Land Ethic
"The outstanding scientific discovery of the twentieth century is not television, or radio, but rather the complexity of the land organism. Only those who know the most about it can appreciate how little we know about it. The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: "What good is it?" If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not. If the biota, in the course of aeons, has built something we like but do not understand, then who but a fool would discard seemingly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering." - Aldo Leopold
It seems to me we need to find a balance between human civilization and nature. Nature is finite. Human civilization is constantly growing, and without being personally attached to nature as we have been through most of our 250,000 year journey as humans on this planet, we begin to lose sight of what Nature really is and what place it should hold in our lives.(they have found chemicals in soil and dirt that when inhaled act as antidepressants) The natural world fostered our existence, but we are so quick to forget this. Nature is the ultimate anti-depressant, for me I know, but I feel like it has to be deeply ingrained into everyone's subconscious, for the long period we spent with it. It lead a large portion of our evolution. It's hard to claim to care about the environment and live in the center of one of the biggest metropolises on the planet, especially when human civilization just keeps trudging onwards with little thought of where nature will fit in. I don't know what I can ask for, now that there are so many humans and so many more to come. I know we could integrate much more natural beauty into cities and suburbs to better improve people's lives. For me though the ultimate dream is to immerse myself in completely in nature, to feel it's arms all around me. I just wish collectively we could all see that a part of that big void in our lives is being disconnected from the power that brought us all into existence. It's nice to think that if we die mysteriously, just us, Nature could take hold again. It seems more likely though that something that would kill us off would affect a large swathe of the animal kingdom. (comet, asteroid, super volcano, solar radiation) It just feels so hard for me to find my place in a world that is so alien from the one we evolved in. I do believe though that I chose to be here, so I have been and am working to see beauty in concrete, billboards, signs, tall buildings, streetlights, and roads, but it's so much easier for me to see beauty in flowers, trees, hills, mountains, deserts, mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, insects, clouds, lakes, rivers, meadows, grasslands, forests. I am going to be leaving the city soon, but how soon will it be till the city finds me wherever I go?
"For unnumbered centuries of human history the wilderness has given way. The priority of industry has become dogma. Are we as yet sufficiently enlightened to realize that we must now challenge that dogma, or do without our wilderness? Do we realize that industry, which has been our good servant, might make a poor master? Let no man expect that one lone government bureau is able-even tho it be willing-to thrash out this question alone." -Aldo Leopold
"Our remnants of wilderness will yield bigger values to the nation's character and health than they will to its pocketbook, and to destroy them will be to admit that the latter are the only values that interest us." -Aldo Leopold
I am going to dedicate my life to preserving nature and natural areas. I know future generations will appreciate this, but it doesn't seem like many today will understand the scope of the good deed I am doing for everyone and for future generations and for the health of our people and our planet. This is why I am encouraged though. If we were to completely lose wild lands, I would not want to live on this planet anymore.