What is Aldo Leopold saying, and what is his message?
By: Alan L. Maki
By: Alan L. Maki
Photo link (Alan Maki in the Big Bog near where he lives in northern Minnesota at fen facing destruction from peat mining and dumping of taconite tailings):
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Aldo Leopold?s writings have been a guide and source of inspiration to many in the environmental movement, including myself. His writings and thinking can be summed up in the following paragraphs:
?The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land.
?This sounds simple: do we not already sing our love for and obligation to the land of the free and the home of the brave? Yes, but just what and whom do we love? Certainly not the soil, which we are sending helter-skelter downriver. Certainly not the plants, of which we exterminate whole communities without batting an eye. Certainly not the animals, of which we have already extirpated many of the largest and most beautiful species. A land ethic of course cannot prevent the alteration, management, and use of these ?resources,? but it does affirm their right to continued existence, and, at least in spots, their continued existence in a natural state.?
?This sounds simple: do we not already sing our love for and obligation to the land of the free and the home of the brave? Yes, but just what and whom do we love? Certainly not the soil, which we are sending helter-skelter downriver. Certainly not the plants, of which we exterminate whole communities without batting an eye. Certainly not the animals, of which we have already extirpated many of the largest and most beautiful species. A land ethic of course cannot prevent the alteration, management, and use of these ?resources,? but it does affirm their right to continued existence, and, at least in spots, their continued existence in a natural state.?
In the spirit of creating dialogue and discussion I offer the following:
Like in his writings generally, I am not sure that Aldo Leopold had any really clear messages in what he was saying--- except for a few. Leopold was the quintessential metaphysical philosopher, in my opinion--- he dealt mainly with abstractions. Almost all of his arguments were very ambiguous if we begin to consider them closely. This is not to say that Leopold offered us nothing of importance to consider; quite the contrary, in fact his thoughts have helped to serve as kind of a ?brake? on environmental destruction. However, so ambiguous were his musings, writings, and lectures that almost everyone relies on something that he wrote to support their own arguments.
In these two paragraphs Leopold is discussing the need for creating a ?land ethic.? He is also discussing and defining what that land ethic should consist of while he admonishes industrial society in the way it ruins the land, and the entire ?enlarged community;? coming ever so close to pointing an accusatory finger at the rapacious capitalist system, but then backs off from carrying his thinking that far.
In another paragraph, Leopold boils the two paragraphs down, and tells the reader very briefly, yet very concisely, how the ?land ethic? changes the role of human beings--- a role that has to be changed in order for a ?land ethic? to take hold. Here, Leopold departs from metaphysical abstractions, and writes in a Darwinian style that reflects the best of modern scientific materialist thinking, ?In short, a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it. It implies respect for his fellow-members, and also respect for the community as such.?
However, Leopold never grapples with the class question, and uses the term ?homo sapiens? in a kind of generic way, which becomes a real problem because, in reality, one class--- the capitalist class--- is most responsible for environmental degradation and ruin, and not humanity collectively. After all, even today, working people have very little say in anything of importance in the United States. How many working people sit around discussing the ?Minntac Water Inventory Reduction: Environmental Impact Statement?? Some of the problem certainly can be attributed to lack of initiative to do this; however, more can be attributed to the consequences for doing this, especially when one voices concern; or, worse yet, gets involved in trying to formulate policies and specific programs. Just the ?hoops? one is forced to jump through in order to secure information, facts, and figures is enough to stymie most anyone. The owners of the mines, the mills, and the factories are the real decision makers in this country, and have been, for over one-hundred and fifty years. How can all of humanity be blamed for the decisions of a small minority, a group of capitalists working in secrecy behind the closed doors of corporate boardrooms as the politicians they hire keep us amused as if they are circus performers entertaining us? One cannot blame working people for the environmental damage that the capitalists are responsible for anymore than one could blame slaves for slavery, or blame Native Americans for losing the struggle for sovereignty over their Nation.
What is needed is more than to create a ?land ethic,? because a ?land ethic? cannot be created in an economy that sees everything, including land, plants, animals, and even the soil and water as commodities--- like labor--- to be bought and sold. A ?land ethic? must become a part of a much broader way of thinking that challenges capitalism. Leopold saw the dimension of land as a ?commodity? [and he thought land and resources being commodities was a bad idea], but he never saw the ?commodity? as something peculiar to the capitalist system; if he did, he did not state this.
In fact, Leopold is so ambiguous, or rather non-committal--- he never, ever, uses terms like capitalism, socialism, class, or class struggle.
Leopold writes, ?In human history, we have learned (I hope) that the conqueror role is eventually self-defeating?? and goes on to enlighten us as to what makes the ?community clock tick,? which more or less implies that the conqueror has learned a lesson. Leopold?s ?hope? can be set aside because we know for a fact that as these words were written the American empire was forging its place in the world, and U.S. imperialism was replacing French and British colonialism, while at the same time it was parasitically taking over the spoils of defeated German and Japanese imperialism. In fact, American big-business was in the process of establishing itself as the new ruler all over the world, which was in direct conflict with everything that Leopold was saying that he was for, but which he did not speak out against. I tend to think Leopold really ?hoped? that everyone would understand that what he was saying in the two paragraphs in question would share his idea about ?the land ethic.? Hope and reality are two different things. ?Hope? cannot replace enforcement of environmental legislation. ?Hope? cannot halt the destruction of our environment. ?Hope? needs to be combined with concrete action; and action needs to focus on the specific, not simply abstract general policy directives. I think Leopold tends to place a lot of confidence in ?hoping? business, industry, and politicians will eventually do the right thing after they are educated. In real life, this is not what happens. Profits take precedence over the environment in our country no matter how well educated people are. In fact, the administrators of educational institutions are more concerned with turning out loyal servants of the capitalist class than educating to protect ecosystems and the environment. It is very ironic that even the mining and forestry industries quote Leopold in claiming that they are ?greening? their operations. We have a governor who has certified the forestry industry as ?green;? as if this uncaring and insensitive politician has the ability to see any green except for what is handed to him under the table by his corporate masters for a job well done.
Here in the United States, more environmental damage was done to our lakes, rivers, and the land during the years 1925 to 1948 than what had been done by human beings in the preceding 10,000 years combined--- capitalism had quite literally, gone wild; and in the remaining years the environmental destruction has multiplied. ?The land? had only a slight reprieve during the depression years because industry came to an abrupt halt. Such a ?reprieve? appears to be on the horizon once again.
As very practical matters, we who live in northern Minnesota are confronting a number of very serious environmental concerns because the corporations and the politicians they own intend to turn our living environment into a contaminated and living hell--- if we let them get away with it. There is peat mining in the Big Bog; Minntac intends to destroy every stream, river, and lake as they purge their tailing basin of thousands of acres of water that is so dirty it is ruining their own equipment; power plants of one kind or another are in the works that will spew mercury and other contaminants into the air and waters--- Koochiching County officials are so damn dumb they intended to place a bio-mass plant right across the street from the local high school in Northome, Minnesota and not one single newspaper reporter had the courage to ask ?why??, even though the designers of the plant said that the tremendous amount of noise would be heard for up to twenty miles away--- this is creating a ?learning environment??--- Someone should go back to school (or maybe someone was in school too long?); and dangerous sulfide mining is set to begin using the old LTV site as the processing center. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is nothing but a rubber stamp for corporate power and greed. The corporate masters parade out their favorite circus act, Jim Oberstar touting ?jobs, jobs, jobs,? but he forgets to mention that jobs are destroyed faster than they can be created as the government is plunged into debt cleaning up the messes that have already been made? I doubt there has ever been a more corrupt politician in Minnesota serving the interests of the mining bosses, the bankers, the logging barons, and the power generating industry than Jim Oberstar, who rose to power attacking the Perpich family. The media is a tightly controlled corporate band of capitalist soothsayers employing reporters like the Strib?s Tom Meersman who are afraid to question and have little ability to do anything more than re-write corporate press releases. Environmental organizations are afraid to take on corporate power because they have been bought off with their grants. We are in one hell of a mess. I don?t think Leopold ever imagined such a nightmare.
We are, quite literally, caught in a web spun by these corporate parasites feeding off our labor as they destroy the environment in quest of profits. These corporate monsters exploit human labor, which they use to extract natural resources created by Mother Nature leaving everything ruined in the process--- our waters contaminated, our land saturated with the most dangerous concoctions, and our air unfit to breathe. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issues permits for all of this and then tells taxpayers they have to foot the bill to the tune of billions to clean up the messes they issued permits for in the first place! We are being played for fools. A Canadian multi-national corporation is allowed to come in and truck away the profits from peat they mine in the Big Bog with roads and land cleared courtesy of Minnesota and federal tax-dollars to the tune of millions, while the Commissioner of Natural Resources does not even insist on an audit telling what Minnesotans will get in return; this same Commissioner allows Minntac to peddle the lie that they need to reduce their supply of water, when in fact this water needs to be gotten rid of because it is so goddamn dirty it is ruining their equipment, and then we are told we have nothing to fear from this dirty contaminated water being pumped into our streams, rivers, and lakes!; we are told we should accept power plants that emit less mercury, while the politicians fail to note that ?less? really means ?more? mercury contamination; the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency tells us they need more money to clean up the messes they authorized in the first place. Doesn?t anyone get what is going on here? There is something terribly wrong with the way things are being done. The entire system is corrupt from beginning to end? starting with the exploitation of working people and ending up with an environment not fit for humans, wolves, birds, or fish to survive in--- even the trees are dying, and the very wetlands that sustain life are being destroyed willy-nilly; even the ditches draining the wetlands are so polluted billions of dollars now have to be spent cleaning them up! Do these corporate parasites have no shame as they tout their dirty rotten capitalist system as a gift from God? Really, I think Leopold missed a few things.
Leopold was very complex as a thinker and writer. I think on the one hand he has quite a lot to say about what is needed for a ?Land Ethic,? but he feared to tread in an area that is considered ?taboo? in America, that is, the questioning of the capitalist system and support for an alternative cooperative socialist system. I have read quite a bit of Leopold?s writing, and I can?t remember him ever using the words ?capitalism? or ?socialism.? We will have to use these words if we are going to successfully challenge corporate America. There can be no progressive agenda without a corresponding progressive direction in policy; and unless there are specific progressive remedies offered our country will continue headed down the path of destruction and ruin. The polluting of our living environment must not be permitted in the first place; and when corporations pollute, it is they, and not taxpayers, that must foot the bill to clean up the mess.
Another area Leopold did not tread is that of the questions pertaining to war and peace. Wars and militarism have consumed an uncalculated amount natural resources resulting in massive environmental destruction. Look down into the massive iron ore pits on the Iron Range? how much of these ores were required to fight these dirty wars? How many trees had to be cut to support armies; and how many forests have been destroyed by bombs? This is definitely something that needs to be further explored.
And, what about the environment inside of plants where workers are employed? this is another aspect of the same problem the environmental movement has yet to consider; again we come to ?class.?
Then we have the issue of democracy; if it is made intentionally difficult for people to have access to the information they need in order to take part in the decision making process, than democracy becomes kind of a farce, doesn?t it?
Space does not permit for more detailed discussion of these details overlooked by Aldo Leopold; however, the discussion needs to take place. My suggestion is that people get copies of the Environmental Impact Statements compiled for peat mining in the Pine Island State Forest located in the Big Bog; and the one intentionally deceitfully entitled, ?Minntac Water Inventory Reduction.? Christ, these people didn?t even have the scientific integrity to call this EIS what it really is about: ?Minntac Inventory Reduction of Dirty Water.? Lie upon lie upon lie. If it is not George Bush lying about this dirty war in Iraq, it is United States Congressman Jim Oberstar feeding us the filthy lie that we need to sacrifice the health and well-being of ourselves and our living environment for ?jobs, jobs, jobs.? Oberstar has never saved one single job--- except for his own and a few cronies--- in over thirty years while he has been gorging himself at the public trough like a bloated pig. Don?t believe this cock and bull routine about ?saving jobs.? If Jim Oberstar and these other politicians had one iota of concern for working people we would not have 20,000 Minnesotans going to jobs every single day of the year in smoke-filled casinos where these managements close off the ventilation systems to save on heating bills as the pay human beings poverty wages and hire vicious and violent union busting outfits like USIS that uses thugs to stymie attempts of workers to organize. Congressman Oberstar has no idea of what the word ?shame? means; He is a fraud and a fake employed by the corporate coupon clippers to pull the wool over our eyes. Where and when will it stop? Who can halt this insanity? Take a look in the mirror. It is up to me and you, Aldo Leopold is dead, and we are living. It is up to us to act! The hour is late.
Space does not permit for more detailed discussion of these details overlooked by Aldo Leopold; however, the discussion needs to take place. My suggestion is that people get copies of the Environmental Impact Statements compiled for peat mining in the Pine Island State Forest located in the Big Bog; and the one intentionally deceitfully entitled, ?Minntac Water Inventory Reduction.? Christ, these people didn?t even have the scientific integrity to call this EIS what it really is about: ?Minntac Inventory Reduction of Dirty Water.? Lie upon lie upon lie. If it is not George Bush lying about this dirty war in Iraq, it is United States Congressman Jim Oberstar feeding us the filthy lie that we need to sacrifice the health and well-being of ourselves and our living environment for ?jobs, jobs, jobs.? Oberstar has never saved one single job--- except for his own and a few cronies--- in over thirty years while he has been gorging himself at the public trough like a bloated pig. Don?t believe this cock and bull routine about ?saving jobs.? If Jim Oberstar and these other politicians had one iota of concern for working people we would not have 20,000 Minnesotans going to jobs every single day of the year in smoke-filled casinos where these managements close off the ventilation systems to save on heating bills as the pay human beings poverty wages and hire vicious and violent union busting outfits like USIS that uses thugs to stymie attempts of workers to organize. Congressman Oberstar has no idea of what the word ?shame? means; He is a fraud and a fake employed by the corporate coupon clippers to pull the wool over our eyes. Where and when will it stop? Who can halt this insanity? Take a look in the mirror. It is up to me and you, Aldo Leopold is dead, and we are living. It is up to us to act! The hour is late.
We should stop viewing Leopold?s writings as if they were Biblical verses and prophesy, and start viewing the environmental movement and our goals and objectives using modern scientific materialism as the basis for building a renewed grassroots movement, and confront the problems in their many sided complexities--- socially, politically, and economically if we are going to be able to take on corporate greed and big-business.
Note: Alan Maki lives in northern Minnesota and is the Director of Organizing for Red Lake Casino, Hotel, and Restaurant Employees? Union Organizing Committee; a founder of Save Our Bog; and a long-time member of Trout Unlimited.
Alan?s blogs can be read at:
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