Driving Question:

What is the most just way to balance our human and environmental health and protection of
sacred lands?

Many can acknowledge that we live on stolen lands; stolen from the thousands of Native
American tribes that lived here before they were forcibly removed. But before that, during, and
still today, the land belonged to itself. Long before any humans inhabited this earth, the land had
value. It self regulated and supported millions of species, and continues to even as we chip away
at its skin. The skin of our mother. We are interwoven with our environment and have a
responsibility to the land and its inhabitants. Thus, this begs the question: Why do we think we
have an innate right to control and possess the land?

The answer: we have lost connection with the natural world and sit in the confines of our
capitalist, colonialist, anthropocentric society. We believe that the land is here for our use, and
we have the right to exploit its resources. Even as our societies evolve, we refuse to acknowledge
the intrinsic value the land holds.

In Aldo Leopold’s The Land Ethic, he illustrates this contradiction through a metaphor of
Odysseus’s slaves. He writes, “Th[e] hanging involved no question of propriety. The girls were
property. The disposal of property was a matter of expediency, not of right and wrong...There is
as yet no ethic dealing with man’s relation to land. Land, like Odysseus’ slave-girls, is still
2
property.” Like the ideology that drove slavery, we have the notion that we are the highest
beings and therefore have a right to all below us. We see only what we can gain from the land,
but not what we can give back.

Many indigenous people practice the opposite, and I believe that they are more ethical in their
treatment of the land. Over generations, Native American tribes have passed down knowledge of
the land they inhabit, acknowledging that humans are of the land and therefore owe our respect
to it. There is “a table top mesa in New Mexico [that is seen] as the place where the mythical
1
figure Changing Woman gave birth to two warrior sons.” These stories create a mutual bond
between people and the earth. Conversely, “Energy companies desire this area [because it is a]
1
geological mother lode of natural gas reserves.”

The Black Mesa Coal mine is an example of companies exploiting the land while disregarding
the implications of their operations. For over 36 years, Peabody Energy Company stripped the
land and exploited the aquifers that local communities rely on. When the mine was finally shut
down, no reclamation work was started. They used the land and then abandoned it as a waste
land. This treatment is the opposite of ethical or just.
The truth is, “A land ethic - reflects a conviction of individual responsibility for the health of the
2
land. Health is the capacity of the land for self-renewal.” This, I believe, is how we should
think about our relationship with the environment.

If we can acknowledge the connection between ourselves and the land, we can honor this wider
community with mutual respect and care. We take from the land, and we should give back
through restoration and protection for its own sake. This way, the Earth can begin to heal and
thrive as it should.

Works Cited

1
Romero, Simon. “It's Gas vs. Heritage in Navajo Country.” The New York Times, The New

York Times, 14 Oct. 2003,

www.nytimes.com/2003/10/14/business/it-s-gas-vs-heritage-in-navajo-country.html.

2
Leopold, Aldo. The Land Ethic - University of Kentucky,

https://www.uky.edu/~rsand1/china2017/library/Leopold1.pdf.
Prompt:"What is the most just way to balance our energy and economic needs,
human and environmental health and protection of sacred lands?"

Requirements:
1. Respond to a specific environmental justice case study in Did the student meet the prompt
order to answer the above question in 2:00 minutes
2. Quote at least TWO of the texts we’ve studied (see the list
and requirements?
below) Yes
3. Meaningfully apply your personal environmental ethic
(remember the lecture and reading on environmental ethics)
4. Rehearse your speech thoroughly so you deliver it with
passion and in an engaging AND convincing way

Justice Monologue Rubric:

Category Feedback
Depth of Thinking (30) Feedback: (see comments below)
● Student shows DEEP thinking about the reading(s) and/or topic
● Student defends the author or his/her perspective with a You have done a truly exceptional job weaving
well-supported argument, avoiding generalizations or together unique argumentational angles.
misinterpretations
● Students’ commentary and evaluation makes connections between
the author’s claim and any evidence or examples or makes Score: 30/ 30
connections between another text.
● Each paragraph is focused around a clear idea that is relevant to the
main argument
● Argument is logical and persuasive
● Student explains the authors’ quotes and how they relate to the
main idea of the speech

Applying your Knowledge (10)

● Student is able to meaningfully apply the main idea explored in the Score: 10/ 10
speech to either their own life or a real-world scenario in a way that
shows understanding of the content and a sincere concern for the
issue discussed.

Refinement/Beauty (10)
● Speech meets the min./max. length requirement within 15 seconds Score: 10/ 10
● Meaning of your sentences is clear and easy to follow Exceptional delivery! Good rhetorical
● Speech is carefully proofread for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors
● Speech incorporates rhetorical strategies to maximize impact on the
strategies.
audience
● Student rehearsed the speech to make sure the delivery was smooth and
flows well.

Total - 50/50: Exceptional work!!