The most thrilling experience I've had with the natural world was my trip to Costa Rica in 2006. We did a lot of eco-tourism on the trip and one of the most memorable places was Tortuguero. Tortuguero is unique in that the only way to reach much of it is by boat; there are no roads. It still has dense forests (as shown in the picture above) and lots of wildlife, including white faced monkeys, caiman, and a variety of birds and lizards. One morning many of us were even woken up by the noise of the howler monkeys. We got to go out into the forest on boats and hiking. Though the trip was great, I wasn't able to do much exploring on my own because I was with a group from my high school and we had a schedule to keep to. Still, it was one of my most memorable experiences and I hope to return to Tortuguero when I am back in Costa Rica next semester.

I don't understand how anyone could argue that nature shouldn't be saved. We as humans are part of the natural world. We depend upon the Earth's natural services to sustain us. We use resources that are taken out of nature and would be unable to survive without them. We derive pleasure from nature through simply going out into it and feeling like part of it. When I was younger, I would often wander around the woods near my house or go hiking at the state park so I could get away for a while. Although technology can replicate some things, I truly do not believe that technology can advance so far as to remove our need for the natural world. The desire to save it isn't entirely altruistic as some seem to think. While those of us that want to save nature do think that it is important to maintain and protect the environment and think we shouldn't drive other species to extinction, we all want to maintain nature for ourselves and our children and future generations. As was brought up in our last class, the Earth will survive once humans are gone, but we cannot survive without the Earth. And even if it were possible, would we want to?