Leopold

Picture of the Deer We Harvested last November

Ethics govern our daily lives. They give us an established baseline for our human understanding of the nature of right and wrong actions. Something I didn't understand until I read Leopold's article is that ecology has its own unique ethical definition. According to Leopold "an ethic ecologically, is a limitation on freedom of action in the struggle for existence." (pg. 58). What I understand this to mean is that ethics govern human interactions. They allow us to work co-operatively for the greater good. Growing up on a farm I was taught to understand the importance of land and farm animals to our survival and even though we "purchased" our land and animals in we had a responsibility to it to treat them with respect and reverence because they provided us items needed to sustain life. We are as much a part of the land and it is of us. We came from it, are nourished by it, and one day will return to it. Its the circle of life. On our farm we harvested the crops in the fall. My grandmother and mother would always keep a portion of the crop for ourselves and my fall weekends were spent canning fruits and vegetables with my family. Those canned crops would feed us for the next year. In fact I never actually purchased a vegetable in a supermarket until I moved down to Florida for college.

 Leopold postulates that "One basic weakness in a conservation system based wholly on economic motives is that most members of the land community have no economic value." (pg. 65). Growing up on a farm I was taught the importance of the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature. I learned to respect every animal from the ant to the timber wolf. However plants and animals don't have a way to communicate with humans to defend themselves against human action that may harm them and their homes. Even though eco based education programs teach us the roles that animals play they are unable to put a monetary value of the animals on the environment so therefore people often dismiss them because there is no emotional attachment to prompt protective action that may cost money.

 For example in Minnesota we had an outbreak of Chronic Wasting Disease that decimated the Whitetail Deer population in the 1990's. This outbreak was a labeled a direct result of the lack of apex predators in the ecosystem, in particular timber wolves. People were told that Wolves pick out and hunt the sick and weak in deer herds keeping the populations healthy, however when ranchers began a mass extermination of timber wolves to protect their cattle, wolf populations dropped to less than 20 breeding pairs left in the wild, and there weren't enough wolves to pick off the sickly deer in the population. However instead of trying to blame whitetail deer diseases on the lack of an apex predator to try and create support to rebuild wolf populations, ecologists should have stated that
wolves are "members of the community, and that no special interest has the right to exterminate them for the sake of benefit, real or fancied to itself." (pg. 66). We shouldn't have to prove an animals beneficial role to man to deem it worthy of protection. Ranchers move into an area and encroach of wolf lands driving prey away, so the wolf preys on the only available source of food, the ranchers cattle. In an effort to keep ranchers from killing wolves the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources now ill reimburse ranchers for any cattle the lose as a result of a predator kill, wolf or otherwise. The fact that its an animal just trying to exist in a world is reason enough to protect it. Animals may not have a monetary value
but you can put a monetary value of the actions that
need to be taken to fix the damage that we cause. 

Louv

I was one of the lucky ones. At least that is what my grandfather used to tell me. I was born and raise on a farm in the dense northern Minnesota forests. The woods were my schoolyard. I spent my days learning to appreciate the life that the forest gives us. He taught me to hunt and track; but also explained the woods are to be treasured and protected because if they are destroyed we lose our way of life.

The second opening paragraph of Richard Louv's article struck me so deeply. Especially his point that "physical and mental nature experiences foster mental acuity and concentration" (pg. 2). In America we are losing touch with nature. We spend so much time indoors that we forget the physical and spiritual healing nature can provide to us. Children are drawn to nature from infancy and studies have shown that children that with disorders such as ADHD can benefit substantially from the restorative environment of nature. However I believe we are beginning to move back into the right direction in this regard. Health initiatives such as First Lady Michelle Obamas Let's Move Outside Campaign are beginning to get kids outside and interacting with nature. Her online site contains links to outdoor parks and events that provide kids with activities that help them get active outside away from the Xbox and computer. Louv asserts that "contact with nature is as important to children as good nutrition and adequate sleep" (pg. 12). So we should take this warning with appropriate actions to help our kids have a better life. Programs like Let's Move Outisde and the NFL's Play 60 Campaigns ( View the inserted the commercial above) are great examples of people from different backgrounds coming together to encourage kids to get active and healthy.

Growing up on a farm there was always work to be done. Crops needed tending and animals needed feed and care. If I wasn't it school or doing homework I was outside taking care of the farm. At the end of each day I was exhausted and there was no room for excitability or excess energy. We as a society have become to stationary in our jobs. We sit at a desk all day, our children sit in desks all day and we wonder why they are bouncing off the walls with energy when they get home from school. According to Louv "Our brains are set up for a agrarian, nature-orientated existence that came into focus five thousand years ago" (pg. 5). Its no wonder our children are suffering.

I have always wondered why all kids beg their parents for pets. After studying Louv I think children crave a connection with nature and household pets are a way for them to be connected to a natural world that they are oftentimes deprived of. The family pets allow a child to experience being with a primal animal that sees its entire existence in terms of its place in the natural world. Animals have proven to be very therapeutic to children especially those who struggling with attention deficit disorders.

Douglas

When I moved to Florida from Minnesota one of the things that I really wanted to experience was the Everglades. They are an ecological wonder. When I imagined them I thought of it as a dense jungle, what a surprise I had when I was confronted with what looked like a field of grass similar to those in my home state. However closer examination revealed an ecological utopia unlike anything I had every seen before. Marjorie Douglas is correct when she saws that "There is no other Everglades in the world" It is a unique ecosystem that is unlike anywhere else in the world. Its muddy water, cypress tress and special wildlife make the everglades something that everyone should see at least one time in their life. It is one of the great ecological wonders of North America. 

Picture I took of a Florida Alligator that I saw in the
 Everglades on an Airboat Ride Last Spring

John Anderson wrote and performed a song entitle "Seminole Wind" in the song he address the ecological devastation that the glades have faced in mans attempt to control the annual flooding in southern Florida. Growing up I never realized that the places and problems that John Anderson sang about were real. If you have never heard his song, follow this link to YouTube and view the music video: http://youtu.be/KGoBQIhyFFM. The song really highlights how mans search for wealth and power is destroying the very environment that provides life to us. It also has a lot of great video taken of the Everglades to highlight their beauty and mystery.

According to Douglas the first Spanish that came to America called the Everglades "El Laguno del Espitu Santo" which translated means the Lagoon of the Holy Spirit (pg. 104). The Spaniards, like most men, saw the glades as a source of wealth they could extrapolate rather than appreciate them for the ecological wonder that they were. This has become the curse of the glades. Men have sought to control the power of the everglades through dames and draining projects by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Everglades began to drain. Man is short-sighted in his views of the environment and will cause tremendous devastation to save him a short term inconvenience. Homes flooding is an inconvenience, so how does man respond? He drains one of the most comprehensive ecological biomes on the planet not even taking a second to consider the ecological ramifications of their actions.

"So it is with the Everglades, which have that quality of long existence in their own nature. They were changeless. They are changed." (pg. 107). This quote by Douglas struck me because it is both constant and flux. To the animals that call the Everglades home the place is everlasting, never changing. The seasons come and go but the Everglades remain a striking reminder of the perseverance and strength of mother nature. Despite mans worst intentions the Everglades exist and thrive today, however not without its scars. There are some things that man does that we will never be able to rectify. However we are beginning to understand the importance of ecological conservation and protection so the future of the Everglades seems bright.