When John Denver began singing about the “Rocky Mountain High” in 1972, he wasn’t referring to a trip on LSD. He was doing what very few music artists do today – expressing reverence toward nature and the necessity of its existence.

With such limited focus in lyrics today, it’s easy for people driving down the road to turn on the radio and forget about everything but city lights, whiskey and the weekend.

Chances are, they’re not wondering what car exhaust is doing to the air or if next year’s oil will be drilled in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Modern culture has made being ignorant and nonchalant about the environment acceptable. This mostly is because our country has become so self-centered. No matter what hill is being cut in half to house a highway, we grasp the opportunity to make our lives more convenient.

When going to the grocery store and being asked the routine question, “Paper or plastic?” we don’t consider which is more environmentally friendly. We think, “Oh, I want a bag with handles,” or, “I want a bag that’s sturdy.”

The words “I want” are so ingrained in our vocabularies that we forget nature has needs that don’t include tons of non-biodegradable plastic in dumps the size of ski hills.

In a poem by nature advocate Robert Frost, he writes, “The last of the light of the sun / That had died in the west / Still lived for one song more / In a thrush’s breast.”

Through these lines, he shows how simple parts of nature, such as the songs of the birds, are priceless. Time spent in nature is time never to be regretted; only recalled with a desire to return. Through personal experiences and discussions with nature lovers, I’ve gathered that many possess feelings of inner peace when in nature. Being in nature can take us away from today’s world of department stores and fast-food joints. However, if we continue to squander resources, there will no longer be these places of tranquility.

When people first began settling in this country, they lived as a single component of nature. They found an abundance of resources, and therefore, used those resources liberally. Now, several hundred years later, we set ourselves aside from nature so that we don’t have to face what we are destroying.

We are still using the resources as though they will never run out. If we all cut back a little on resources such as oil and synthetic products such as plastic, we could prevent harmful oil drilling from occurring and some dumps from ever being needed.

Appreciating nature is essential to treating it with respect. I grew up in the country. Spending time in the woods always has made me feel at peace. However, it wasn’t until I read “The Sand County Almanac,” by Aldo Leopold, that I began appreciating nature without wearing a blindfold.

Leopold is considered the father of wildlife ecology because he was among the first to address humans’ impact on nature and our relationship with it. In the 1930s, he began teaching at UW-Madison. He discussed Wisconsin ecology in the book.

In it, he says, “In short, a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land community to plain member and citizen of it.” This statement reminds us that no matter how hard we try to separate ourselves from nature, we are a part of it – not meant to dominate it. Thus, we don’t have the right to knowingly make it uninhabitable for other existing creatures.

A law of human ecology states, “You never do just one thing.” Because we cannot predict all of the effects our decisions will cause, we should try not to control the environment. One wrong move can be disastrous.

Perhaps, if we become more creative with resources and make a few sacrifices, the earth could catch up with our pace. Simple changes, such as reusing plastic bags and using less paper could make a substantial difference. However, if we don’t use the power we have to stop nature from disappearing, the old adage, “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone” could once again prove to be true.