E1 Ch 1-3 *.doc - PBS Documentary by Ken Burns The National...

PBS Documentary by Ken Burns
The National Parks: America’s Best Idea
Episode One: Chapters 1-3 “Introduction”
For all of these documentary clips, please watch the video individually and complete the answers on
your own. Sharing answers not only denies another student the opportunity to view the documentary
firsthand, but also is unfair to other students who have done this on their own. This full documentary
was filmed by the most celebrated cinematographer in the country and was watched by millions of
Americans when broadcast by PBS in 2009-2010.
Episode 1, Chapter 1
“The Scripture of Nature: Introduction”
1. The opening quote of the documentary sets the stage for the overall content (listen to it
carefully). The quote is by John Muir . “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread…”
2. The national parks are a treasure house of nature’s superlatives. How many acres are there
protected within our system of national parks? 84 million acres
3. Which of the following is included within our system of national parks?
a. Highest mountain on the continent
b. Lowest, driest, and hottest location in the country
c. A labyrinth of caves longer than any other ever measured
d. Deepest lake in the nation, with the clearest water in the world
e. Trees dead for 225 million years, that are now solid rock
f. Trees that are the oldest living things on earth
g. Trees that are the tallest living things on earth
h. Trees that are the largest living things on earth
i. A mile-deep canyon that exposes rocks 1.7 billion years old, nearly half the age of the
planet
j. The greatest collection of geysers in the world
(Note that I will identify these parks for you during further discussion in class.)

4. Our national parks became the last refuge for magnificent species of animals that otherwise
would have vanished forever. And they remain a refuge for human beings seeking to replenish
their spirit .
5. But the national parks are more than a collection of rocks and trees and inspirational scenes
from nature. They embody something less tangible yet equally enduring—an idea, born in the
United States nearly a century after its creation, as uniquely American as the Declaration of
Independence and just as radical .
6. Carl Pope notes that in Europe the most magnificent places are owned by the wealthy. But in
America magnificence is a common treasure. That is the essence of democracy.
7. National parks, the writer and historian Wallace Stegner once said, are “the best idea we’ve ever
had.”
8. Clay Jenkinson suggests our best idea came from Thomas Jefferson—that all are created equal—
but goes on to indicate the relationship to the national park idea. Building on Jefferson’s vision,
he notes that if you go out into the heart of America and see this continent in its glory it will
embolden you to dream about the possibilities of life .