Edward Abbey and nature

Edward Abbey (1927-1989) was an American environmentalist and writer. From an early age he was fascinated by nature, and when he was 17 years old he traveled the western United States. He lived as a wanderer, doing odd jobs to pay for his maintenance, and wrote around twenty books and essays focused on the environment, ecology and the negative effect of humans on the natural landscape.

As a proof of his commitment to nature, Edward Abbey said that the environment is not a resource to be exploited by consumerism, but a necessity of man: "Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread."