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John Muir: Ecological Sustainability

860 Words4 Pages

The scale of human activities has affected the ecological sustainability in a way that it infringes upon the tenantable aspects of the land. As our readings have progressed from Emerson and Thoreau to the likes of Carson, Leopold, Krutch, and Carson it's apparent that there are some slight variations in writing styles, media outlets, and in public opinions as it pertains to the nature. Moving forward, with this contemporary environmental movement, these philosophers offer a glimpse into the social conditions - the environment which is intrinsically inherent in their work (p. 199). John Muir, a conservationist, used the power of language in sync with the splendor of nature to inspire spectators into defending one of the greatest commodities that we all share…the land (p. 200). The cognizance of defacing the land - the "ecological toll" which emerged from thriving industries such as agriculture, mining, manufacturing, caught the attention of Aldo Leopold (p. 200). He recognized that humans' overuse of the land was not synonymous with having a moral conscience that extends to the ecosystems in which we live (p. 200). In a speech, he proposed that the amount of land used to render a harvest should be proportionate to its community in which it …show more content…

(p. 200).

Salient Vocabulary

~Cartesian dualism (of mind and body): a mechanized view of life that dominates science and philosophy; a theory of thought that regard the realm of reality in terms of two independent principles (mind and matter) (p.202); www.dictionary.com/browse.google
~What does it means to 'know about' and 'feel with' the ecosystem: for an organism to have knowledge of its ecosystems as to maintain its health; to learn to coexist with all of earths inhabitance as to not usurp one's desire to control and confound nature and other organisms. (p.

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