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Pretty nature pictures stimulate desire, but misrepresent reality.
AH, THE NEW YEAR. Time to change the wall calendar. By October, our household had already acquired Greenpeace's latest offering, a Group of Seven issue, and one of those generic versions that hardware stores and real estate agents give out for free. All of them feature beautiful scenes of pristine landscapes, robust ecosystems and healthy wildlife. I used to like these sorts of images for predictable reasons: they celebrate the beauty, wonder and sacredness of nature. They're nice to look at and calming reminders of days spent outdoors.
Organizations such as the Sierra Club have successfully used such imagery as an advocacy tool for decades. In Natural Visions: The Power of Images in American Environmental Reform, Finis Dunaway tells the story of how David Brower used large-format coffee-table books featuring sublime American landscapes in the successful campaign that resulted in the Wilderness Acf being passed...