Conservatives often justify their opposition to new ideas and new policies as a heroic effort to protect what works and not rush headlong into untested waters that may lead to disaster. On the other hand, conservatives often have few inhibitions about rushing headlong into new areas and new enterprises, if there is the probability of making a profit even if those new areas and those new enterprises involve an assault on nature. Making a profit is the finest and purest expression of capitalism, and thus is to be valued in itself as a good - perhaps a great good on the same level as truth, loyalty, and compassion. It naturally follow that those who, in the name of protecting nature, oppose this headlong rush are portrayed as enemies of capitalism and the fight against them does not need invariably to include truth, loyalty or compassion. "But isn't economic growth good for all? Doesn't lumbering generate jobs for people who might otherwise have none? Won't building a dam provide reliable fresh water and electricity for industry?" This, in a nutshell, is the conflict and contradiction that Heacox examines in his wonderful new book, "John Muir and the Ice that Started a Fire." Heacox uses the life of John Muir as a pillar on which he builds a broad and sweeping narrative of the conservation movement of the United States.
The author has great strength and maturity in his art. His earlier book, "The Only Kayak," deserves great praise for the beautiful way in which it explains the need for humans to love and respect nature just as they should love and respect other humans. However, "The Only Kayak," suffers a bit from the author's tendency to mock those who may not love and respect nature to the extent he believes is necessary. In this new book, he examines the issues and the people involved with a much higher level of understanding of (compassion for?) the complexities of life and that people can sometimes be on the right side of one issue and on the wrong side of another, but yet be valuable humans worthy of friendship and collaboration. But he never waivers from his bottom line message: Nature is fragile and is under constant attack. Nature is essential. We are passengers on this earth and must treat nature with respect and preserve it to the greatest extent possible. Today, nature is suffering assaults never before seen in human history. Climate change can change almost everything. Conservatives believe that arguments for addressing climate change are just cloaked attacks on capitalism. The challenge is to find the right balance between capitalism's demand for unending economic growth and the reality that this demand is unsustainable.
The book is thoroughly documented. Heacox has studied the literature exhaustively and, in particular, has sought to put the events and actions of Muir in the context of other events taking place in the United States and the world. One of his most piercing points is that Muir, as some other greats of that era (or any era), were both makers of destiny and the beneficiaries of having been born at the right time. He mentions Ford and others. For me, Heacox embellished my appreciation of John Muir. After reading Muir's "Travels in Alaska," I came to appreciate Muir as one of those singular human beings who come along once in a generation. A man of unbounded energy and commitment who had a vision of what he wanted to do in life and followed that vision with extraordinarily hard work for years on end.
One hopes that this book will become a new rallying torch for a new conservation movement. In this day of the internet, Facebook, YouTube, and Google, it is next to impossible to predict what will spark a new movement mobilizing millions of people. Could something as mundane as a hard back book still lead, in this day, to major societal change? Could this book be the spark that will kindle a new fire to blaze a trail to protecting nature? I hope so.
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