Going Green

Going Green
Deanna Fata
Biology 1120-004
September 24, 2014






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Upon reading the article, "The Land Ethic", I summarized that the author is explaining
how the world came into existence and how what we do affects the things that happen in our
world. How the community includes such items as soil, waters, plants and animals to create the
land we live in and things we do or do not do to make things better or worse for our environment.
As stated in the article "Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land." This
article shows that man has not chosen to do this. Historically we haven't had any ethics on how
to use the land in conjunction with all the other plants, animals, etc.
We look at the land as an economic value and not as an overall system. How man
cleared the land to make it useful to them without considering everything that it would affect.
Even when private land owner has been asked to be involved in conservation he has done it with
an expectation of being reimbursed for that effort.
We treated the land as something that needed to be conquered and once it was done we
moved on to the next piece of land to be conquered. Some land like bogs, swamps and deserts
were ignored, but a piece of land such as a golf course they did a lot to conserve it. This is an
example of conservation based upon land economic value and not looking at the whole
ecosystem.
As the common man we have not taken much responsibility but left action to government,
science and those who work with the land. We leave it to them to do all the conservation for all
of us instead of us getting involved.
When we weren't always paying attention to the long term affect, we would wipe out
whole species before considering the consequence it would have in the future. Man now needs
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to make changes in his values and philosophies. We also need to want to make the change to
make the conservation work.
According to the author it is not a circle of life but a pyramid. Any action affecting any
level will somehow affect levels above and below it. For example, an industry that pollutes
water in which the animals are dependent upon, is now affected. Another impact on the pyramid
is the transportation of plants, and animals from one area of the country to another this now
changes the ecosystem of these particular items
Having read the article it has given me a different perception of the relationship of man to
the land and the role of conservation in creating a successful system.
The way I would characterize my own conservation philosophy is by explaining how and
what it is that I do in my opinion, that hopefully helps out a little bit. In doing more everyday to
protect and save the world we live in now and for the future. My family and I participate in
recycling all our paper products, cardboard, etc., and by the reuse of our water bottles. I feel this
is my belief as I see and hear that the landfills in our community alone that are filled with many
items that can and should be recycled. We are hoping that if everybody does there part at least in
recycling among many other things, that it will make a small dent in our nations landfills.
For example when we go hiking the idea would be to pack in, pack out. When we go on
our day hike everything such as our lunch, paper products, etc. are either brought back out with
us or they are biodegradable. We also stay on the trails as to minimize our carbon footprint on
the land. Unfortunately, we are unable to drink the water in the rivers and streams due to mans
pollution making it undrinkable.
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There has been some progress towards a more whole system relationship instead of just
economic. However, there has not been great progress. For example, Nine Mile Canyon, is a
scenic byway for petroglyphs, is being used by large oil drilling trucks to search for oil outside of
the canyon area. The petroglyphs are being impacted by the large trucks by creating dust and
dirt. The state has taken some action to protect the petroglyphs but not to the exclusion of those
trucks.
On our Red Pine hike we saw examples of extending the ethic of "preserve the integrity ,
stability, and beauty of the biotic community." We discovered that other hikers stayed on the
trail. We also noted that all trash and items that did not belong there had been removed by
themselves or other hikers on the trail. The plants were not picked or stepped on and as a result
the wildlife, plants and animals were allowed to be enjoyed by other hikers and remain in their
natural state as before.
Leopold was suggesting that the communities conservation needs or desires out weighs
the individuals needs or desire. The implications for me is that each situation should be examined
individually. The groups attitude on conservation should not automatically supersede the
individuals attitude. For example, the trail head for Bell's Canyon. Because the trail head is
located in a Sandy City residential area, city council could close that trail head because of the
noise and pollution from non-residents. Users of the trail should be able to give input before that
decision is made and regards to how often the trail is used and the impact it could have.
In conservation issues, duty out weighs beauty for me. I would like to see more usage of
our natural habitat by people. This would include easier access, better information about the
habitat and proper use of it. For example, I would like to do the Lake Blanch hike. However, I
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have never gone on that hike due to the lack of parking at the trail head. I would like to see more
parking even though it may result in more of the trees and plants being removed, affecting the
ecosystem. I feel this would allow more people to enjoy the hike with a minimal impact on the
environment.
My thinking about land ethics is primarily on the non-human elements. When I go on my
hikes, I go for the mere fact to see the beauty of the land, the water features and all that the trail
entails, not just for the physical exercise. For example the hike to Donut Falls, though it was a
short hike it still provided the enjoyment of the land, the forest and the wildlife. While I am on
the hike I am careful to stay on the trail and to leave the environment as I found it. I am careful
to not disturb the animals or feed them food that is not a part of their natural diet. I also do not
pick the flowers, berries or other foliage along the trail. I use my camera to capture all the
miraculous features and the memories of the hike.
Reading "The Land Ethic" was interesting. I did not find it as useful as I would of liked.
While the topic is interesting and current, it required a great deal of effort to understand what his
position was on the topic. After some effort I was able to understand his point of view of the
topic and see it from a different perspective.
It has not changed my opinion on conservations because I already believe in the concept
of conserving the earth. It did however, provide information to me about how conservation has
evolved. I was particularly interested in the area of economic value vs. beauty. It has confirmed
to me that the actions I am doing to help the ecology are good and necessary. It has allowed me
to look in to taking additional actions to preserve the land.
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If I were to recommend this article to another individual, I would let them know that it is
not an easy read and is more at an academic level, but worth the effort. The examples listed in
the article were quite good and helped me to understand the concepts. For example, we do not
know the source of the Kentucky bluegrass. We do not know if the land would have been
developed differently if the land was claimed from different settlers.
The paper seemed to be written for other academic readers and not for the common
person. Terms and ideas were not easily understood and required several re-readings to
understand the concepts of his ideas.