Brandi Beem
Nature and Environmental Lit.
Leopold gives the animals and nature certain human-like characteristics in this book because he wants us to connect with them in a way we likely have never done before.
People don’t really stop to think about where their food comes from. If you consider all that it takes to produce the food we eat it might make you appreciate it more. If you’ve ever lived on a farm, you will have a greater appreciation for the food on your plate. The same principle can apply to the heat you enjoy from your furnace in the winter. The amount of labor it takes to grow the trees and then cut them down and haul them is incredible. We take so many things for granted in our everyday lives that we don’t realize how incredibly dependent we are on them.
The way he describes the history of the tree is extremely insightful and visionary in a way. I’ve never thought of a tree in this way. But just as humans persevere through hardships in their lives, trees also go through a lot and still manage to grow and stand tall. I liked how Leopold described the role the sun played in giving the tree life and ultimately giving him the warmth he and his dog needed in the winter.
A ‘land ethic’ is a philosophy that guides and regulates the actions humans take when they attempt to change or use the land. I feel that people over use and over-work the land and resources that we have in the world. Sure, I like to have fancy things but when I think about the fact that everyone in the world likes to have these things they don’t need at all it makes me sick. We are killing our planet every day. I don’t like saying ‘we’ need to come up with a cheaper and cleaner form of energy because I feel hypocritical, but that is definitely something that has got to happen. It is imperative that we meet the needs of society today in such a way that we are still able to meet the needs of future generations.
We live on