Theodore Roosevelt: A Pioneer for the Environment Essay example -- Gre

I have always been fond of the West African proverb: â€Å"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.† Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt, the first Cowboy environmentalist. A man who would inspire generations of outdoorsmen to protect their local and national wilderness for their own children, so that they might one day hunt, fish, and hike those the same hillsides. Roosevelt was born in 1858 into a wealthy family with good connections in New York City. Since Theodore was a sickly kid, he spent a great part of his childhood on his own, collecting small wildlife specimens. He was motivated by a love of the outdoors, spending long hours observing and cataloging local insects and birds. He often described himself as lacking in education compared to other children, due to the fact that he spent so much time out of school. Yet at age nine he wrote an essay titled, â€Å"The Natural History of Insects.† He became a master at observation, a skilled hunter, and was clearly inspired by the amazing gifts of his outdoor world. Theodore overcame his childhood health issues, and was even a top boxer at Harvard. He graduated in 1880 and headed towards law school at Columbia - for a couple of terms. But the political life was calling to him, and he ditched Columbia to become a New York State assemblyman. One of the key lessons of Roosevelt took from his college years was that while a man must take individual responsibility for leading a good life and building his own future, all humans must have a collective responsibility for each other. Otherwise our society would risk disintegrating into â€Å"a riot of lawless business individualism which would be quite as destructive to real civilization as the lawless military individual... ...e have the knowledge that so many people who came before us lacked†¦ now we must muster the courage to use it. It’s time. Works Cited Donahue, Bill. â€Å"Beauty and the Badlands.† Sierra Mar. 2002: 34-43. Environment Complete. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. Dustin, Daniel L., and Ingrid E. Schneider. â€Å"Collaborative Conflict Resolution at Devils Tower National Monument.† P & R July 2001: 80-85. Environment Complete. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. Jensen, Mari N. â€Å"Coming of Age at 100: Renewing the National Wildlife Refuge System.† BioScience 53.4 (2003): 321-27. Environment Complete. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. Lewis, James G. â€Å"Roosevelt, Theodore.† Encyclopedia of World Environmental History. Environment Complete. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. Meine, Curt. â€Å"Roosevelt, Conservation, and the Revival of Democracy.† Conservation Biology 4 Aug. 2001: 829-31. Environment Complete. Web. 27 Oct. 2009.