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I would like to share an excerpt from a paper I wrote in high school for an economics class.

"Guns, Germs and Steel is a powerful book that elucidates the ecological basis of history. However, Diamond’s “ultimate causes” including longitude/latitude and species diversity have become removed from success in today’s world. The United States is a service-based economy, far removed from the reliance on agricultural production that made or broke nations in history. We live in an “inside-world” of internet and global trade.  If we do not have it, we can always get it with a medium of exchange. The flexibility of the modern era means that the "ultimate causes" no longer determine success."

I used to think that the cultural world and the natural world were two completely different spheres. However, now I see that nature and manmade are just "two sides of the same coin" and are really composed of interacting elements. A question I have now is just how far can we move culture and our lifestyles from nature? Are people in the United States and similar environments distant from being influenced by nature or is my perception just colored by media overload? Is it good to separate the human from the land? Is the "flexibility of the modern era" a benefit or burden?