The World as we Know it
Reflection by Nicole Casaday
The Land Ethic was written by Aldo Leopold way back in 1948. Leopold’s
short novel is based on his thoughts as a philosopher to the ethic of land. He bases
his study if you will, off five different elements: The Ethical Sequence, The
Community Concept, The Ecological Conscience, The Land Pyramid and last but not
least, The Outlook. Each of these having their own unique & well thought out ideas
regarding conservation biology. I would like to briefly touch base with each of these
elements and express to you my thoughts or better yet; my land ethic, which may or
may not coincide with Mr. Leopold.
The Ethical Sequence can be defined ecologically and philosophically.
Ecologically being the everyday struggle for existence for all living matter, while an
ethic philosophically has to do with a differentiation of social from anti-social
conduct. Leopold breaks this section down into three different ethics; relationship
between people as individuals, a human’s relation with land itself, and the
evolutionary thought process of conservation beliefs as humans.
The Community Concept is all about the battle between instincts &
community pressure. Meaning, as humans our natural instincts are to compete for
our place – simply survive. However, as a community our thought process – the
ways we act, live, communicate – is altered by our ethics on how to co-operate
within a community. This section stood out to me most possibly because it is written
in a more poetic literature rather then scientific; so it simply made it easier for me to
understand Leopold’s point of view. I like how he asks, “do we not already sing our
love for…” he gives the blunt answer that as a community we use our land, as if it is
owed to us.
The Ecological Conscience was stated as an ethical obligation on the part of
the private owner as it’s only visible remedy. Leopold makes a great point in saying
that no change can be made without an internal change within the human nature. I
couldn’t agree more with this; to REALLY make a change we must do it because we
WANT to – because we care to make the difference – not because it is mandatory.
The Land Pyramid touches base with our senses… in a sense. Leopold states,
“We can be ethical only in relation to something we can see, feel, understand, love,
or otherwise have faith in.” I really like how he brings life and love into this
element. We simply cannot be ethical about something that we do not love; land is
much more then just the dirt beneath our feet, it is feeding and breathing life and
energy that we solely take for granted. Like many other things in life, balance is key.
Leopold’s three main factors in this pyramid are 1- Land is just not soil. 2 – Native
plants and animals kept the energy going, others might not. 3- Man-Made things are
not part of the evolutionary change.
Last but not least, The Outlook basically states that we must first notice and
agree that changes need to be made, before anything will actually change. The first
step to fixing anything is always first admitting there is a problem.
I’ll be completely honest, it may sound silly, but I read this article a good 3-4
times to actually understand and to gain a good concept on where Leopold was
coming from. It was quite a difficult read for me and frankly I think Leopold’s point
could have been made and heard more clearly if it were put more simply. However, I
think this could have a lot to do with the age that the article was written that gave it
the rich literature. In the end I do understand and mostly agree with Leopold’s point
of view. I learned a lot from this article and I felt my opinion sway to agree more
then disagree the more I understood. The question crossed my mind how this article
would be written differently if it were written more recently. In some ways we have
become even more greedy, ungrateful and irresponsible with our careless ways
about the land; but in others we have begun to make drastic changes. Such as
recycling, making ‘green’ products, electric cars and solar powered energy. I look at
as we have finally reached ‘The Outlook’ element. We have recognized that there is a
problem and we have taken a huge step forward in the process to fixing the damage
that we have caused. This is all in thanks to philosophers like Leopold who went the
extra mile and did the research to teach us naive humans of the damage we are
causing by our lack of land ethics.
I do believe that the purpose of land is to serve for the animals and humans
that live on it. I also believe that just like living in a house, we must respect it, clean
it, and put money and time into it to keep it beautiful and livable. If we just keep
taking and never give back there will be nothing left. I don’t think it is fair to say the
whole world is at fault, because there are many who dedicate their lives to
supporting and nourishing our land and the plants and flowers it brings forth. Even
though I don’t do it as a career I still have a great love and respect for our Earth.
Many of us still do our part in replenishing the soil with trees and shrubbery, not
littering, and recycling. However, I know each of us could take a further step and go
the extra mile to participate on our journey back to save the land.
In conclusion, my ethics on the land have not necessarily changed since I
read this article, but have become clearer – more visual. It isn’t necessarily
something you have on your mind at all times so it is always good to be reminded
that this land wasn’t just put here to take from, but to give back to as well. I hate
thinking of the wastelands piling up and the air pollution continuing to get worse
and worse. The winter’s here in Utah really show the worst of what has become of
our Earth. In saying all this, I am just glad we have smart people to invite things such
as electric cars and solar panels because I honestly any solution I can think of would
never be big enough to change the impact of the entire world’s ethic on land.
Humans have to live; and as long as we continue our existence unless we all just
turn back into cavemen we are going to continue to use this land to our greater good
and my only hope is that there will be balance. That we will be able to give back as
much as we take, otherwise there may be nothing left to take at all.