The Humboldt Current Nineteenth Century Exploration And...

Both in the books, The Humboldt Current: Nineteenth-Century Exploration and the Roots of American Environmentalism and On a Farther Shore the Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson, the authors are trying to prove that the individuals whom they wrote about deserve a place in the ongoing narrative of Environmentalism. Alexander Von Humboldt and Rachel Carson showed how their subjects were led to a life of environmentalism by their passion. Whether it was from a love of the water or a love to explore, both of these individuals were led down a road of environmentalism. Although their accomplishments are completely different, it does not mean that one is more significant than the other. The fact that they had different results can easily be explained by the different times in which these two individuals were alive and active. Humboldt’s journey did not begin until 1799, which was 108 years before Carson was even born. They had different passions, which led to different results, but in t he end, they were both incredibly significant. Aaron Sachs (author of The Humboldt Current) does a great job of describing the incredibly interesting journeys that Humboldt had. From his trip to Venezuela to the United States, and everything in between, Sachs painted a picture of an explorer on a mission to study new land, to discover new things, and to develop ideas about these new areas and pass those ideas on to the rest of the world. Humboldt was more than an explorer, he was truly a scientist.