In reading the book I am astounded at the natural resources that were available to them. Game and forests were plentiful, and it was not uncommon to catch lobsters 6 feet long or crabs as much as a foot long! Rivers that are now polluted were once teeming with fish.
Sad to say much has changed in our landscape and our rivers and ocean since those days. I would love to see this country return to that kind of plenty but I don't know that it will ever happen.
People wasted then like they waste now. Even though we don't see the kind of wildlife and forests that they did, we are not without resources and if we are wise and not wasteful we would have all we need for many years to come.
I think natural resources today go beyond what the land and waters offer us. There is still plenty but it should be used carefully. What we have now in plenty is in the term of second hand goods and things that we already own.
There are mountains of manufactured items in landfills and thrift shops that can and should be re-purposed. Recycling companies should continue to find ways to reuse items in landfills and we as consumers should be more careful with what we buy, find more ways to use what we have and use it efficiently and even find ways to re-purpose things in the second hand stores.
I don't like that we are a country of such mass consumption and waste. I am not referring only to those who are in upper classes. Those who have less can be just as wasteful and it seems sometimes that we are hell bent on using every resource available so that there will be nothing left for future generations.
This country is still a land of plenty although we might have to be a little more creative sometimes. I think most of us are up to the challenge though and if we set our minds to it can make sure it is still an abundant land for future generations.
I agree with you, Nancy. There's so much useless junk in the stores. You just know people will buy it, tire of it, and send it to the landfill. We have to stop being so wasteful, and that includes me. I have more clothes than I need in my little closet.
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