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Disposal of the dead differs across culture and times due to prevailing factors including traditional beliefs, normative worldviews, and resource availability. This paper sought to explore the views of the Batswana regarding disposal of the dead through a case study of Ledumang Ward in Gaborone. Interviews were conducted with 42 respondents who included 30 householders around Ledumang cemetery and 12 key informants who included persons in the funeral industry, clergy, and government or council officers. The findings reveal that burial is the most preferred method of body disposal among residents of Ledumang Ward with only a few having knowledge or being open to other forms of body disposal. Most household respondents (70%) cited religious beliefs and providing a resting place for the dead as the reason for their preference. Both residents and key informants expressed worry over negative environmental impacts of burials including them being an unsustainable land use practice. Shortage of land was the biggest concern for the largest portion of residents (40%). On the contrary, only 1% and 10% cited environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, and air pollution as the foremost concerns, respectively. The ethical evaluation using the land ethic shows the current burial practices to be morally wrong as they do not promote the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. The paper recommends some empirical research as well as philosophical research to establish and evaluate metaphysical and normative beliefs that undergird current burial practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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It is clear that environmentalist are failing in their efforts to avert a global ecological catastrophe. It is argued here that Aldo Leopold had provided the foundations for an effective environmental movement, but to develop his land ethic, it is necessary first to interpret and advance it by seeing it as a form of communitarianism, and link it to communitarian ethical and political philosophy. This synthesis can then be further developed by incorporating advanced ideas in ecology and human ecology. Overcoming the division between the sciences and humanities and granting a place to narratives as a highly developed form of eco-semiosis, these provide the foundation for a new grand narrative committed to creating an ecological civilization, a civilization organized to augment the life of ecosystems, including human ecosystems, by augmenting the conditions for its members to flourish and develop their full potential to augment life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the philosophical status and ground of biomimicry's most distinctive principle: nature as measure. Starting with the argument that this principle is ethically normative, I go on to compare the ecological ethic it embodies with Aldo Leopold's land ethic. In so doing, I argue that the ultimate measure against which the ethical rightness of our actions should be judged is the way of being of Gaia, which is to let be her present inhabitants. I then explore the idea that taking as measure Gaia's way of being provides powerful responses to a number of longstanding problems in environmental ethics, including the question of its 'centre', duties to preserve and restore nature, and duties to present and future beings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aldo Leopold is an American author, scientist, ecologist, conservationist, environmentalist, whose most outstanding and representative work A Sand County Almanac is filled with abundant and deep ecological thoughts. This paper intends to explore Leopold's ecological thoughts in this book. First, Leopold redefines the relationship between nature and human beings. He states that human beings are part of nature and should show love and respect for it; second, Leopold proposes the famous and significant land ethic theory, which establishes a basis for new ecological ethics. He enlarges the ethic range to land and to the whole nature, sets the criteria of land ethic, and describes the importance of ecological conscience which is fundamentally helpful to solve ecological crisis and protect the ecosystem; third, Leopold elaborates on the values of wilderness, such as the recreational value, the ecological value, the aesthetic value, the scientific value, the ecological value and the cultural value. Nowadays, all these ecological thoughts are still meaningful for people to know and love the nature, to protect the land and the wilderness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seventieth anniversary of Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac (1949) approaches. For philosophers - environmental ethicists in particular - this text has been highly influential, especially the 'Land Ethic' essay contained therein. Given philosophers' acumen for identifying and critiquing arguments, one might reasonably expect a firm grasp of Leopold's ideas to have emerged from such attention. I argue that this is not the case. Specifically, Leopold's main interpreter and systematiser, philosopher J. Baird Callicott, has shoehorned Aldo Leopold's ideas into differing monistic moral theories that ill serve a proper understanding. Against Callicott, my paper argues that Aldo Leopold embraces a robust moral pluralism, one that goes beyond mere pragmatics, and he does so while seeking a consistency maximisation of values. A new, improved understanding of Leopold's ideas thus emerges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests have evoked distinctive emotions in our unconscious depending on our experiences with it. While we may be thrilled as we walk through a dark and gloomy forest, we may find joy in another one, lit by broad daylight. Our conditional reaction to the image of the forests is a psychological one that is culturally constructed. However, in Faruk Duman's 2014 novel Kopekler Için Gece Muzigi [Night Music for Dogs]1, the forest becomes a living entity that interacts with the other characters, like Filiz, Tarik, AVCIATMACA [HAWKTHEHUNTER] and Murat.2 This interaction leads some of these characters to a more sensible relationship with nature. Duman's strategy to place nature in the center of the novel as a dominant force signals to two important aspects. First of all, Duman tries to imply our undeniable connection to nature, which reminds us Aldo Leopold's land-as-community concept encouraging us to be a part of that community. The second important aspect of the novel is the transformation of the characters through their interaction with nature. This essay aims to discuss the importance of Kopekler Için Gece Muzigias an ecocentric work in Turkish literature, which tries to alter our anthropocentric perspective. By directing the reader's attention to a more ecocentric worldview, the novel also reconciles our relationship with nature by creating awareness through the transformation of characters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act has fostered nostalgia and reflection among environmentalists. Signed into legislation by Lyndon B. Johnson on September 3, 1964, the Wilderness Act presented a duality of purpose--to maintain a level of defense to 9 million acres of wild land while also creating an "enduring resource of wilderness. " his 50th anniversary necessitates another observance--the presentation of Albert Schweitzer's Reverence for Life philosophy in his 1923 book titled he Philosophy of Civilization. Even a brief reading of Schweitzer's seminal works will prove to be reminiscent of Aldo Leopold, who is often seen as the godfather of environmentalism. his article aims to show the commonalities between Albert Schweitzer and Aldo Leopold and why the topic deserves further study. A brief comparison is presented here, including the ideas in which they most intersect. he cornerstone philosophies put forth by Schweitzer and Leopold helped develop language used both in the Wilderness Act and among environmentalists of today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable tourism aims to achieve a balance between the needs of tourists, the environment, local people, and businesses – a situation complicated by the numerous ethical issues at play. This paper presents an original account of the ethics of Aldo Leopold (1887–1948), a key figure in the development of modern environmental ethics, as it unfolds in his classic work,A Sand County Almanac. We argue that prior interpretations failed to incorporate Leopold's lynchpin cultural harvest idea into his larger “land ethic”, and that a proper understanding of the cultural harvest reveals how tourism and other recreational activities can drive a person's ethical development. Ultimately, the land ethic helps us protect and nurture the most precious sustainability resource: human beings that value and respect the environment. The paper will be of value to tourism scholars, to heritage interpreters, to travel journalists, to tourism marketing staff, and to tourism managers. It shows the enormous opportunities for better marketing and heritage interpretation, notes the potential value of slow tourism, and the need for opening five key areas of the cultural harvest for tourists: storytelling, learning and knowledge, beauty and aesthetic appreciation, rarity and the hunt for trophy, and signature/personality. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The writings of Aldo Leopold (1887–1948), in particular his essay “The Land Ethic” in A Sand County Almanac , constitute a milestone in the discourse on human–environment relationships. During his career, Leopold witnessed several cases of land degradation that were caused by unbridled economic activity. The objective of this article is to examine two sets of draft proposals prepared by Leopold for the purpose of rethinking economics along conservation and ecological principles. The first is a set of four draft prospectuses written during the 1930s to pursue research on “conservation economics.” The focus here was on developing economic tools to promote conservation. The second is a draft memo written in late 1947 to propose creating a position in “ecological economics” at the University of Wisconsin, with the conservationist William Vogt (1902–1968) as candidate. Leopold was inspired by the work of Vogt in analyzing human–land interaction according to ecological principles. Unfortunately, Leopold passed away in April 1948. This article concludes with a discussion of Vogt's thinking on conservation up to that time, including his 1948 book Road to Survival , to provide a sense of the foundational work that would have gone into the development of Leopold and Vogt's “ecological economics.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability in India is rated through various Green Rating Systems for real estate developments, although on voluntary basis. This paper presents a scientific analysis of an Indian Rating System namely: IGBC Green Townships and two global rating systems namely: BREEAM Communities and Pearl Rating System on basis of a philosophy known as Land Ethic (LE). Coined by an American forester Aldo Leopold, LE is based on parameters like soils, waters, plants/animals or collectively: the land. This philosophy forms a roadmap to view the rating systems in terms of its intangible/non-monetary benefits related to soils, waters, plants/animals and land. The analysis involved selection of keywords which best represented LE philosophy, namely: Community, Soils, Waters, Plants/Animals, Land Health, Land Pyramid, Land Organism, Ecological Conscience, Land Use, Conservation/Preservation and Education/Awareness. Each issue/checklist listed in the selected rating systems was qualitatively evaluated in respect to the selected LE keywords. For quantitative analysis, a scoring system was formulated to give scores to each issue/checklist vis-a-vis LE keywords. Scores A represented scores for issues/efforts and Scores B represented scores for respective credit points earned by each LE keyword. Scores A and B were then used for the purpose of this study on basis of LE keywords and issues/checklist of the rating systems. A resultant matrix was formulated for the purpose of compatibility inspection of the rating systems in context to LE philosophy. Few guidelines on basis of LE philosophy were also recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aldo Leopold, in 'The Land Ethic,' made 2 important contributions to conservation ethics: he emphasized the community and ecosystem levels of organization and he explicitly included people as members of the biotic community. Leopold's writings remain eloquent, inspirational, and influential, but the ideas he describes are inherently complex, and ecological science has continued to evolve since 'The Land Ethic' was published in 1949. We used 4 sets of quotations from Leopold's essays to develop our commentary on the meaning of and challenges in interpreting his work and to explore the ongoing development of conservation ethics: the 'A-B cleavage' (Leopold's description of the contrast between utilitarian value versus a broader definition of value in nature), 'land health' and the rightness of human action, the right of all species to continued existence in natural populations 'at least in spots,' and humans as 'plain member[s] and citizen[s]' of the 'land-community.' We define the broader function of land and land health in 'The Land Ethic' as including completeness, dynamic stability, and self-renewal in a way that incorporates the needs of humans and all other species. We argue that the consequences of implementing Leopold's land ethic include multiple conservation goals nested within an overall systems approach and that conservation science must clarify the implications of Leopold's ethic by quantitatively investigating and defining large-scale, system-level ecological sustainability. At this scale, land use will encompass areas ranging from large expanses of wilderness to areas dominated by humans. La Sustentabilidad Ecológica como el Cuarto Hito en el Desarrollo de la Ética de la Conservación [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uexküll's famous umwelt theory, which is simultaneously a theory of meaning, remains almost unknown in American environmental thought. The purpose of this article is to create a dialogue between the umwelt theory - a source of inspiration for biosemiotics - and one of the major fi gures of the environmental thought, namely Aldo Leopold. The interest of this dialogue lies in the fact that the environmental thought has much to gain by relying on Uexküll's theory of meaning and, conversely, that Leopold's land ethic is likely to extend Uexküll's thought in terms of ethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human demands on nature have increased due to our burgeoning population. The applications of scientific knowledge to the development of increasingly powerful technologies and consumptive lifestyles by more and more people have created a modern category of human-caused disaster—stealth disasters. Stealth disasters—such as agriculturally-induced soil erosion and release of unprecedented amounts of greenhouse gases into Earth's atmosphere—tend to have protracted, unobvious onsets; do not necessarily have dramatic manifestations; and often do not attract public attention until they reach a stage approaching catastrophic consequences. At this late stage it is difficult or impossible to undo damage. Scientists tend to be among the first to understand the physical causes and notice the developments of stealth disasters and their risks and yet scientific knowledge is not enough to prevent or mitigate them. As we search for ways to deal with stealth disasters, the concept of “land health” assembled by the prominent conservationist and author, Aldo Leopold (1887–1948), can, in normative terms, provide an ecologically grounded example of nature in good condition toward which society can aim. Evidence of the reverse—symptoms of land illness—can provide a checklist for risk analysis and management that helps guide people away from harm-causing attitudes and activities and toward beneficial outcomes. Leopold's criteria of land health motivated by a land ethic that incorporates the whole of nature may be applied at geographic scales ranging from local to global as a framework for contemporary risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The legacy of Aldo Leopold includes the concept of ethical responsibilities toward the land, and the establishment of ecological restoration both for environmental learning and for land management. For more than a half-century, the land ethic has been a major paradigm for ethical and environmental thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leopold's teaching is based on the belief that "the land is one organism." Will an ecosystem collapse if a single species is removed, as would an organism without a single organ? What would happen if all native plants and the animals that depend on them were replaced by a single introduced species? The answer: a sustainable wheat field, without which Leopold would not be able to create his ethic, nor we conduct this discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a nationwide survey of Forest Service employees, this article compares the land ethic of foresters with that of other natural resource professionals and examines the relationship between one's land ethic and preferred forest policy options. Professional foresters embrace a more utilitarian land ethic than that expressed by biologists and other natural resource scientists in the agency. Because the numberof foresters, engineers, and range managers in the Forest Service isdeclining while the ranks of natural resource scientists are growing, changes in the short-term management of national forest units may be forthcoming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reevaluating Aldo Leopold's land ethic is timely, but Boris Zeide's critique of it is both biased and logically flawed. The real target of Zeide's essay is ecosystem management. The real sciences in which the land ethic is grounded are evolutionary biology, community ecology, and ecosystem ecology, not the outmoded Clementsian superorganism paradigm in ecology. Although Zeide believes in a strictly zero-sum world, Aldo Leopold had faith that we could achieve win-win solutions:log our forests and maintain their health and integrity; prosper economically and protect our ecological heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]