merchant’s Contribution to the Environmental Movement
Carolyn Merchant was born in 1936 in Rochester, New York. She is a historian of science and an ecofeminist philosopher who has always aimed at ensuring that a better environment is achieved in the current world. In her writings concerning the history of the environment, she reiterates the view that science began to atomize and dissect nature during the Enlightenment.
She draws effective relationships between the past environment and the present environment hence calling for the conservation of the environment. It is worth noting that Merchant has played a vital role in contributing to the environmental movement. She has written different books highlighting the history of the environment, she has engaged in depth environmental research, she headed environmental movements such as the American Society for Environmental History, and has always played an instrumental role in assisting environmental movements formulate policies. These contributions have been extremely effective, as they have contributed to environmental reforms for a better future. This essay explicates the contributions of Carolyn Merchant to the Environmental Movement and how she can be assessed for her contribution to the formation of the Environmental Movement. It is worth noting that Merchant has been instrumental in assisting Environmental Movement formulate vital environmental policies.
Merchant served on the advisory board of environmental movements such as the Environmental Ethics Movement, and Environmental History Movement. While serving a member of the advisory board, she played an instrumental role in bringing forward creative ideas that world help save Mother Nature (Merchant 37). She was on the frontline in committees as she delivered her duties within these movements. Notably, Merchant was one of the key board members and was always aimed at giving the best guidelines to the adoption of the best policies that would help prevent further decline in the environment. This was boosted by her vast experience in the history of the environment and the manner in which the environment can be made better again. Her commitment to the delivery of tangible policies boosted the operation of environmental movements and their advocacy for a better environment.
Her policies made it easier for environmental movements pass their environmental protection messages to everyone. Merchant’s policies are also simple to understand and modify according to the desired changes that the environmental movement wants in the country. Merchant has also engaged in immense research trying to establish the nexus between the history of the environment, geography, and the society. She is a professor and she is still committed to delivering the best statistics for environmental movements. Her love for the environment and the desire of a better environment has motivated her research efforts in the field of environmental history and environmental science.
In line with her researches, she has been able to identify key factors that have been affecting the environment from time immemorial. She has uncovered the factors that have been degrading the environment over many years through her groundbreaking research aimed contributing positively toward environmental development. Environmental movements such as the Environmental History Movement have taken the results of the resarch effectively and have made sure they utilize such results to continue with plans for environmental improvement. Her groundbreaking research on the causes of environmental degradation have given environmental a head start in terms of managing the available environmental resources and planning effectively for the consumption of limited resources in the environment today. Thus, Merchant has contributed to the environmental movement by offering effective results pertaining to the continuous causes of environmental research hence facilitating the required amends.
Leadership also characterizes Merchant’s contribution to the environmental movement. She was the president of the American Society for Environmental History, and she is deemed to have offered the required guidance in terms of environmental management and improvement. Environmental movements can only succeed in advocating a better and improved environment in cases where there exists effective leadership that offers the required commands on measures to be taken by environmentalists to improve the overall environment. During her leadership at the American Society for Environmental History, she put in place strategic measures such as conducting campaigns, which would enlighten people about the environment. She ensured that environmental classes were organized for people in different parts of America hence ensuring they understood the history of the environment and the key reasons why they should preserve their environment.
During her leadership, she taught people and ensured they could appreciate the environment as part of them. Her key campaign while at the leadership position was aimed at informing everyone that the responsibility to take care of the environment starts with a single person before the entire community and the country. This led to significant improvements, which reflected the overall work of environmental movements. Another major contribution by Carolyn Merchant to the Environmental Movement is the authoring of several books that enlighten people regarding the environment. She contributed to the Environmental Movement by being part of 12 authored books regarding the environment. Some of these books include The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology and the Scientific Revolution, which explicated how scientific revolution led to the exploitation of nature.
The second book christened Reinventing Eden: The Fate of Nature in Western Culture tries to compare the current world with the Garden of Eden and concludes that Eden came into being after its beauty was fenced in national parks and wildlife preserves. The author has also contributed to the goals of the Environmental movement through her encouragement of people to take care of the environment in her book Columbia Guide to American Environmental History. This book, which was authored in 2002, presents amazing stories of Americans who lived in different areas and how they contributed significantly to the transformation of the environment. The author aimed the book at contentious issues regarding the environment. Lastly, another contribution to the Environmental Movement is her book American Environmental History: An Introduction.
She authored the book in 2007, which conveys the messages intended by the Environmental Movement such as population growth, formative forces of class, gender, and race, expulsion of native people from nationall parks and how the wilderness has been preserved. All these books are a major contribution to the Environmental Movement because they aid in passing the message intended to the masses regarding environmental conservation. On behalf of the environment, I can learn from Carolyn Merchant how California’s environmental history has unfolded. This abounds from the fact that the author researched on the area and asserted that it was originally inhabited by American Natives. However, the recent state of the land has abounded because of conflicts and movements. Readers can also learn from Carolyn’s books the cause of environmental problems and essential ways that radical ecologists can employ to transform society and science for the purpose of sustaining life on earth.
Carolyn Merchant’s effort to come up with environmental policies inspires people to realize that nature is also sensitive and requires maximum care. This means that without formulation of policies to guard and protect the environment, it will become degraded, which will have a significant impact on human life.In assessing Carolyn Merchant, it is essential to explore her policies and what they stand for and the contribution she has made to the Environmental Movement. Thus, Carolyn Merchant is an environmentalist who loves nature and advocates for its protection and conservation. She contributed to this policy, which is supported by the Environmental Movement. Her brilliancy in advocating for environmental consciousness is also evident in her works.
This is one of the main goals advanced by the Environmental Movement; thus, proving Carolyn’s immense support for the movement. It is also essential to check the extent of Carolyn’s work in assessing her contribution to the Environmental Movement. Research asserts that she explored the environment widely; thus, contributing to Environmental History and History of Science, which are also main goals of the Environmental Movement. Her work that exploits ecofeminism is also a contribution to the development of the Environmental Movement. This abounds from the fact that she connects the nature and society and what led to destruction of nature. From her works, it can be concluded that she blames nature’s problem on the advent of capitalism and Industrial revolution.
She also blames the men taking over from the women in taking care of the environment that led to the exploitation of land. In conclusion, Carolyn Merchant lives in Rochester, New York and has made immense contribution to the Environmental Movement. She also made a great contribution to the History of Science and philosophical ecofeminism. Her significant contributions to the Environmental Movement include the fact that she facilitated the formulation of environmental policies, she wrote a variety of books that explore environmental history; thus, enlightening the people concerning the issue, she headed the Environmental Movements such as American Society for Environmental History and she engaged in environmental research, which was critical in the formulation of environmental policies. In assessing Carolyn Merchant, it is essential to explore her policies and what they stand for and the contribution she has made to the Environmental Movement.
Thus, Carolyn Merchant is an environmentalist who loves nature and advocates for its protection and conservation.
