The Land Ethic Essay

Aldo Leopold combines morals, ethics and nature by saying The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, water, plants, and animals, or collectively the land. Morals is defined as relating to or concerns with the principles, or rules of right conduct distinction between what is right and wrong (Dictionary, 2015). Ethics is the body of moral principles or values governing or distinctive of a particular culture or group (Dictionary, 2015). Leopolds quote is a way of telling us we have not given (the soils, water, plants, and animals) the respect it deserves. The Land Ethic terminology is his way of explaining to us how we are ethically, and morally obligated to take care of our resources. Land ethics is defined as teaching us a way to consider our actions in light of the impact on the living breathing community which is the land and that we should select what is least violent and will impact our community more (BSA, 2015). Leopold compared land to a community. When one thinks about a community you think of people doing what it takes to keep it clean and looking appealing to others. The same way we would tend to a community is the same way we should look at our ecosystem, nature, and etc. 

Starting the idea of Land of Ethics and bringing it to Lenoir Rhyne University can start with our campus recycling. Recycling will reduce landfill which will keep paper out and help our environment. If we lived in land ethics there would also be a reduction of energy consumption because recycling items usually uses less energy than manufacturing products. Recycling will also decrease pollution, because landfills are released into the air in which the environment could be at harm. Things like this is what Leopold meant by respecting the small things. In order to live on a campus according to land ethics one must see nature for who and what our community is on campus. The beauty of nature includes everything from the buildings, trees, animals, insects, the pavement and other surroundings. Leopold says it is our duty to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community (Sand County Almanac, 224225).

Withgott & Laposata relates environmental ethics with people by defining it is as the application of ethical standards to relationships between people and the nonhuman entities (Environment, Page 136). It is broken down into three ethical standards anthropocentrism, biocentrism and ecocentrism. Anthropocentrism are people who have centered views of our relationship with the environment. People who follow this ethic are described as those who deny, or overlook and devalues the notion of nonhuman things. Biocentrism is defined as intrinsic value to certain living things or to biotic realm in general. In this life the human life and nonhuman life both have ethical standing. Ecocentrism judges actions in terms of their effects on whole ecological systems which consists of living and nonliving elements and their interrelationships (Wihgottt & Laposata, Environment, page 137).