Question Earthority!

“If we need to get more people interested in nature, as a recent national report suggests, then maybe it’s time we acknowledge a truth that few observers, even those of us who consider ourselves devoted naturalists, seem willing to admit: Nature is often very boring. What I mean to say is that nature can often be boring when measured against our longstanding human desire for compelling narrative and catchy endings — a cultural impulse that drives everything from books to movies to TV shows to video games. Which is why, one gathers, Mother Nature isn’t the most popular girl on the block these days, as evidenced by the latest findings of The Nature Conservancy. In a new study, the conservancy concluded that people across the United States and in other developed nations are spending far less time outdoors than recent generations.” (02/29/08)