Emily D'Souza- Outside Reading 2: "A Sand County Almanac" by Aldo Leopold

 In A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold discusses and introduces many topics relating to the environment. One important thing he introduces is the idea of a “land ethic”, which basically sets out the idea that there is a certain way one should go about being in nature, in order to respect and protect the environment. He believes it is important to be in and experience nature, but it should be done in a sustainable manner. Examples of this could be walking instead of driving, picking up your trash, and an emphasis on primitive skills and art. I thought this was interesting, but what most stood out to me in relation to this class is the idea of seeing the land as a biota, not just soil on the ground. The lecture on eating one another made me think of this idea, because they both illustrate how everything on the earth is connected. What Leopold meant by land as biota, is that it isn’t just the soil on the ground, but it is a complex system of parts all working together, he even claimed that it is so complex that it may never be fully understood. Each layer of the earth relies on one another, so small things such as worms, ants, and sprouting seeds are things necessary for the environment and us. Normally when thinking about the environment, they don’t realize that everything is so connected, and it’s the same thing for the food we eat. We typically don’t think about eating, we just do it, but there are so many things that go into a meal. Not only just the land the plant grew on or the animal grazed on, but the human who harvested and processed it, then the person who put it on the truck, then the person who drove it, and so on and so forth. My biggest takeaway from this is that everything in the environment is connected, and it’s a lot more complex than what most people perceive it as.