Jack london and modern day environmentalist groups.

             We shall never understand the natural environment until we see it as a living organism. Land can be healthy or sick, fertile or barren, rich or poor, lovingly nurtured or bled white. Our present attitudes and laws governing the ownership and use of land represent an abuse of the concept of private property. Today you can murder land for private profit. You can leave the corpse for all to see and nobody calls the cops. Through the words from of Paul Brooks one can easily observe a number of feelings shared by some of preasent day environmental preservation groups. Groups like Green Peace and Earth First, hold the idea that the environment is naturally beautiful, but is often corrupted by the greed of humanity. Groups such as these also stress the idea that the environment is actually a living organism just the same as any animal or person. Above all, people concerned with the preservation of the natural environment see the spirit and vigor of the surroundings most people take for granted. Subsequently, they also see the inhumanity that goes along with the environment's deplition. Even before the breakthrough thinking of radical groups like the ones mentioned above, concern for the environment can be seen in writings of the mid 19th century. One writer who depicts the ideas of modern-day environmental preservation groups was Jack London. Through his stories about nature, one can easily see glimpses of the same ideas presented by Green Peace or Earth First. One story in particular, All Gold Canyon, plainly proves that London would most likely agree with the radical ideas of these organizations. Proof of theses mutual ideas can be seen through London's descriptions of the settings, the contrast of those settings, and his use of tone.

             One way the reader can perceive London's feelings on the environment is through his descriptions of the settings.