Friday, July 1, 2011

"Land Ethic"

1. Hornbook Series text on land use law states that Minnesota legislature through its environmental legislation gave the land ethic of conservationist Aldo Leopold the force of law.

"All ethics so far evolved rest upon a single premise: that the individual is a member of a community of interdependent parts. his instincts prompt him to compete for his place in the community, but his ethics prompt him also to cooperate (perhaps in order that there be a place to compete for). 


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


In short, a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land community to plain member and a citizen of it. It implies respect for his fellow members, and also respect for the community as such."

Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac 203 (1949).

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