Aldo Leopold
This is a biography of an early 20th century conservation ecologist, Aldo Leopold, who said, "To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering. [1]"
Introduction
Early Life
Later Life
Land Ethic
Aldo Leopold developed the Land Ethic in the finale to A Sand County Almanac as a guide to human relationships with ecosystems[2]. Leopold's Golden Rule states, "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. [3]" He developed this during his years working on native prairie restoration to provide guidance to the restoration project.
Long-term Impacts
Leopold provided an ethical basis from which many conservation biologists and restoration ecologists build upon. For example, in the Principles of Conservation Biology textbook by Meffe and Carroll [4], Leopold's Golden Rule is one of the ethical foundations of the field.
References
- ↑ Temple, S., 1997. Maintaining the integrity of managed ecosystems, IN: (M.S. Boyce and A. Haney, eds.) Ecosystem Management. Yale Univ Press, New Haven. pg. 78.
- ↑ The Aldo Leopold Foundation. The Leopold Legacy: The Land Ethic. http://www.aldoleopold.org/About/landethic.htm
- ↑ Temple, pg. 78.
- ↑ Meffe, G.K. and R.C. Carroll, 1994. Principles of Conservation Biology. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA.