In one of the opening chapters, The New Canary, Eric Reece discusses the importance of contiguous forests for a very specific type of bird, the cerulean warbler. This bird needs a vast amount of uninterrupted forest in order to nest because they are often pushed out by another animal named the cowbird, which invades the nest of cerulean warbler and makes their nest its home. The reason why, in Eric Reece estimation, the warbler is so important is because it represents, like its coal mining brethren, an indication of the change going on in Appalachia. The less you see of the cerulean warbler, the less you see of the Appalachian forests as a result of strip mining.
His arguments are directed towards the idea that the forests are a place of reflection and are needed in order to dispel human arrogance and create an atmosphere that is humbling and perhaps, even religious. Reece realizes that man looks at a mountain in two ways: As a thing to be conquered or as a thing to be revered. He believe that by holding the mountain in reverence, and of all nature for that matter, we can better understand the beauty and intelligence of the natural world.
When dealing with this debate, I am torn in both directions. Reece's comments are powerful and invoke a deep-seeded love with the wilderness that I have had since I was a young boy. Nature is the thing that brought me to Ohio University and kept me here. On the other hand, Ohio uses close to 90% coal in order to power itself. I am not ashamed to to admit that when it comes to my creature comforts here and now versus the extinction of a species of animal far away from me, I will typically choose my comfort. But perhaps in the course of reading this book my mind will be changed.
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