John Muir Biography

John Muir is a significant figure of the 19th century as he stood opposed to the exploitation of natural resources at a time when many believed the resources of the earth were infinite. Muirs writings were influential, and as co-founder and first president of the Sierra Club, he was an icon and inspiration to the conservation movement. He is widely remembered as the father of the National Parks. As a young man, Muir demonstrated an unusual talent for building and maintaining mechanical devices. And his skill as a machinist might have made a very good living in a rapidly industrializing society. Yet his love of nature drew him away from workshops and factories. And he would joke about how he gave up pursuing the life of a millionaire to live like a tramp. Early Life John Muir was born at Dunbar, Scotland on April 21, 1838. As a small boy, he enjoyed the outdoors, climbing hills and rocks in the rough Scottish countryside. His family sailed to America in 1849 with no apparent destination in mind but wound up settling on a farm in Wisconsin. Muir’s father was tyrannical and ill-suited to farm life, and young Muir, his brothers and sisters, and his mother did much of the work on the farm. After receiving some infrequent schooling and educating himself by reading what he could, Muir was able to attend the University of Wisconsin to study science. He gave up college to pursue various jobs which relied on his unusual mechanical aptitude. As a young man, he received recognition for being able to make working clocks out of carved wooden pieces and also inventing various useful gadgets. Travels to the American South and West During the Civil War, Muir moved across the border to Canada to avoid being conscripted. His action was not viewed as a terribly controversial maneuver at a time when others could legally buy their way out of the draft. After the war, Muir moved to Indiana, where he used his mechanical skills in factory work until an accident nearly blinded him. With his sight mostly restored, he fixated on his love of nature and decided to see more of the United States. In 1867 he embarked on an epic hike from Indiana to the Gulf of Mexico. His ultimate goal was to visit South America. After reaching Florida, Muir became ill in the tropical climate. He abandoned his plan to go to South America, and eventually caught a boat to New York, where he then caught another boat that would take him â€Å"around the horn† to California. John Muir arrived in San Francisco in late March 1868. That spring he walked to the place that would become his spiritual home, Californias spectacular Yosemite Valley. The valley, with its dramatic granite cliffs and majestic waterfalls, touched Muir deeply and he found it difficult to leave. At that time, parts of Yosemite were already protected from development, thanks to the Yosemite Valley Grant Act signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1864. Early tourists were already coming to view the astonishing scenery, and Muir took a job working in a sawmill owned by one of the early innkeepers in the valley. Muir stayed in the vicinity of Yosemite, exploring the area, for most of the next decade. Settling Down, for a Time After returning from a trip to Alaska to study glaciers in 1880, Muir married Louie Wanda Strentzel, whose family owned a fruit ranch not far from San Francisco. Muir began working the ranch, and became reasonably prosperous in the fruit business, thanks to the attention to detail and enormous energy he typically poured into his pursuits. Yet the life of a farmer and businessman didn’t satisfy him. Muir and his wife had a somewhat unconventional marriage for the time. As she recognized that he was most happy in his travels and explorations, she encouraged him to travel while she remained at home on their ranch with their two daughters. Muir often returned to Yosemite, and also made several more trips to Alaska. Yosemite National Park Yellowstone was named the first National Park in the United States in 1872, and Muir and others began to campaign in the 1880s for the same distinction for Yosemite. Muir published a series of magazine articles making his case for further protection of Yosemite. Congress passed legislation declaring Yosemite a National Park in 1890, thanks in large part to Muir’s advocacy. The Founding of the Sierra Club A magazine editor with whom Muir had worked, Robert Underwood Johnson, suggested that some organization should be formed to continue to advocate for Yosemite’s protection. In 1892, Muir and Johnson founded the Sierra Club, and Muir served as its first president. As Muir put it, the Sierra Club was formed to â€Å"do something for wildness and make the mountains glad.† The organization continues at the forefront of the environmental movement today, and Muir, of course, is a powerful symbol of the club’s vision. Friendships When the writer and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson visited Yosemite in 1871, Muir was virtually unknown and still working in a sawmill. The men met and became good friends, and continued corresponding after Emerson returned to Massachusetts. John Muir gained considerable fame in his life through his writings, and when notable people visited California and specifically Yosemite they often sought his insights. In 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt visited Yosemite and was guided about by Muir. The two men camped under the stars in the Mariposa Grove of giant Sequoia trees, and their campfire conversation helped form Roosevelts own plans for conserving Americas wilderness. The men also posed for an iconic photograph atop Glacier Point. When Muir died in 1914, his obituary in the New York Times noted his friendships with Thomas Edison and President Woodrow Wilson. Legacy In the 19th century, many Americans believed natural resources should be consumed with no limits. Muir was utterly opposed to this concept, and his writings presented an eloquent counterpoint to the exploitation of the wilderness. Its difficult to imagine the modern conservation movement without the influence of Muir. And to this day he casts an enormous shadow over how people live, and conserve, in the modern world.

Nursing reflection. - 12855 Words

Reflective Essay This essay will look at reflection on a critical incident that has promoted a positive outcome. It is not a very major incident but it stands out as it has a potential for learning. This essay will identify and explain Johns (1994) model of reflection and explain what reflection is and why reflective practice is necessary and how it can be used. Schone (1983) recommended reflection on critical incidence as a valuable term, sited in Ghaye and Lillyman (1997) a critical incident id defined as incidence happen, but critical incidence are produced by the way we look at a situation, it is an interpretation of significance of the event. (p.8) Polit and Hungler (1999) defined a critical incident as: ... an observable and†¦show more content†¦They say that models of reflection help us to learn from experiences, help us overcome professional inertia by asking us to look at what we do. They tend to add more meaning to our clinical practice through reflective conversations and influence future actions. Johns model (1994) is a model of guided reflection, this enables reflective practitioners to access, make sense of and learn through experiences. It consists of a series of questions, which are split into five groups. Description, reflection, influencing factors, alternative strategies and learning. In choosing Johns model (1994) there seems to be such a wide range of cues that it enables every aspect of the critical incident to be thought about, described, questioned, feelings are brought about while exploring many issues. Due to confidentiality the names of the people in this critical incident have been changed due to the Code of Professional Conduct (1992). While working as a senior care assistant in a busy residential care home I would arrive to work at 3pm get a quick hand over to find out how all the residents have been. One of the care assistants told me that Mary, a ninety-four year old lady who is not so popular with the staff because of her constant buzzing of her call bell, even when she seems not to need help when someone goes to attend her. Mary had been a resident for nine years and had come to the home because she had a double amputation of her legs and wasShow MoreRelatedReflection in Nursing1478 Words   |  6 PagesNurseGateway  « 1st year reflection using Gibbs reflective cycle  » Welcome Guest. Please Login or Register. 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Round Midnight free essay sample

The movie Round Midnight, directed by Betrayed Tavern, Is a very well reflected portrayal of the Jazz scene, as It was known In the late fifties. The main character and protagonist of the movie, Dale Turner who Is played by Dexter Gordon, leaves New York to go to Paris. Dale leads the audience through the ups and downs of being a working jazz musician. The struggles of business, the 24-hour love for the music, the constant late hours of the night, the run-down residencies jazz musicians are sometimes forced to live in, and especially the fight against drugs.All theses details alp the audience realize what the scene was like back then, however, the Jazz scene as musicians know it today is completely different from how it was back then. In this aspect, I wouldnt recommend this movie to any non-Jazz musicians, because they would only get a taste for the period of time Tavern was trying to represent. We will write a custom essay sample on Round Midnight or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page One must realize that time changes everything, and for a fast evolving music like Jazz, one cannot expect this movie to be closely accurate to Jazz life as It is today for these reasons. Racism affects everybody on this planet, whether they know It or not.Racism has effect Jazz ever since It evolved from the evil wealth people. This is one of the reasons that this movie is not accurate to present day jazz life. Even though there is still an underlying tension between people of different race today, this tension does not come close to what racism was back in the fifties. It was ten times harder for black musicians to prosper back then only because of their color. White people did not want to see black people playing white people. If they did it would infuriate them and they would not want to listen to the music.Early in the film Dale describes how when he was in the army he had a picture of his wife who was white. And a fellow officer, who couldnt expect that this black man had a prettier white wife then he did, said a comment to Dale In which Dale responded by punching him In the face. Back then this was obviously unacceptable behavior. Dale paid the price and was beaten by many black officers. Almost any black Jazz musicals who lived through the period of time where racism was at an extreme will probably have some sort of story like this to be told. And many left the U. S to go to Europe where they knew they would not be judged by their color, but their music. Today, we have come a long way to fight the problem of racism and are getting closer to completely eliminating it. Jazz musicians today are never faced with the kinds of problems are mentors did, making this film only accurate for its time. In Round Midnight, Dale Turner is an alcoholic. The way Tavern presents this in the movie is very true about most cats back then. Many mentors of ours were into many drugs, even worse then alcohol. Heroin, Crack. And cocaine were all part of Caucasians lives and their struggle to get It.A prime example that comes to mind Is that of Charlie Parker who was extremely addicted to heroin. He was on the road one year with Dalzell Seychelles, and was finally kicked out of the band when he didnt show up for a gig because he was desperately in search for heroin. Musicians back then they realize what a horrible impression it gives to Jazz and the audience. Anybody who hatchs Round Midnight would probably think every Jazz musician today was an extreme Junky which is the total opposite from true. The stereotypical Jazz druggie, Dale Turner), is another prime example of how this movie contradicts Jazz musicians of the present and future.Finally, this movie shows the virtuosos of Jazz. It shows the players in which Jazz comes as a second nature to them. There are many musicians in the world who are very talented players, and may be up there with other giants, but they are yet to be discovered. Most of all Jazz musicians struggle to make it to the top. They base their life on getting better and being heard by the world in order to be hired for gigs. Without recognition from others, you could be the best tenor player in the world and t would mean nothing. Round Midnight shows no struggle of anyone trying to push to the top.The only thing seen is the ease of which this people play and get gigs. Dale Turner has a gig through out this entire movie. Present Jazz musicians are constantly searching for work unless their giants of Jazz. This movie does not show the on going struggle that Jazz musicians face to find continuing work and be heard by the world. This movie is a good representation of what the scene was like for musicians playing in that time period, but is connected in no way to what the scene is like today. Dale Turner is the typical inspiring father of Jazz.Living through the harsh conditions of drug abuse, and unhealthy environments, Dale truly is all about Jazzs past. With people such as Bud Powell and Lester young, (whose lives are closely related to that of Dale Turners), Jazz has skyrocketed into new areas. Jazz is all about change and evolution. A teacher of mine would say, There are things in Jazz which you know, there are things in Jazz which you know you dont know, and there are things in Jazz in which you dont even know you dont know. This is precisely what Jazz is all about.