2014

Biology 1120, Section 401

David Hoff

[THE 1ST STEP IN PREVENTING
THE APOCALYPSE]
The idea of the apocalypse has become quite popular in the past several years. There have been multiple
predictions of when the world was going to end: June 6th, 2006 (666, Satans number), and who could
forget the good old Mayan Calendar theory? The idea of the apocalypse is a cash-cow for Hollywood, for
example, there are a plethora of zombie movies such as Zombieland and Night of the Dead. There was
even a TV show that had a main character that stopped the apocalypse every other episode, Buffy the
Vampire Slayer. But, in reality if the world does end, how would it end? And how will we stop it?
Hoff, David The 1
st
Step in Preventing the Apocalypse
Although there are many theories on how the world might end, the only realistic
possibility is that our Earth would become uninhabitable by means of severe pollution and loss
of natural resources. Were quite far from the world ending, but its quite obvious that our
world is changing for the worst. Every child in America is taught about global warming and how
excessive greenhouse gasses are depleting the O-Zone layers that protect us from the Suns UV
rays. Theres pollution, and tons of it. Because of pollution, hundreds of thousands of people in
China are dying every year
(1)
. The effects of pollution dont always have to be so drastic to
cause death; this last winter was quite disgusting for the state of Utah. Enough is enough,
already! We need to curb our habits of destroying this planet, or we will be destroyed by the
pollution that we caused. But how do we even start? Aldo Leopold argued that we need to
create an ethic to govern ourselves by that includes the land; also we need to stop diminishing
the importance of conservation.
One man, Aldo Leopold, came up with a marvelous idea: to create an ethic for the land.
Ethics are rules or sets of rules that we use to deem what is right and what is wrong. For
example we currently have ethics on how we, as individuals, treat others, on how companies
should treat their clients and their employees, on how parents should treat their children, but
we have no ethic on how to treat the land. Land is just mere property, and any man can do
almost anything to the land without suffering consequences. Leopold argues that our first step
towards saving this Earth is to treat land the way we treat people. So, instead of being owners
and controllers of the land we use, the land should just as important as any other citizen.
Now, the awareness of fact that Earth is not what it used to be and that its the fault of
humans has been around for a while, but lawmakers have made nothing more than flimsy laws
Hoff, David The 1
st
Step in Preventing the Apocalypse
to help aide the conservation of our environment. The basic idea behind those laws is this:
Hey, this negative thing is happening to the land. But dont worry too much about it! If you can
help out by doing this, that would be great, but if you dont have the time or the resources, its
no big deal. Leopold is arguing that by trying to make conservation easy for every American,
the importance of conservation has become null in the eye of the public. This nonchalant
attitude that we have about conserving Earth is the first step that has kept our progress moving
at a snails pace, and sometimes we have even taken steps back.
If there was ever any way to summarize Leopolds work in The Land Ethic, this would be it:
There are two types of people in this world. Group A who sees the environment and all of the
living and non-living things in it as a way to make profit or something that blocks them from
making profit. Also, there is Group B who views the environment-both the living and non-living
parts- as something worth conserving and maintaining, regardless of profit to be gained. The
point that Leopold was arguing was that we need more Group B people in this world and the
reason why we have a lack of Group B people in this world is because we have ethics that do
not include the environment, a.k.a. the land.
I try my best to live by the Golden Rule, and I apply the Golden Rule to the environment.
Whatever I take from the environment, I replace. Whenever Zack and I go hiking at Donut Falls,
we bring small trash bags with us so we can pick up trash along the way. I spend the extra
money to buy paper that has already been recycled. I recycle everything I use including paper,
plastic, aluminum, and glass. My realization of the need for environmental change all started
with moving to Utah in 2001, I used to live on Long Island, New York but when I moved to Davis
County, I realized that Utah had much more beauty to offer than New York ever did. It was
Hoff, David The 1
st
Step in Preventing the Apocalypse
while jogging around trash in my hometown during high school in 2010 that I decided that I
needed to start getting involved in caring about the environment instead of just expecting it to
be done by the local government. Conservation needs to be a global effort, but first we need to
start at home.
The best way to apply Leopolds ethic is by adding additional environmental education to
the curriculum of our children. Laws mean nothing to those who believe that the law does
nothing for them. Take this example, speeding down the freeway is illegal, but we all speed
anyway. We speed because we believe that theres no good reason to stop speeding, we think
of ourselves as invincible. The only time we ever consider to stop speeding so much is when we
see an accident on the side of the road or on the news. Another example is driving while
texting, everyone does it, regardless of the laws. The only reason why most people (from what I
see) do not text and drive anymore is not because of the new law enacted in May, but instead
because of all of the public awareness brought to us before the law was passed. In order to get
conservation efforts moving faster than snails, we need to make the public realize that they are
not invincible and that conservation is of great importance to us and all of our loved ones, after
we have that idea drilled into the heads of the public, then laws can be passed to back up how
serious we are.
Some would argue that we have made great progress in relation to conserving the
environment since the writing of The Land Ethic, but I have to disagree. This world is run by
profit; we will risk almost anything as long as we are gaining profit. Today, only conserving
what is economical for us is a huge problem. A simple search on Google will prove it to you;
Hoff, David The 1
st
Step in Preventing the Apocalypse
when the words negative effects of pollution to Northern Utah are searched, every article
that pops up talks about birth defects or about loss of business for ski resorts
(2)
. But there were
no articles about the negative impacts on the environment, nothing about the wildlife in the
Wasatch Front. Most importantly, we need to make sure that we conserve all of the land
community, not just the parts that are profitable to us.
All life in our biological communities is of value, even if it means that we as humans are
disadvantaged by giving the environment the justice that it deserves. In my life this would
mean that I would need to go the extra mile to make sure that where ever I live, I will need to
go the extra mile to make sure that my community has access to the simple things to conserve,
such as recycling bins included in the utility bills. When the time comes I will have to rally
around a political candidate running for local office who will broaden the environmental
education for our community and the children who grow up in it.
Opponents of conservation merely shrug off the pleas of the land by telling us that it will
cost too much money and will dwindle too many of our resources when we have more
important things to worry about. But do not worry, restoring the land as it was meant to be
will require more time from us than it will cash. In The Land Ethic, Leopold says, The bulk of
all land relations hinges on investments of time, forethought, skill, and faith rather than on
investments of cash. As a land-user thinketh, so is he. So you see taking care of the land will
only cause concern for those who are not invested in replacing integrity and stability back to
the land.
Hoff, David The 1
st
Step in Preventing the Apocalypse
To put it simply, taking care of the land needs to be done because it is the right thing to do.
Leopold argues that we need to include the land and all of the living and non-living things in it
in our ethics because we are all part of the system, together. It is our duty to take care of the
land by only taking what we need and by cleaning up after ourselves because when we serve
the land, the land will serve us. It will serve us by giving us clean air to breathe, nature to use as
a learning tool about life, and the aesthetic beauty of the land will be the cherry on top.
In reference to my own land ethic, it is an evolving process, a work in progress. It started as
something for own entertainment, as something to pleasure my need for aesthetics. You know
the great hike with the fresh air and the beautiful waterfall that is just so perfectly framed by
trees and rocks, what a site. The next step was for my land ethic was my understanding that the
Earth that I live on is in danger of not being such a wonderful place to live because of pollution.
As I grow older, my personal land ethic will evolve into something that may be able to guide me
in changing my part of the world for the better.
As for me, Mr. Leopolds work has given me direction. I have always known that our Earth
was in poor shape, but I would look at all of the negative effects of pollution and over use of the
land and I would just feel hopeless. Leopold taught me that the place we need to start at is the
education of the people so that our society knows that they have skin in the game and that
the condition of Earth affects all of us whether we like it or not.
If you are a committed individual to making this world a better place for your children and
grandchildren to live in, but dont know how or where to start making changes, then I highly
suggest that you read The Land Ethic by Aldo Leopold. Its a great read and he illustrates all of
Hoff, David The 1
st
Step in Preventing the Apocalypse
his points so that you shouldnt have any difficulty understanding him. Although, the illustration
can get a little annoying at times and you may find yourself speed reading through a paragraph
or two just to get to the part where he makes his point. Another thing about The Land Ethic
that I found to be of great use is that Leopold is realistic. For example, there is a section where
Leopold is talking about the degrees of violence done to the land and how even though the land
in Western Europe was changed from swamps to fields, that the violence was not that great
and that it was alright because a majority of the native animals still lived there and because the
waters were still running in their natural course.










Hoff, David The 1
st
Step in Preventing the Apocalypse
Resources


"Climate Change in Black and White." Pollution and Global Warming | The Economist. The
Economist, 11 Feb. 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.economist.com/node/18175423>.



Negative Effects of Pollution to Northern Utah - Google Search. Google Incorporated, 21 Sept.
2014. Web. 21 Sept. 2014. <https://www.google.com/search?q=negative effects of
pollution to Northern Utah&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-
US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb>.