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He writes, “Not till we are lost, in other words not till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves, and realize where we are and the infinite extent of our relations.” But Thoreau also understood that times of crises are also times of great opportunity. His message is more important now than ever in an age of massive oil spills, destructive drilling methods, extreme weather, and climate change misinformation campaigns. He believed that to live a good life we must keep the wild intact. He articulated a philosophy based on environmental and social responsibility, resource efficiency, and living simply that is as inspiring now as it was then. Thoreau laid the foundation for modern-day environmentalism. “In Wildness is the preservation of the World.” “What we call Wildness is a civilization other than our own,” he wrote. We can be the best humans we can be only by recognizing that there is more to the world than us. “We need to witness our own limits transgressed, and some life pasturing freely where we never wander,” he wrote. Treating the environment with respect was a matter of economic efficiency to Thoreau and a moral imperative. Most of all, he opposed excess: “A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.” He was constantly aware of what he used, what was a waste, and what was a necessity.

“Thank God men cannot fly,” he wrote, “and waste the sky as well as the earth.” Environmental stewardship was a cornerstone of his philosophy. Thoreau was a gifted writer as well as a naturalist, abolitionist, philosopher, conservationist, and visionary environmentalist who could see the consequences of unrestrained and irresponsible consumption of resources. He is remembered best today for his book Walden, which describes his most famous exploit-leaving civilization to live in solitude on the banks of nearby Walden Pond. Thoreau was born in 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts, and he was one of America’s first and most important environmentalists. In this week’s space we celebrate Thoreau’s birthday by reflecting on his work and explaining how organizations are carrying on his legacy. Even now his words cast an important light on our relationship with the planet. Henry David Thoreau may have been born 194 years ago this Tuesday, July 12, 2011, but his writings remain crucial reading for today’s environmentalists. Read more articles from the "It’s Easy Being Green" series

Henry David Thoreau is one of the country’s first enivronmentalists.