Journal # 5 Leopold

Aldo Leopold has many genius ideas and conceptual philosophies dealing with the environment and life. One which stood out to me was the community concept and how it relates to the “Land Ethic”. He says all ethics rest upon a single premise that states an individual is a member of a community made up of interdependent parts. The individual follows his instincts and competes for his place in the community while the ethics developed over time tell him to co-operate. I agree that the idea of “land ethics” is simple; include the soils, water, plants, and animals into our community of ethics so we truly care about them as we do each other. We say we care about the land around us, but in reality do we truly care about the environment we are part of? Just as Leopold says, I certainly don’t think we do. Humans don’t care about the soils which they overuse for their own well good until it is totally depleted of nutrients. Humans don’t care about water which we use for transportation and carrying off our wastes. We definitely don’t care about forests that we clear out in a matter of days to lay down a shopping center. It is like we do not see ourselves as part of the world around us, when in fact we are no better or important than any other creature on this earth. “Ecological Conscience” is another topic Aldo talks about. I agree that conservation/ ecological education is important. Both the volume of education needs to be increased as well as the method in which we teach young generations. It seems to me that it is obvious we need to switch from traditional modes of education to a more progressive mode in an effort to create a more ecologically literate youth. His “land Pyramid” is also a very eye opening concept which shows just how interrelated and complex life is. When thinking of land for example one must remember that land is not just the soil. Native plants and animals are important to keep the natural cycle of life flowing while exotic ones may not. Lastly and most importantly man-made changes are different than evolutionary changes and therefore create changes that can be very dangerous and life altering.