John Muir: Earth Hero Essay

John Muir is a remarkable person that inspired a lot of people from the 1880’s to the present time. The reason why he is remarkable is because of the many environmental conservation efforts he made. During the late 1880’s, America suffered many environmentally devastating events. John Muir took this opportunity to become actively engaged in conserving the environment even the entire American land.
In an article written and published by Sierra Club, it was noted that in 1867, while Muir was working at a carriage parts shop in Indianapolis, he met an accident that would change his life forever. He suffered from an eye injury that left him blinded for a month. Just after he regained his sight, he became determined to turn his eyes to the fields and the woods which became one of the very inspirational travels for many people. He walked from Indiana to California and then walked from San Fancisco to Sierra Nevada. During his travels he was fortunate to pass through Yosomite Valley – the place where he would become very famous. At Yosomite, he would usually roam the woods after every lunch. He would then write interesting articles about what he saw in the woods. His articles contain detailed and poetic description of nature. Such manner of depicting nature turns many to not only love his writings but to love nature, as well. His articles earned him popularity. His readers were mostly politicians, like the presidents and the congressmen, who were inspired and often moved by Muir’s loved of nature. His writings have brought national attention to diverse places that eventually become national parks (Siera Club). It can be argued, therefore, that what makes John Muir worthy of praise is that he has manage to turn his importunity into an inspiration. He then shared this inspiration to others with his passion for writing and his love for the environment.
Another event in John Muir’s life which makes him worthy of praise was when he met face to face with the American President, Theodore Roosevelt. Many critiques consider this event as the most significant camping trip in environmental conservation history. During the said camping trip, he was able to persuade the president to establish 148 million acres of National Forest and 5 National Parks. These include the Yosemite, Sequoia, Petrified Forest, Mount Rainer, and the Grand Canyon National Parks (John Muir National Historic Site). It can be argued from this particular event in John Muir’s life that even the greatest leaders in the world are willing to listen to his suggestions due to his persuasiveness. What is more interesting to note here is that John Muir did not use his persuasiveness to benefit himself – he used it to benefit the environment, to benefit the whole of humanity.
Nevertheless, Harold Wood, Jr. explains that not all of the fights of John Muir reached success. Accordingly, Muir’s final battle was to prevent the city of San Francisco from building a dam and creating a massive water reservoir in Yosomite’s Hetchy Valley. The crusade ended in a bitter defeat with a federal approval of the project. Some critiques note that his death could have been caused by a broken heart due to the loss (Wood 1). It can be argued, therefore, that John Muir is an emotionally and mentally weak person; hence, he is not worthy of praise. Nevertheless, this ought to be considered otherwise. His death proves that he does his works with his heart and mind set upon them.
Although the last battle of Muir for the environment ended in his death, he became an inspiration to many conservationists. This is the reason Muir’s legacy continues through their works. They would work tirelessly to protect and prevent the construction of dams in national parks such as the Grand Canyon (Wood 1). Hence, another reason why John Muir is worthy of praise is that even the very end of his life fuels diverse environmental conservation efforts at present.
Acknowledgement of John Muir’s contribution to conservationist movements is widely acknowledged throughout the United States. Harold Wood, Jr. noted that Muir’s remarkable life is renowned in many places like the Muir Memorial Park in Wisconsin, Muir Glacier in Alaska, and the John Muir National Historic Site in California. He also noted that in Muir’s birthplace in Scotland, his home was renovated to be a museum and a park was built named Muir Country Park. The John Muir Trust, created by Scotland, aims to preserve the natural environment in United Kingdom just like in the United States, where the Sierra Club is the group that is pushing the preservation of many natural environments (Wood 1). These efforts to appreciate and re-live the legacy of John Muir, only proves that he is indeed a great man.
In appreciation of the deeds of John Muir, California even has a day for him. The celebration is called “John Muir Day,” which is celebrated every April 21, coinciding with his birthday. It is a day dedicated to think about how we should protect the natural environment because we are the ones who will suffer in the end if we do not (Wood, 1).
John Muir’s life is a continuing inspiration to the people today who wants to protect and conserve the endangered parts of the environment. He showed that for us to continue surviving, we should learn to conserve. Muir is a hero; he is a very remarkable man who helps benefit the environment in many ways. John Muir is a great person worth remembering.

Works Cited

Haegele, Greg. "Ten Cool Things About John Muir." 19 April 2009. TreeHugger. 19 January 2015 <http://www.treehugger.com/culture/ten-cool-things-about-john-muir.html>.
Harold Wood, Jr. "EARTHKEEPER HERO: JOHN MUIR." My Hero (2013): 1.
John Muir National Historic Site . The Importance Of John Muir. California: Sierra Club, 2003.
Sierra Club. "John Muir: A Brief Biography." 2015. Sierra Club. 19 January 2015 <http://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/life/muir_biography.aspx>.