Stewart Kelley Professor Taylor Biology 1120 February 10, 2014

The Land Ethic is a paper that was before its time and still a little late. As the impacts already imposed are one of irreversible affects to the planet. We as the apex animal on the planet need to try to balance those impacts. A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise. Leopolds quote is probably the best way to summarize the article. He points out that machines and humans are consuming the land for economical and amusement rather than using the natural environment for responsible consumption. The balance or the lack there of humans impact on the natural surroundings is inevitably going to be overconsumption. The more invasive we are with expanding and not keeping up the balance, the more damaging we are to the natural environment. As the population grows and the technology that it uses, it demands more from the natural environment. It consumes resources for homes, businesses, food, and people requiring more natural resources. We already see the overconsumption in everyday life. The Energy Circuit is a term that is based on the land not being just soil but that the native species are what keep the Circuit open. If we decide to eliminate a species from its ecosystem either by intention because we as humans deem it as a pest or by accident, usually

by being invasive to the ecosystem which in-turn it has a major negative impact on that ecosystem. It is relied upon by other organisms in the ecosystem. It takes all organisms in a biome to make it a sustainable system. We cannot decide that one is more or less important. They are all inter-dependent and that is what is important. The Pyramid theory is also a great way to explain how the ecosystems of the world work. With the soil being the base and plants and then insects and birds and progressively until the apex predator. Unfortunately the apex predator sometimes is the most damaging to the system. Humans being the prime example. We devastate all types of ecosystems on a daily basis. Tearing out all the fossil fuels out of the Earth is just one example of how we devastate the environment. The most important facts of the article is simple and also how I feel, there really is not a useless species. That is how I would characterize my philosophy towards conservation as a whole. To use this in a practical situation for me is to pass on my appreciation to the people in my life. I teach my children and I also share my beliefs and convictions with people in passing. One ear can make a difference. Leopold said in the 1940s, The land-relation is still strictly economical and I believe it still is. I work in the mountains and see the land being consumed by people that are there for only one or two weeks out of the year. Their land is not being used for any ecological use just an economical and egotistical gain. To be a conservationist, I believe, it is about the whole environment, for example, I really do not like spiders at all. I chose not to kill them because what they mean to the environment.

Reading the Land Ethic is something that every person taking a natural science class should read. After reading the article, I found that what I felt and believe is backed by publication. I have been really focusing on invasive species, believing that humans being the worst on the list when it comes to conservation. I like that he points out that wildlife management is important along with all the other departments necessary to help keep the environment as natural as possible. It applies to more than just conservation of biology, it shows the importance of the environment and the people fighting for it as a whole. The water is to the soil as the soil is to the flower as the flower is to the bee The only part of the paper that I believe is outdated is when he said that energy is a flow upward, (I do understand the context) when we know that energy is a flow downward however I digress. To find my favorite part of this paper is easy. Someone has always cared for our great planet then and now. Prolific people have impact on students even a century later. His stance came off as a self-interest in professing that the best interest is all elements of conservation. It displayed that all the elements are vital to the environment, it is the balance of these elements that will be the hardest part to understand. My favorite quote which I cannot find who first said it is We did not inherit the planet from our ancestors; we are simply borrowing it from our children (Unknown some say it was Minister for the Environment and Conservation 1974 Moses Henry Cass although unable to confirm and not without trying!)