Preservation, Conservation, and Land Ethics

The application of ethical standards to relationships between humans and nonhumans entities is known as environmental ethics. The preservation ethic and the conservation ethic have guided the branches of the environmental movement during the past century.
John Muir, a pioneering advocate for the preservation ethic, argued that “nature deserves protection for its own inherent value” (Withgott & Laposata, p.13) and should be untouched. Also, he maintained that nature encouraged happiness in humans. As an example, he wrote, “Places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike” (Withgott & Laposata, p.13).

In opposition, Gifford Pinchot, founder of what would become the U.S. Forest Service, was a leading supporter of the conservation ethic. According to Withgott and Laposata (2012), Pinchot deemed that we should allocate natural resources within reason (p. 13). In other words, we ought to manage them wisely, not carelessly, so that current and future groups will have sufficient resources.
Whereas preservation strives to preserve nature for its own worth and for our enjoyment and spiritual peace, conservation “promotes the prudent, efficient, and sustainable extraction and use of natural resources for the benefit of present and future generations” (Withgott & Laposata, p.13).

In my region, the Shenandoah National Forest is complemented by its trees, natural trails, streams, and wildlife. Like Muir, this public land is my stability, my place to “rejuvenate and reconnect” with nature. In this situation, I would adopt a preservation ethic for the natural resource. However, this “beauty” could provide oil and gas that would offset our dependence on foreign sources. Nonetheless, the outcome would eventually lead to our present environmental issues, such as air pollution and soil laced with toxins.

Similar to Muir and Pinchot, I am against a prevailing “development ethic,” which claims that people should be rulers of nature and endorse economic development without regard to its damaging after-effects (Withgott & Laposata, p.13).
Finally, I conclude with a quote by Aldo Leopold, a wildlife manager and environmental philosopher, who said, “We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”

References

Withgott, J., & Laposata, M. (2012). Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, Fourth Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.