State Of The Planet

After reading State Of The Planet by Robert Hass, my eyes were opened toward literature about nature. When I first glanced at the writing, I was not sure about what I was to encounter. I’m not sure if I just didn’t know what literature about nature would look like or if I just couldn’t wrap my mind around the concept. Nature is anything outside of our doors, buildings, classrooms, offices, and cities. Therefore dissecting such a broad topic like nature seemed impossible to me.

It seemed as if Hass constructed this essay as a diary entry. Something with only one subject but no real structure to the essay. It was hard for me to adjust my reading to understand the work the way it should be understood. It was a difficult read for me. Not because of the vocabulary or the descriptions, but because I was searching for a point the entire essay. I wanted a reason. I eventually understood the work to be artistic literature. It was very much like scattered thoughts however when I looked closer I was able to grasp the artistic structure the essay was in.

Reading State Of The Planet made me think about nature in a new way. Growing up in a suburb of a large city in Florida, I was coincidentally surrounded by nature, however I rarely stepped outside of my air-conditioned car. I can honestly count on my fingers the amount of times I actually spent more than an hour in nature, taking it in, and appreciating everything around me. The passage that got me thinking the most is located on the first page under number two. It reads “Topsoil: going fast. Rivers: dammed and fouled. Cod: about fished out. Haddock: about fished out.” This passage convicted me and made my feel guilty about my lack of empathy for the earth. God gave us this magnificent world. To show him our appreciation we build buildings and destroy the beautiful world he created for us. God created this world. God made the trees and the flowers, the creatures, rivers, and oceans. He handcrafted everything that we so easily destroy. We are replacing magnificent, wonderful creations by God for second rate creations that we make ourselves.