Land Ethic
Land Ethic
Land Ethic
Amanda Grant
10/02/2015
I have always thought that the land as a whole should be respected, each
plant, and animal has a purpose that should be valued. I think most of my
thought on conservation came from my parents, they taught us that every
living thing had a purpose (I remember this mostly pertaining to animals). I
also remember as a child being told dont waste water, or you kill the
fishys or to turn the lights off; thinking back on this as an adult I think
some of these may have been ecologically more than conservationally
driven. I would say that I was never really consciously aware of the effects
my lifestyle were having on the biome in which I live.
Leopold said we needed to change the role of humans from conqueror to
citizen, I dont think that this can be done without education. I truly didnt
realize the effect humans really had on the earth, and I dont think Im the
only one. We make drastic changes to the land daily; removing hills for
homes, blasting away mountains to build roads for our benefit. With better
education I think we could enlighten people and help them realize the
damaging effects we are having on our environment. Our relation to the
land is still strictly ecological. We as humans continue to treat the land as
property not seeing its value or the damage we cause. We change the land
to benefit humans alone with no consideration for the other organisms
residing there.
been forced out, paved over and destroyed. However, moving forward in
more rural communities changes could be made that could bring us back to
a more natural biome that originally existed. We could encourage people to
plant trees and plants that are native to the area, and use natural biomes as
parks. Leopold hoped to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the
community as a whole, I believe he wanted this for very organism. I think
that preserving an areas natural beauty is a great idea; I love going into the
woods and seeing things in their natural element cohabitating with other
members of its community. I am not sure however, that this is a realistic
ideal, humans are not a natural part of this biome, and I am not sure that all
organisms of the biome can survive with a human population. As much as
we try humans will likely never feel comfortable with a bear or mountain lion
as a neighbor, nor are they going to want poisonous plants growing in a yard
where their children play. Therefore even with best intentions conservation
has already hit a wall. I think for the most part people enjoy the beauty of
nature, this is where I feel most people conservational conscious begin; we
enjoy seeing snow covered mountains or a doe and her fawn drinking from a
stream. However without realizing a moral obligation to maintain these
things conservation would make no progress at all. I personally respect
nature because I can see its beauty not because I am worried about a plant
ceasing to exist. It is easier to link emotion with things that can be seen
than with things that are gone.