"vincent p. norris" wrote in message
...
Muir, Leopold, Nelson........nothing more than pure coincidence......

You don't think it might be more than coincidence?

Not possibly to some extent the influence of the culture of the state,
a consequence of the kinds of folks who emigrated there?

Possible? Sure, in a broad sense. As for these particular individuals,
Muir's family came to Wisconsin as homesteaders when he was a small boy,
Leopold came in 1924 as the result of a transfer within the U.S Forest
Service, and Nelson was born here. Nothing in Muir's biographical
information suggests that his father was the least bit interested in any
sort of nascent environmental movement (even assuming there was any such
thing), and Leopold's arrival appears to have been purely for professional
reasons. His stature within the movement may have derived from, or at least
been enhanced by, his later association with the University of Wisconsin
and/or like minded individuals within the state....including the Muir
legacy, I suppose, but I've seen no evidence of it. I don't know anything
about Nelson's family background. There may be something that suggests more
than coincidence is at work....or not.

I'd be very interested in any evidence for the notion that there is more to
it than that. I assume your question was meant in a broad philosophical
sense and that you didn't have any specific evidence in mind with respect to
Muir, Leopold and Nelson.......or?

Wolfgang