WITHOUT DUTY THERE

CAN BE NO BEAUTY
Hallee Booth

Bio 1120-F16

The Land Ethic, by Aldo Leopold, is an essay that talks of land ethic and how people
interact with the land and how people should use the land ethic to conserve the land. The essay
talks of how scientists are realizing the land needs to be protected and how they are trying to help
people learn how to protect the land, however, the people do not stick to the strategies for long.
Leopold talks of how farmers were given the resources and tools to protect the integrity of the
land which they put into practice for a little while but then went back to using the land in a way
that would give them the most profit. People try to do what they can to protect the land but it is
hard for them to keep practicing these techniques when they are driven by a need for wealth.
Land is seen as property and peoples relation to it is still strictly economic which entails
privilege but not obligation to keep the land integrity. Even scientists had to find ways to make
their evidence for protecting a species economic to be valid because many people are driven by
economic values rather than the interest to protect a species. Leopold also talks about how an
obstacle of the land ethic is that our educational and economic system is headed away from a
consciousness of land. If people are not educated about the land and what will happen if they are
not actively being conscious about what effect their choices have on the land then the land ethic
will disappear. People need to think about what is right and wrong when dealing with the
community, as Leopold says, A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability,
and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise. People need to think of
this when dealing with the community to help keeps its integrity and stability because without
these the community could collapse. Land ethic is an emotional and intellectual process that
needs a critical understanding of the land and economic land-use to be successful. Land ethic
changes the role of humans from the conqueror of the land and community to a plain member
and citizen of the community (Leopold).

My own conservation philosophy would be to use the resources that the land
gives use but to also give back to the land. We should be finding ways to use the resources that
the land gives us without destroying the land in the process. We should be using wind and solar
for energy instead of mining for coals and creating pollution. People should replant native trees
that have been cut down by logging companies to rebuild the ecosystems that were lost. People
should find materials that could be used so deforestation does not have to happen. These are
views that I have had my whole life, my parents have always encouraged me to find ways to help
the community and preserve nature. Growing up we would always recycle and try to find ways
to dispose of things without throwing it into the trash. If we had clothing we no longer needed
because it did not fit or a piece of furniture that we outgrew, we would find places to donate them
so they could find a new home and not end up in a landfill.
The quote from Leopold, A land ethic changes the role of humans from conqueror of the
land-community to plain members and citizens of it. It implies respect for his fellow-members,
and also respect for the community as such, is a good quote when talking about the relationship
humans should have with their community. People need to be citizens instead of conquerors
within their community to keep harmony and the integrity of their community. If people are just
citizens they can be respectful of their environment and each other without feeling the need to
have the most and get the most out of the land. If people are conquerors they will crush those that
oppose them and will step on others to get what they desire. Being a conqueror means trying to
get the most out of the land without worrying what harm they may be causing to the community.
It means not caring if they make multiple species go extinct and ruin the fertility of the land
because at that moment they have all the wealth and are on top until the land can no longer

support them and they are left at the bottom with nothing. Being a citizen people can care for the
species in the community and the land and live a long harmonious life with the community.
Peoples relation with the land today is still very much economical, people are still trying
to find ways to exploit the land for profit. Big companies like oil companies are able to make it
so people cannot use green renewable energy by using their money and connections to make it
harder for everyday people to use green energy. They do this so they can keep making money by
drilling into the land and oceans for a resource that can be exhausted. There are some movements
and people now that are fighting to have it so the land is not strictly used for profit but it can be
slow moving because big companies that use the land for profit have ways of silencing these
people and movements. Land is still seen as property, though there are national parks and city
parks that are free to the public to use and enjoy. These parks are good because they reduce the
amount of land that big companies can exploit and consume.
Land ethic is extending a communitys sensibilities to all members of the community,
nonhuman as well as human, what this means in my life and community is finding ways to
protect everything in the community and living in harmony. To protect the community we first
need to know what is in the community and how it lives and survives. Knowing this is important
because then we can know how to interact with it and how to better protect it from our actions.
We need to be the ones that are consciously thinking about our actions and the effect they have
on the environment because we are the ones that bring the most change to the community. We
need to see how our changes have an effect on the community and see if it is negative or positive
and the long term results of this change. If we do not research these changes then we cannot live
sensibly with our community because our changes could drastically damage and negatively
change the community and we need to help protect the integrity of the community.

Aldo Leopold wrote, A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and
beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise. Was Leopold suggesting
that the integrity of the biotic community supersedes the concern for its individual members?
Yes, it does seem like thats what he meant, however, the individuals are what can make up the
biotic community. So if an individual is lost from the community then the integrity and stability
of the biotic community has not been preserved. We do have to preserve the biotic community as
a whole but to do that we do need to look at the individual species and organisms that make up
the community to make sure one is not lost that can have a great impact on the community. The
biotic community is made up of different parts such as plants, soil, and the many species it holds
and if anything changes the integrity of the community has been lessened and will not be the
same again.
An ethical relationship with the land cannot happen without love, respect, admiration,
and a high regard for its value. What is more motivating to me is a duty for the land because
without duty there cannot be beauty. If a person focused on beauty with the land they might only
want to save the species that they find beautiful but those species might only survive with the
help from another species. Focusing on beauty could cause a cascade of extinction because
people are not looking at the species that are not as beautiful but necessary for life. Putting
emphasis on duty means that people will take on the challenges of protecting those species that
get overlooked and do not get much interest so that they can survive and thrive in the world.
Trying to protect all the species is beautiful to me because each one is different and has a
different role to play so all life can continue to survive and grow together.
My land ethic emanates from both self-interest and from a true interest in non-human
elements. It emanates from self-interest because if we do not take care of the land and our

community then humans will be in danger and will go extinct. The interest in non-human
elements is that I love spending time out in nature and taking photos of what I see. I always try to
be careful not to crush anything as I am walking around and try to stick to the paths. I also try to
do things to help my community. I have to hummingbird feeders in my backyard that four
different hummingbirds come to. I also try to plant bee friendly plants, so I have two big
lavender plants in my front yard that constantly has many bees in it. I try to do things that will
help the organisms in my community thrive.
Reading the land ethic was a useful exercise for me, I did have to read it a couple of times
to be clear on some of the points. I thought that the reading did have some good points about
conservation of the land and biotic community. It also helped me fully realize that though people
do try to help keep the integrity of the land they will almost always go back to finding a way to
make a profit off of the land, like the farmers. The farmers tried to protect the fertility of the soil
like the scientists to and they were even given the resources to do it but after a while they went
back to farming like they were before so they could get the most money they could out of the
land. It made me realize that we really do need to have respect for our community is we wish to
continue to thrive and live alongside it. I like how Leopold talked about people only wanting to
try to conserve their land if they were paid for it. You can see that today, that people do not feel
the need to do something that does not directly bother them unless they get paid or get something
out of it. It is like if someones co-worker asks them to cover a shift, they may say yes but then
they want to know what that co-worker is going to do for them. People do not tend to do things
just because anymore they want to be rewarded for going out of their way to help. This is an
essay that I would recommend to everyone. It is a good read and has great information that I
think everyone should have about the land and land ethic. It can really open up a persons eyes to

the things they knew were going on but did not really acknowledge before. This essay can help
to encourage people to be actively thinking about their choices in their day to day life and how it
can have an impact on the community around them because it did for me. I think this essay was
filled with great information and was just an overall great learning experience.