The Land Ethic

"Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land." (Leopold 62)

This statement is a nice thought that we can finally reach a place where people and the environment around us can come to some sort of common ground; sadly this is not the case. With society getting more and more advance with technology, people are paying more attention to building more buildings and getting more industrialized than actually seeing the damage they are doing to the land and environment around them. I think just taking the time to stop and look around and see how much land has decreased to exist because we are to busy building, we would realize that there needs to be a change and with a balance of growth as well as conserving some land; we will see a drastic change for the better in our world.

Photos by: Clark Schoettle

"The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land." (Leopold 60)

This idea seems so simply, especially when our country is based of the land of the free and home of the brave; but what exactly do we love? We definitely do not care about the soil, water, plants, and animals in a way that we should. For instance, when it comes to soil we are so quick to dispose of it, when it comes to water we assume its only function is to carry off waste or turn turbines, when it comes to plants we can destroy a whole community and not even care, and we are quick to kill off animals species just for sport and the fun of it. To live in this world and not take into account ever aspect that goes along with that is not only destroying elements but us as well. We need to open our eyes to the fact that everything in this world that exists has a purpose and should be treated with care and with a sense of importance.

Concept of Photos by: NRCS

"It is inconceivable to me that an ethical relation to land can exist without love, respect, and admiration for land, and a high regard for its value." (Leopold 75)

I agree completely with this statement. There is going to be no change unless we as a people realize that this is an issue and we decide to help change it. It is one thing to say it but to actually put in the time and energy; you need to know and understand just exactly you are doing. To make our environment a better place you have to actually want to make this change happen and the more you understand and realize that your environment is essential to your survival; the stronger your dedication will be to make this change happen. We are in this predicament because we have taken our environment for granted for so long and we have a long way to go to make it better but the more people that are willing to stand up to make this world a better place, the better off we are going to be. 

Concept of Photos by: David Brown