A Land Ethic

http://www.aldoleopold.org/images/new_web/header-landethic.jpg

 

 
      In this excerpt, Leopold discusses the real meaning of land ethic versus what we believe the meaning to be. He discusses the concept of community, an ecological conscience, the land pyramid, land health, and our outlook, which all tie into the overall topic of the land ethic. He connects the use of land to the way girls used to be property in Greece many, many years ago, stating “the disposal of property was then, as now, a matter of expediency, not right and wrong” (Leopold 58). Back then in Greece the property of the matter was women who were hung for infidelity, or in other words gotten rid of, without question. Today, land is the property that we use and dispose of without question. For the most part, there is no hesitation to continue building our modern structures at the expense of the land that is destroyed. We claim to love our land of the free; however, Leopold questions whom we love and answers “certainly not the soil, which we are sending helter-skelter downriver…certainly not the waters, which we assume have no function except to turn turbines, float barges, and carry off sewage” (Leopold 60). We pride ourselves on loving our land and having this new focus on conservation and sustainability but have mostly just been preaching the words instead of committing ourselves to the ideals. 

http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/sites/sustainablecitiescollective.com/files/imagepicker/488516/city%20nature.jpg

 

 

We are an advancing society, and through building and creating new technologies, we keep moving forward. Since the past, our society has been based on communities and sustaining them. We have a certain ethic when it comes to the concept of community, and the “land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land” (Leopold 60). We claim to have this land ethic, but only when it is profitable to us. The movement of conservation has been around for nearly a century, yet it “still proceeds at a snail’s pace…with two steps backward for each forward stride” (Leopold 62). In this area, I think Leopold is pretty critical because we have made many efforts as a whole to conserve, reuse, and recycle. Some examples that have been set into action are recycling, more efficient vehicles, nature preserves, water conservation, and much more. The process is going to be slow moving because we have such a large country that has to remain efficient. 

http://www.gbmaq.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/environmental-conservation-concept-1024x682.jpg

 

We cannot merely go back in time to a different age. With the advances we have made, there is going to be more waste created as well as more scarce resources used. It is a challenge to find more environmentally friendly alternatives, and the government and society as a whole are changing for the better. In addition, Leopold states, “land-use ethics are still governed wholly by economic self –interest” (Leopold 64). Yes, this is mostly true in today’s world; however, it is unrealistic to believe that it would not be this way. In today’s world, money is necessary to get by no matter what anyone says. It might not be ideal, but it is the way the world is driven. Only the rich are able to make environmentally conscience decisions without getting any economic benefit out of it. Others, such as farmers and lower-middle class, simply do not have the means to give so much effort to something that is not somewhat profitable. Despite all this, a true land ethic is still an important concept that we need to continue to strive towards.

http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/environmental-conservation-symbols-8921105.jpg