Jan Dizard, Professor of Sociology and American Studies at Amherst College, sharpened our appetite for next week's trip.
First of all, he sketched the background of the American land as it was found by the first Europeans, how they exploited it and moved west to conquer more, how they cut the forest, the land eroded, rivers flooded, dams were built, animals were hunted and consequently species disappeared. In the first week of our stay at Amherst, we visited Frost library and saw an example of a beautiful book by Audubon, with paintings and drawings of American natural history. Just as some other early environmentalists such as George Marsh and John Muir, he realised something needed to be done to stop the devastation and preserve nature for the future generations.
In 1872, J.D. Rockefeller bought the valley of Yellowstone and gave it to the American people. It became the first National Park of the USA. Thanks to this - often called the best American invention ever - most species, that were on the brink of extinction, rebounded. John Muir's efforts eventually led to the Wilderness Act, which in time, led to the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, all signed into law by President Nixon. They can be called landmark pieces in legislation.
At the same time, environmentalism has become a "special interest" as opposed to a "common interest". This might be why it has been so ineffectual on matters such as global warming, where the USA are not taking on a leading role.
The debate was opened and many questions were launched at our lecturer, unfortunately a lot of them were left unanswered, for this is a matter of global scale and many interests are at stake.
After the break, we made a virtual trip to several National Parks, as we were offered a pre-screening of a documentary series "The National Parks - America's Best Ideas".
The overwhelming scenery of the wild, mountains, rivers, forests, bisons, and a handy bear catching a salmon flying upstream, simply took our breath away.
One of the interviewees put it in a nutshell: " A single moment in a site like Yellowstone can last forever".
In the afternoon, we drove to Springfield and visited the local newspaper "The Republican". This newspaper is published 7 days a week and has a distribution of 80.000 on weekdays and 120.000 at the weekend. We visited the site, saw the press, and talked to the staff.
The newspaper was established in 1824 by Samuel Bowles (II) and turned into a daily paper by Samuel Bowles (III) in 1844. Emily Dickinson was an acquaintance of the family and they published a few of her poems during her lifetime. Until today, the newspaper is still family-owned.
At present, all newspapers all over the world are struggling to survive due to the harsh competition with new media such as the internet and local TV stations. It isn't any different here in Springfield. Only last week, some of the staff were laid off.
Although they have very busy jobs and deadlines to respect, the staff were willing to give us some feedback on their jobs. We really appreciated this and found it most interesting : the bi-lingual local reporter, the business reporter, the editorial writer, the new media editor, the educational editor, the photographers told us what their average working day looks like.
A special mention should go to the fact that The Republican has a special Tuesday page for and by teenagers. These youngsters are invited to a roundtable meeting once a month and decide on the topics they will cover. These topics can vary from "The legacy of Michael Jackson" to "Should supreme court judges be elected or appointed". They also write book and film reviews and there is a Heritage section. The education editor reviews these articles and some must be re-written before they go into print. The students are paid for their articles. Schools use this newspaper section, called Unlisted Teens for projects and they can be used for ESL lessons.
And after this, for some of us, believe it or not: another visit to the Mall ... some last minute shopping before we head West: walking shoes, rain gear, a warm jumper, a telephone, a battery recharger, a bag to transport the lot, ... you name it, we (probably) bought it!
First of all, he sketched the background of the American land as it was found by the first Europeans, how they exploited it and moved west to conquer more, how they cut the forest, the land eroded, rivers flooded, dams were built, animals were hunted and consequently species disappeared. In the first week of our stay at Amherst, we visited Frost library and saw an example of a beautiful book by Audubon, with paintings and drawings of American natural history. Just as some other early environmentalists such as George Marsh and John Muir, he realised something needed to be done to stop the devastation and preserve nature for the future generations.
In 1872, J.D. Rockefeller bought the valley of Yellowstone and gave it to the American people. It became the first National Park of the USA. Thanks to this - often called the best American invention ever - most species, that were on the brink of extinction, rebounded. John Muir's efforts eventually led to the Wilderness Act, which in time, led to the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, all signed into law by President Nixon. They can be called landmark pieces in legislation.
At the same time, environmentalism has become a "special interest" as opposed to a "common interest". This might be why it has been so ineffectual on matters such as global warming, where the USA are not taking on a leading role.
The debate was opened and many questions were launched at our lecturer, unfortunately a lot of them were left unanswered, for this is a matter of global scale and many interests are at stake.
After the break, we made a virtual trip to several National Parks, as we were offered a pre-screening of a documentary series "The National Parks - America's Best Ideas".
The overwhelming scenery of the wild, mountains, rivers, forests, bisons, and a handy bear catching a salmon flying upstream, simply took our breath away.
One of the interviewees put it in a nutshell: " A single moment in a site like Yellowstone can last forever".
In the afternoon, we drove to Springfield and visited the local newspaper "The Republican". This newspaper is published 7 days a week and has a distribution of 80.000 on weekdays and 120.000 at the weekend. We visited the site, saw the press, and talked to the staff.
The newspaper was established in 1824 by Samuel Bowles (II) and turned into a daily paper by Samuel Bowles (III) in 1844. Emily Dickinson was an acquaintance of the family and they published a few of her poems during her lifetime. Until today, the newspaper is still family-owned.
At present, all newspapers all over the world are struggling to survive due to the harsh competition with new media such as the internet and local TV stations. It isn't any different here in Springfield. Only last week, some of the staff were laid off.
Although they have very busy jobs and deadlines to respect, the staff were willing to give us some feedback on their jobs. We really appreciated this and found it most interesting : the bi-lingual local reporter, the business reporter, the editorial writer, the new media editor, the educational editor, the photographers told us what their average working day looks like.
A special mention should go to the fact that The Republican has a special Tuesday page for and by teenagers. These youngsters are invited to a roundtable meeting once a month and decide on the topics they will cover. These topics can vary from "The legacy of Michael Jackson" to "Should supreme court judges be elected or appointed". They also write book and film reviews and there is a Heritage section. The education editor reviews these articles and some must be re-written before they go into print. The students are paid for their articles. Schools use this newspaper section, called Unlisted Teens for projects and they can be used for ESL lessons.
And after this, for some of us, believe it or not: another visit to the Mall ... some last minute shopping before we head West: walking shoes, rain gear, a warm jumper, a telephone, a battery recharger, a bag to transport the lot, ... you name it, we (probably) bought it!
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten