Last Child In The Woods By Richard Louv

Scientists are on the brink of developing a way to stamp their ads not only in the sky or on beaches, but on the wings of butterflies. Undisturbed nature is being overtaken by technology in a race run by “cash-strapped municipalities.” In his work “last Child in the Woods,” Richard Louv argues that the crevasse between people and nature continues to widen day by day. In the beginning paragraphs, Louv makes a brave assumption about American culture today: that true nature is “not even worth looking at” in the eyes of the stereotypical fast-paced American. Because of the cultural lack of interest in the pure beauty of nature, scientists have gone so far as to suggest butterfly wings as advertising mediums. This surprises the reader, and makes him wonder to what lengths this could be taken. Perhaps, one day, true nature everywhere will be consumed by advertisements of cash-hungry corporations whose only concern is the amount of money they make.

This technology not only takes our eyes off of the beauty outside the car, but also makes Americans who claim they want their children to watch less TV look hypocritical, as they are always expanding “the opportunities for them to watch it.” The reader must consider Louv’s description of a landscape seen from a car the evokes memories in themselves. Louv reminds his audience that these landscapes are still available, and includes himself in the experience that was “our drive-by movie,” causing the reader to feel a more personal connection with the