WIST Quotations

Leopold, Aldo -- A Sand County Almanac, “November” (1949)

Dave — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:45:13 +0000

The modern dogma is comfort at any cost.

Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) American conservationist, forester, ecologist
A Sand County Almanac, “November” (1949)

Leopold, Aldo -- A Sand County Almanac (1949)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

The first rule of intelligent tinkering is to save all the parts.

Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) American conservationist, forester, ecologist
A Sand County Almanac (1949)

Sometimes known as "Ehrlich's Law," and attributed to Paul Ehrlich in the Saturday Review (5 Jun 1971) , though Ehrlich attributed it to Leopold.

Leopold, Aldo -- A Sand County Almanac (1949)

Dave — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 11:52:47 +0000

A peculiar virtue in wildlife ethics is that the hunter ordinarily has no gallery to applaud or disapprove of his conduct. Whatever his acts, they are dictated by his own conscience, rather than that of onlookers. It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of this fact.

Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) American conservationist, forester, ecologist
A Sand County Almanac (1949)

Leopold, Aldo -- A Sand County Almanac Foreword (1949)

Dave — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 11:20:01 +0000

Conservation is getting nowhere because it is incompatible with our Abrahamic concept of land. We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect. There is no other way for land to survive the impact of mechanized man, nor for us to reap from it the aesthetic harvest it is capable, under science, of contributing to culture.

Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) American conservationist, forester, ecologist
A Sand County Almanac Foreword (1949)

Leopold, Aldo -- A Sand County Almanac, “Land Ethic” (1949)

Dave — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:18:06 +0000

That land is a community is the basic concept of ecology, but that land is to be loved and respected is an extension of ethics.

Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) American conservationist, forester, ecologist
A Sand County Almanac, “Land Ethic” (1949)

Leopold, Aldo -- Round River, “Conservation” (1953)

Dave — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:04:09 +0000

The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant, “What good is it?” If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not. If the biota, in the course of aeons, has built something we like but do not understand, then who but a fool would discard seemingly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.

Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) American conservationist, forester, ecologist
Round River, “Conservation” (1953)