(A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There by Aldo
Leopold. Special Commemorative Edition, published 1989.
Originally published by Oxford University Press, 1949.
Moral Ground; Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril, edited
by Kathleen Dean Moore and Michael P. Nelson. San Antonio: Trinity
University Press, 2010.)
A Sand County
Almanac by Aldo Leopold has achieved lasting, almost iconic
stature as a classic of American nature writing. Published posthumously
in 1949, its influence has steadily increased; and arguably as a framer
of contemporary thought, its theses are even more impactful than those of
another iconic publication – Thoreau’s Walden published originally in
1854. Leopold’s Almanac, frequently quoted by
present-day environmentalists, is an early framer of conservation philosophy and
provides the core premises of an on-going and evolving debate of the
individual’s ethical responsibility to the natural world.
The genesis
of debate
The “land
ethic,” as articulated by Leopold, posits a radical ethical shift in Western
thought, changing “the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the
land-community to plain member and citizen of it.” (SCA p.
204) He argues that a philosophical shift from one of dominance and
economic exploitation of nature to one of respect and mutual beneficence is
necessary for the continuance of the biotic community. Leopold, writing
to the lay public, is among the first conservationists to argue that all life
forms are fragile, interdependent and inter-connected. As symbiotic
ecosystems, the degradation of one system degrades the system nearby, setting
in motion a cascade of events that lead to the degradation of the whole – the
biomass itself.
Many
contemporary environmentalists, e.g. Elizabeth Kolbert in The Sixth Extinction, further
develop Leopold’s thesis of symbiosis and argue that mankind’s quest for a
higher standard of living, through expropriation and exploitation of wild
things, has resulted in an unnatural extinction – the Anthropocene Epoch.
Environmental ethicists argue that species extinction, rapid and man-induced,
adversely impacts humanity and possibly threatens our continued
existence. Certainly, life as we know it today will be irrevocably
altered for future generations. To avert environmental degradation,
Leopold advocates the extension of social ethics to the members of the
land-community, a community which includes humanity, but whose boundaries are
enlarged to include soil, water, plants, and animals, and we might add today,
the very air we breathe. All are elements upon which
life depends. (SCA p. 204) Love, respect, and value
should be granted to all members of the community. (SCA p.
223)
A land ethic, then, reflects the existence of an
ecological conscience, and this in turn reflects a conviction of
individual responsibility for the health of the land.
Health is the capacity of the land for self-renewal. Conservation is
our effort to understand and preserve this capacity. (SCA p.
221)
Leopold acknowledges
that the “evolution of a land ethic is an intellectual as well as emotional
process.” (SCA p. 225) The editors of Moral Ground further develop this
idea, asserting that much of what is missing from public discussion of the
environment is the affirmation of one’s moral responsibility to the present and
future world. “No amount of factual information will tell us what we
ought to do. For that, we need moral convictions – ideas about what it is
to act rightly in the world, what it is to be good or just, and the
determination to do what is right.” (MG p. xvii)
Leopold is perhaps the first to define “what it is to act rightly in the
world.” His Golden Rule of Ecology sets the parameters of ethical discussion:
Quit thinking about decent land-use as solely an economic
problem.
Examine each question in terms of what is ethically and
esthetically right,
as well as what is economically expedient.
A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity,
stability, and beauty of the biotic community.
It is wrong when it tends otherwise. (SCA p.
224)
Like many
philosophical ideals, Leopold’s Golden Rule leaves much to personal
interpretation. Moral Ground attempts to define “what it
is to act rightly in the world.” Over eighty essayists (world-renowned
environmentalists, scholars, spiritual leaders, and scientists) clarify
Leopold’s nascent environmental ethics, centering upon individual actions which
are right not only for humans and human futures, but also on what is right for
the other inhabitants of the world, and for the world itself. “A
moral life will also honor the interests and the beauty and mystery of all the
Earth.” (MG p. xixi) Compelling arguments,
many based on the inter-dependency/inter-relatedness of Earth’s systems,
require that the individual act to protect a “a planet in peril.”
Spiritual
imperatives for ethical action
A small
selection of essays in Moral Ground present the Christian
perspective to environmentalism. Recurring themes emphasize the
individual’s responsibility and accountability to a dominant, creative, and
inclusive God.
The Bible
supports at least two schools of thought regarding our relationship to God’s
Creation and to His continuing Creating Word:
- One dictum holds that God has given dominion
of His Creation to humanity. Consequently, the natural world
has value only to the extent that it fulfills God’s instruction to mankind
to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the Earth and subdue it.”
(Gen. 1:28)
- Another
school rejects this long held template which, some argue, permits
humanity’s indiscriminate, self-aggrandizement at the expense of
nature. An evolving Christian ethic holds that God retains His
sovereignty of the world, that He is passionate about His Creation, and
that He invites mankind to join Him in creative stewardship. God has
not abandoned a world that, in His first six days of recorded action, He
declared “Good.”
Marcus J. Borg,
Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture Emeritus at Oregon
State University, is a leading proponent of this alternative vision.
Nature, created by God, reveals God. The Psalmist, Job, and Jesus Himself
see in nature not only the lavish generosity of God, but also His power and
majesty, and one might add, His tender care of the vulnerable: “From whence
cometh my help? My help cometh from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and
Earth.” For the Christian, perhaps most compelling is Borg’s
interpretation of John 3: 16. “For God so loved the world, that
He gave His only begotten son....” Borg emphasizes that the love
prompting God’s sacrifice extended not just to humanity, not just to
Christians, but to the world He first created. We are reassured of God’s
love by His promises of personal resurrection and the restoration of
heaven and earth. God’s love is all encompassing. He is passionate
about His Creation, and He calls us to a divine-human
collaboration. According to Borg, life is dependent upon the
success or failure of that collaboration. “The world and its future
matters to God, and we are called to participate in God’s dream for the
Earth.” (MG p. 253)
Borg’s
commentary helps to distinguish the concepts of earth and world.
The use of the word earth is restricted to the natural world,
to nature and those life-sustaining elements of the land- community as defined
by Aldo Leopold: soil, water, plants, and animals. World is
comprehensive. While generally referring to the myriads of peoples
inhabiting the earth, it also includes the earth itself and all of its
elements. This interpretation not only elucidates Psalm
24:1-2, the scriptural authority for the Green Team, it infuses the
verses with new meaning.
The Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. The
world and all who live in it.
For He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.
For He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.
Psalm 24:1-2
Earth and
world are not synonymous; rather, they are distinct entities. Moreover,
the structure of the verses give equal weight to each. It is interesting
that Earth, the first of God’s created beings, is mentioned first. This
word/concept order may simply follow the recorded pattern of creation, or it
could imply a larger meaning: Perhaps, God wants His people to recognize
the value He places upon wild things and their habitats, upon the land-
community. Perhaps, God expects His people “to act rightly in the world”
He has created.
Tri Robinson
(founding pastor of the Vineyard Boise Church in Boise, Idaho) also emphasizes
God’s passion for the natural world, citing as verification His covenant
following the great flood. The promise to never again destroy all life by water
reveals God’s concerns both for humanity and for “every living creature.”
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: I now
establish my covenant
with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that
was with you – the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, and all those
that came out of the arc with you – every living creature on earth. I establish
my covenant with you. Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a
flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.
with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that
was with you – the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, and all those
that came out of the arc with you – every living creature on earth. I establish
my covenant with you. Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a
flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.
Genesis 9: 8-11
This
covenant, symbolized in nature by the rainbow, is tri-lateral, existing between
God, humanity, and every living creature. Structurally, the covenant
allocates more space to the earth and everything in it than to the descendants
of Noah. Evident is God’s passion for the first fruits of His work, a
work He declared “Good.” Surely, our disrespect and abuse of the Earth
can only cause pain and possibly irritation to the Sovereign Being.
John Paul II and Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew I jointly issued a code of environmental ethics
in June 2002. They reject the teaching of human dominance over
the created earth.
At the beginning of history, man and woman sinned by
disobeying God and rejecting His design for
creation. Among the results of this first sin was
the destruction of the original harmony of creation. If we examine carefully the social and environmental crisis which the world community is facing, we must conclude that we are still betraying the mandate God has given us: to be stewards called to collaborate with God in watching over creation in holiness and wisdom. God has not abandoned the world. (MG p. 52)
the destruction of the original harmony of creation. If we examine carefully the social and environmental crisis which the world community is facing, we must conclude that we are still betraying the mandate God has given us: to be stewards called to collaborate with God in watching over creation in holiness and wisdom. God has not abandoned the world. (MG p. 52)
These two
spiritual leaders were concerned about negative social and ecological consequences
resulting from our irreversible degradation of the earth. Our stay here
is brief, and “and we have not been entrusted with unlimited power over
creation; we are only stewards of the common heritage.” (MG p.
54) Elsewhere Bartholomew calls us to a voluntary asceticism – a
self-restraint that assures the wise use of earth’s resources, that allows us
to live in harmony with our environment, that benefits present and future
generations. Bartholomew declares that humanity’s degradation of
the environment is an ecological crime and a sin against God Himself:
For humans to cause species to become extinct and to
destroy the biological diversity of God’s creation, for
humans to degrade the integrity of Earth by causing changes in
its climate, by stripping the Earth of its natural forests or
destroying its wetlands, for humans to injure other humans with disease, for humans
to contaminate the Earth’s waters, its land, its air, and life with poisonous
substances – these are sins. (MG p. 136)
The upshot
Before it is
too late, let us agree with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew that God’s gift of
Creation is a gift to all, not ours to exploit for our own convenience and
self-interest. Let us agree with Marcus Borg that we are called to a
divine-human collaboration of creative stewardship, to be participants in God’s
dream for the Earth. Let us agree with Tri Robinson that God
recognizes the sanctity of all life and we are accountable for our use of God’s
Earth. Let us agree with Pope John
Paul that we are called to collaborate with God in watching over His Creation
in holiness and wisdom. Let us agree with Aldo Leopold that “A thing is
right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the
biotic community.” Let us agree that “The Earth is the
Lord’s.” Let us strive to act rightly in the world.
Linda
Thompson is a member of the First Baptist Church Green
Team. Last year First Baptist was awarded the City of Austin's Platinum
Certification as an Austin Green Business
Leader. The Team also went beyond carbon neutral for the church's
fiscal year by reducing more than its fair share of greenhouse gas pollution.
This involved: switching to green electricity and purchasing carbon offsets at
biodiversity preserve in Colombia. Learn more about FBC's
"Carbon Positivity" here.
This piece edited by Chris Searles.
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