“Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land” – Aldo Leopold
Aldo Leopold presents a compelling approach to how we should be treating the environment. Leopold has a holistic and ecocentric worldview, which is most heavily reflected in the treatment of our natural lands expressed in “Land Ethics.” The main idea expressed by Leopold is one where we need to change our attitude towards nature. Human beings are central causes of the degradation of our surrounding environment and this is somewhat reflected in the readings I will discuss as well, “How Children Have Lost the Early American Connection with Nature” and “Environmental Citizenship.” The two readings in connection with Leopold’s worldview present the necessary changes we, human beings, need to make in order to conserve the environment and eventually become a part of nature and not separate. For instance, in order to change our attitudes towards nature and how we behave towards it, it is necessary for us to implement teaching about these issues in primary school. The argument follows a similar policy structure as the act “No Child Left Behind” regarding education, and the argument is apparent in the “No Child Left Inside Act.” Just as we desire that every child has adequate access to education, we should desire that all children are able to experience nature. There are particular neighborhoods, such as inner city ones, where the children do not have the everyday ability to experience nature. In this very industrialized place we live in, I find that it is extremely easy to disconnect from the environment and turn a blind eye to what we do not see. Leopold argues this is what needs to change.
As Environmental Citizens, we must move away from an egocentric worldview to an ecocentric. The value and needs of the environment should become a concern for us. It is a safe assumption that most people in the United States lead a lifestyle that is harming the natural world. The interdependence between nature and human beings is the idea upheld by the Environmental Citizenship concept and in Leopold’s approach to land conservation. Thus, I believe that this interdependence demonstrates the necessity to coincide and protect the land rather than to destroy the land without much regard as to irreversible consequences it holds for all living things, including us. As a central principle in a holistic worldview, we need to not uphold superiority towards the ecosystem, as expressed in ideas such as that technology can mimic nature and so on, but rather be with nature as a vital member. As discussed in previous blog entries, there is a clear and immediate need to address the rapid changes—most times irreversible—to the environment.
Recently, I have stumbled upon two or three videos on social media that depicted what it would be like to teach about the environment and extinct animals if those things were no longer in existence. Biodiversity is rapidly decreasing and rainforests are being cut down and icecaps are melting rapidly, etc. The videos address the growing concern that future generations will not have the ability to experience aspects of the environment because it will no longer exist and it will have become another part of history class. The reading, “How Children Have Lost the Early American Connection with Nature,” demonstrates a movement to involved children with nature. This is not simply an idea expressed in discourse, but reflected in actual policy across states in the U.S. For instance, the reading discusses particular regions of land that were once in perfect condition and eventually reached an almost inhabitable state for environmental growth. The areas were directly related to poor neighborhoods and addressed that a simple change reversed many of the past bad effects on that part of the environment. Through the desire to ensure our children and future generations have access to the natural world; we should be able to introduce policies and behaviors towards the environment that would uphold Leopold’s idea of land conservation and a holistic worldview. We need to become vital members of the natural community and cease to act in ways that are unsustainable and degrading for the environment. Mars is not an option.
Leopold desires us to become Ecological citizens that do not regard land as something to be conquered, rather as something to be appreciated for its beauty and through this appreciate we can act in ways that protect instead of destroys what we have left. Leopold is a responsible for founding the area of science known as wildlife management in which he places an emphasis on ecology and biodiversity. Wildlife management is a crucial aspect of land conservation since what we do with our lands directly correlates to wildlife, such as hunting for sport, the use of pesticides, oil fracking, and so on. Leopold in his land ethic expresses the desire to maintain that nature has an intrinsic moral value, such as respecting other organisms. The emphasis on ecological sciences provides a meaningful understanding of the environment that has the ability to provide an understanding the detrimental behavior towards nature, whether known or unforeseen.
Overall, the idea of applying land ethics into practical policies in our everyday lives as more long-term actions provides a challenging issue of how well we can manage this. It is clear that many individuals lead a life of disconnect with nature, and thus education is just one form of changing the attitudes so that this disconnect is lowered. Furthermore, it is one approach to bringing about ideological change by teaching about environmental issues from a young age, but how can we ensure that the environmental concerns remain at the forefront of our decision making as we become adults and seem to be concerned with more pressing issues, like getting a job and providing food for your family? Land ethics provides a promising application to conserving the land through everyday actions that will affect us not only in the short-term but also the in the long-term.
If this little boy can do it, we can as well.
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Discussion Question: Leopold’s land ethics presents a similar ideology to deep ecology; however, it also is based upon a large understanding of ecologic and biologic sciences. Considering this, does land ethic provide a more practical approach for changing the attitudes from an ecocentric view as opposed to an egocentric view?
Environmental Worldviews & Ethics 