Kendra Pierce

Kendra Pierce

Conservation Biology

The Land Ethic

February 20, 2013

The land was created in such a way that every natural living thing on it has a purpose. It has a place in the whole breakdown of our earth’s materials. Every individual plays a part in the condition of our land. This could be in a positive way or a negative way. The community concept that Leopold talks about in the book states that “the individual is a member of a community of interdependent parts”. Of course any one could put together the concept of being part of a community, but, a community of interdependent parts brings with it a whole new meaning.

There are several different factors that play into our land being what it is, soil,  water, animals and plants all combined are equivalent to “our land”. Each of these plays a part in the Land Pyramid. Leopold suggests that the Land Pyramid is built in such a way that each natural resource lives on the resource below it and acts as food for the resource above it. The pyramid consists of layers, the bottom layer being soil.  Plants use the soil to grow and produce food for the next layer, insects. Insects feed on the plants and then in turn act as food to birds and rodents. This process goes on and on in each layer narrowing down the number of resources. This is how our earth survives.

Each person needs to become aware of what is going on around them. If we continue to live off the land and not take the time to see and provide what the land needs to survive, there will be a time that it will not be able to provide what we will need. Each country needs to do its part in preserving the needs of the land so that it can continue to “self heal” and continue to be prosperous for generations to come. Ecological training is needed for the future of our land. The less we become connected to our biotic community, the more rapidly our current natural resources will become synthetically subsidized.

Thinking on my own conservation philosophy, my theories are very much similar to that in which Leopold has described. I believe that everything in the biotic community is here for a designated reason. Without the existence of that one living mechanism there will be dramatic effects on others trying to hold its weight. This explains why extinction is so important. We need that species to continue on so that others may do so as well. I have thought about similar situations over time. I have watched how people changed who they are when one of their loved ones passes on or change to become someone different then the rest of the family. That single act affects the whole family. Applying this to the extinction of different species would have a very similar effect.

To me the quote “A land ethic changes the role of the human from conqueror of the land community to plain member and citizens of it. It implies respect for his fellow members, and also respect for the community as such” means that each person should look at what they really are to our biotic community. Take out all the worldly and materialistic items and really think about what their purpose is on earth. If each generation has done what our current generation is doing to the land, there would be great restriction on the resources our land has left to give. It is only fair to respect the planet we live on and act in ways that could help our land continue on for generations and generations.

In our current day, I would agree that our land is viewed in a similar perspective that it was in 1940 when Leopold wrote this book. I believe that a lot of the land is still viewed as economic. However there have been some large movements to show that members of the land community are doing there part in fulfilling obligations instead of strictly taking the privileges that come along with our land. For example, a huge movement in the twenty first century has been recycling. Of course recycling helps short term but in the long term will have a much greater positive effect then if we did not recycle. This will help save massive amounts of waste. If we can continue on this path then maybe in the next 50 or 60 years the land relation will not be looked upon as only taking all that the land has to offer but to ensure we are doing our part and full filing our obligations.

I would define “extending the communities sensibilities to all members of the community both non human and human” as each member looking over the rest of the community. This could be human or non human. For example a monkey living in the tropical jungle feeds off of what the jungle produces. If the monkeys tore down the trees to get the bananas off, then eventually there would be no banana trees. If humans continue to chop down forests to use its resources to build homes, make paper and build communities over the land before we know it all of the resources will be exhausted.

I agree with the passage “A thing is right when it intends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise“. I feel like this is a way of protecting our land. If we as part of the “Land Community” do what will help keep our surroundings stable, free from harm, free from dramatic alteration and keep everything united as a whole, then I believe that the land would continue to work in our favor. If we are making decisions to alter the biotic community and change it to how we as humans think it should be, then we should be prepared for the outcome of these decisions. For example if we kill off several species for any reason, then we need to see the outcome of what will happen after they are gone. Who and what will be effected, how will it effect them, how will we substitute for there absence, etc. There are many negative effects that we must weigh out before we allow these “wrong” things to continue to happen.

If I were to choose between aesthetics and ethic I would choose aesthetics. Although, both are very important to me I can not love something unless I am physically or emotionally attracted to it. I can look out side and see how beautiful the land is and feel motivated to keep it going the way it should, more so then if I were to see a pile of soil. Chances of me marveling over the pile of soil due to all the amazing capacities that it holds are slim. However, I do see a connection in beauty to ethics. If the looks of something has caught my attention and I continue to pursue gaining knowledge about that, then in the future I could see how I would be more attached to the land itself then to the beauty of it.

The study of land ethic to me is based upon self interest. We are surrounded by so many parts of the biotic community everyday and yet I know very little about them. They are all a part of our existence. I am enjoying the knowledge that I am gaining about how this community works.

I really enjoyed this section about land ethic. It has helped open my mind up to all of the possibilies that our land can hold, and in a sense can control. Often times I think we get set in our way of thinking and forget to think outside of the box or don’t think about what else could be possible. This section has defiantly opened that door for me. I really liked the Community Concept section that stated “The characteristics of the land determined the facts quite as potently as the characteristics of the men who lived on it”. This spoke loudly to me because the concept behind it is so accurate. By studying an area of land, you would be able to identify what kind of person lived on it. Were they people of the land, did they protect and sanctify the land? Or were they people for the land, did they use it only for monetary dealings? By simply observing the conditions that the land was left in, it would speak greatly about what it has been thru. The one thing I did not care for was the first paragraph. I did not understand how Odysseus returning from war and hanging a dozen slave girls really tied into the rest of the section. As I read the section I kept trying to make a connection on how that paragraph would relate and I never figured out the message that Leopold was trying to get across. Overall I would say this assignment was great. It really helped me to understand things in a different point of view as well bring some of my own ideas to the surface.