The Irony of Children’s Awareness
Louv explains, “Today, kids are aware of the global threats to the environment-but their physical contact, their intimacy with nature, is fading. That’s exactly the opposite of how it was when I was a child.” The kids’ awareness would have fostered their intimacy with nature for they are cognizant of the materiality of nature. Accordingly, being informed about nature does not elicit automatic connection with it. The contemporary generation is detached from nature due to technology.
The irony of Curiosity
Louv recounts, “During the next hour as I asked the young people about their relationship with the outdoors, they described some of the barriers to going outside-lack of time, TV, the usual suspects. But the reality of these barriers did not mean that the children lacked curiosity. In fact, these kids spoke of nature with a strange mixture of puzzlement, detachment and yearning- and occasional defiance.” The barriers would be project to extinguish the children’s curiosity. The children inherently hanker for nature but their situations hinder them for delighting in it. Contemporary settings in families hinder children from exploring their intimacy with nature. Given opportunity the children would solve their puzzles by interacting with nature.
The Irony of Commercial Advertisements
Louv observes, “Nature is often overlooked as a healing balm for the emotional hardships in a child’s life. You’ll likely never see a slick commercial for nature therapy, as you do for the latest antidepressant pharmaceuticals.” The commercials ignore nature which would offer children free therapy for the depression. The ironic act of overlooking nature underscores the focus pharmaceutical entities whose aim is to optimize profits through the drags. Advertising nature would not be sponsored by the companies because nature is natural and would be free of charge. Capitalism and media advertisements have blinded consumers to the therapeutic benefits of nature.
“Land shapes us more”
Louv reports, “For years, as a community-college teacher, she (Elaine Brooks) brought her students here to expose them to the nature many of them had never experienced. She taught them that land shapes us more than we shape land, until there is no more land to shape.” Land’s capacity to shape human beings is ironic. Humans have significant control in shaping land through cultivation, constructions and planting of trees. Brooks’ ironic observation concerning land alludes to the potential of land and the plants growing there to change and improve human health. Proper utilization of land contributes to better health among humanity.
“No one paid her”
Louv writes, “One wonders: Why would anyone spend so many hours and days in what amounts to a big vacant lot?...No one paid her to study this land, but no one said she couldn’t.” Brooks’ ironic studies which are not driven by potential profits or earnings underscore her passion for nature. She studies it passionately without anticipating monetary benefits. An individual without interest in nature would only focus on the study if he or she was assured some payment or extrinsic rewards at the conclusion of the study.
