"Criteria for a Healthy Landscape" by Paul Groth

In Paul Groth's "Criteria for a Healthy Landscape", he brings forth a problem that we may face in reading others' writings on American Landscape. He says that a lot of what others write are based on the writers perception of a previous article has stated, and biasedly. To interpret his "ideas" he states that there are seven criteria for healthy landscapes that one should follow in order to be precise in their views and writings.

Groth lets us know that we have to be in touch with our own selves and our surroundings before we can be open to the landscape around us. In the first criteria he tells us that we need to be more involved in the world, to make our "mark". In the second we need to be open and willing to accept everyone no matter what our imparements, handicaps or looks may be. We need to interact with one another, which is social survival.

In all seven of the criteria that Groth states we should follow, I find that the 6th is the most important. In it, Groth states that "A healthy landscape connects itself to OTHER parts of nature." I find that this is the most important because it mixes nature and the human aspect of nature in it. He states that the western culture has a problem with this criteria, by separating ourselves from nature. We look at nature as trees, and tree-huggers, etc. Everything around us is nature, we have made it so as humans. Groth brings in the fact that nature isn't always pleasant. This is the type of nature that we, modern day humans, have created.

I do find however, that one cannot write a piece without being biased in any way. Anytime we are reading something that someone else has written and respond to it, we in turn are interpreting in varying degrees of definitions. The same goes for Groth. I believe even his writing is biased in some way, because he is expressing his opinions.