Based on our in-class discussion on March 23rd, I thought it important to point out the differing schools of thought with respect to natural resources. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the likes of John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and Aldo Leopold were changing Western society’s perspective on how resources can be managed and the place that nature and wild spaces have in everyday life. Gifford Pinchot had a very utilitarian perspective on natural resources, as such, is perceived as the founder of the conservation movement with regards to an anthropocentric perspective – meaning humans gaining benefit from nature. His popular quote: “the greatest good for the greatest number for the longest time” (1910, p.34) summarizes his perspective of nature’s instrumental value well. This is in a refined methodology akin to colonizing ideologies in which success is measured based on economic growth and the utilization of resources. Muir, while still coming at conservation from an anthropocentric perspective, appreciated the natural world and its resources for its intrinsic value and its capacity to heal man. He spent a lot of time in the Yosemite Valley and Sierra Mountains of California, climbing alone and seeking solace in the elements. This paradigm begins treading towards a biocentric perspective of nature, in which humans are an equal part of the system. Aldo Leopold states that “conservation is a state of harmony between men and the land”(1949, p. 217). Biocentrism is a worldview that many indigenous cultures have used and practiced for millennia. These cultures and societies were successful in their management of regional environments and resources. We need to consider: the methods that western society are imposing to tackle environmental and social issues have maybe not been the best ways to go about solutions. Are there other considerations that should and can be made? Who can be consulted and participate in future decisions?

Leopold, A. (1949). The Land Ethic. A Sand County Almanac, 215-224.

Pinchot, G. (1910). Principles of Conservation. The Fight for Conservation, 32-35.

Title photo: http://www.tayuhayward.com/blog/page/4/