Analysis Of Land Conservation

Leopold, Singer, and Callicott have three varying interpretations on land conservation and what is a morally way for humans to treat the environment. Leopold offers a semi-altruistic version, calling for the protection in its entirety of anything that is living, and anything on this earth. He refers to this as the biotic community. Callicott sees the interesting arguments that Leopold is making, but also believes that his assertion, although good in theory, has holes in its logic for practical application. Singer takes a very different approach, looking at the land from a utilitarian perspective. He will assert that g-d gave humans the land to use for whatever purposes necessary to survive. All three authors views combine to provide the foundation for how an individual can look at the environment, and how policy, ethics, and practices can be shaped for future generations.

In Leopold’s Land Ethic, he begins by arguing that as humans we have found at least two ethics in which we base our behaviors on. First, ethics were applied on an individual level. Second, ethics shaped the interactions between man and society. Leopold believes that there is no ethical obligation in greater society towards the environment. “There is as yet no ethic dealing with man’s relation to land and to the animals and plant which grow upon it. … The extension of ethics to this third element in human environment is, if I read the evidence correctly, an evolutionary possibility and an ecological necessity.” (Leopold pg. 2) Leopold is calling for the Land Ethic to to expand beyond humans, but to include the land. “The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the...

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...ld would be the first, and Callicott goes so far as to argue that what he is saying is extreme, but not in the wrong direction for ultimately reaching healthy conservation. Singer would argue that Leopold is at best a conservationist, but likely an extremist who is calling for the total restructuring of human life to protect an unequal cohabitor. Singer would not necessarily call Callicott as an extremist, but would likely call him a conservationist with an emphasis on the environment over human populations. All three authors have varying opinions of conservation and the focus that should be had on how people interact with the environment. Some are more extreme -- Leopold -- and some are clearly utilitarian -- Singer -- but all three lay out an idea of why the environment should be regulated the way they believe, and the moral and ethical reasons for doing so.