“These things, I say, should have come to us. I fear they have not come to many.”(p.110)
I believe that Leopold speaks about the idea of evolution. How we as a people and society have become what we are today, due to our ancestors and their past. I also feel as if Leopold believes that we as a human race have made many strides toward a general progression. We now are in charge of the lives that we live. We have become the “captain of our own ship”. We now rule the world. This quotation illustrates this belief, in a rather egocentric way.
I believe that this quotation can also be applied to my own personal experiences. I think that when it comes to the production-based/ consumerist based world that I am currently a part of, I realize that many of the things that I take for granted, in the form of food and other natural resources, are all items of scarce value to people who are far less fortunate then I, living in other countries. This also directly relates to many of the discussions held in lecture, as well as in discussion. Many of the slides presented in class, are intended to show the amount of natural resources that we as Americans, and as individuals consumer, annually and daily. In comparison to the amounts used by people in other countries, the difference is remarkable. Where we may think that we are entitled to these resources, it is quite unfair seeing as how, many people are less fortunate, and are forced to live with much less. Hence; the main concept behind this quotation is the idea that although we have been given many things, these things promised to us, have not been given to everyone.
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Fifth Response:
ReplyDelete“They did not include soil, plants, or birds in their ideas of mutuality. The dividends of such a balanced economy were too modest. They envisaged farms not only around, but in the marsh. An epidemic of ditch-digging and land-booming set in” (Leopold 99-100).
This quote from Leopold explains that the new overlords viewed the land as a money-making opportunity, instead of regarding the land for its true natural beauty and value. He explains, that while these people see that the land will provide an economic boost, what they do not realize is the prevalent impact this type of industry would have on the surrounding area as far as land, water, animals, plant life, as well as the surrounding community.
In Illinois, where I grew up, there is a lot of farmland used to produce abundant quantities of soybeans and corn. Where there are no farms, there are parks. These parks typically contain some man made body of water and old oak trees overlooking a prairie. Now that I am older, I have seen these “natural” parks in my surround community get turned into giant strip malls in order to help boost the economy. Unfortunately, small business owners have not been able to purchase these storefronts as the procession has continued to run the economy into the ground. Now as I drive around my hometown, I see empty store fronts lining the straight roads. In my opinion, I would rather see old trees and a river than a pile of bricks waiting to be demolished.
Also, as I drive down the highway, just twenty minutes away from my house, there are manufacturing plants and large scaled warehouses that look like a cookie cutter popped them out from the assembly line. I consider what might have been on the land before these large cement paperweights lined miles of open road. As Trumpey discussed in lecture, manufacturing can lead to degradation of local, regional, or global environments. However, the only reason why this concept of building things and then moving to a different location has worked in the past is because this concept was based on much smaller scale societies. As consumers we are not as much concerned with what may happen to our ecosystem every time they cut down a forest, but more so the standards of material goods and services that are often being produced (Trumpey 10/12).
Works Cited:
Leopold, Aldo. Sand County Almanac, and Sketches Here and There. New York: Oxford UP, 1949.
Trumpey, Joseph. Art Design Perspective 3: Technology and the Environment. Stamps Auditorium, Ann Arbor, MI. 5 and 7 Oct 2009. Lecture.