A Sand County Almanac

A Sand County Almanac is a book that addresses our environment written by Aldo Leopold. In this article, we are going to address specific examples from this text that are representative of Leopold's land ethic outlined as follows: individuals are interdependent, respect for land, shift from conqueror to member, problem arise when land is viewed as a commodity, preservation of the integrity, stability, and of beauty of land is right "We abuse land because we view it as a commodity belonging to us.

The interdependence of individuals is not necessarily based on human beings only. It means that all living things depend on others for survival. Aldo gives an example of when his dog was hunting in the field and it managed through smelling, to hunt down small creatures like grouse right from their hiding places. This simply shows that for the dog to survive it depends on these small creatures (Aldo et al, 5). The same interdependent is portrayed when Aldo has to depend on the dog for hunting in the field otherwise he will end up getting nothing. Aldo goes out in the forest looking for firewood so as to make fire. This means he has to depend on the wood to get warmth.

Respect for the land. Aldo does not seem to feel shy to talk openly how human beings should show respect for the beautiful nature. He says that some of the damages which are done on the environment are just too much to bear. He at one time says that it is difficult to live in a wounded world. He criticizes the idea of people making bumper harvests from the land only for them to forget quickly and start abusing the land. This simply shows that, human beings take land for granted and have no respect for it (Aldo et al, 7).

Shift from conqueror to member. This means that people should not live on the land as if they are grabbing everything that there is but because they are part of it, they should own it up. While transversing in the land of sand county almanac, he seems to admire the land so much and feels connected to it so much (Aldo et al, 16).  He looks up and saws a hawk, a field mouse emerges, a kingfisher, a rabbit and an owl and he just admire them. This means that he is appreciating all creatures and he is part of it and so a member of the land.

Problem arises when land is viewed as a commodity. This he observes when he deduces that attempts to conserve the land are not bearing any fruits. He attributes this to the fact that people believe they own pieces of land but if only they can perceive it as the home in which they belong, things would be very different.

The question of whether Aldo's work is still relevant is answered by what we are experiencing in the world today. People are still not respecting the land. Every person owns a piece and no one seems to care what happens where. Wildlife is still being threatened by individuals. If I were to write my book with the same perspective, I would stay in the jungle and explore. This is because; there are all sorts of animals, dangerous and harmless and a variety of plants to study.

My ethic regarding environment is that at any given time it should be protected and respected no matter the cost. If we mess up with the environment, it simply means there is no life and the world would be a living hell. I care so much about water, the reason being it is life. If water was tampered with, the world would come to an end within no time. The land should indeed be left a better place than found.