Utilitarian Justification– conservation of nature is important because the environment, ecosystem, habitat, or species provides individuals (aka humans) with direst economic benefits.
Ecological Justification– conservation of nature is based on the knowledge that a species, ecological community, ecosystem, or the Earth’s biosphere provides specific function necessary to the persistence of our life.
Aesthetic Justification– conservation and protection of nature are made on the basis that nature is beautiful and that beauty is of profound importance and value to people.
Moral Justification– conservation of nature is important because aspects/ elements of the environment have a right to exist, independent of human desires; it’s a moral obligation to allow them to continue to persist.
Aldo Leopold’s- A Sand Country Almanac (1949)
- All resources (plants, animals/ earth materials) have right to exist
- Human should act as protectors, not conquerors of the planet
- We are responsible for other individuals/ society’s behavior toward the environment
- Moral responsibility to sustain nature for ourselves/ future generations
The implications of the land ethics are:
Land ethic asserts that entire species to survive; but that doesn’t necessarily individual animals or organisms- be realistic.
Another implication is that nature has an inherent importance to our survival and therefore it our moral responsibility to preserve it.
Our actions/ technology have the potential to greatly affect future generation; we must consider their rights when making environmental protocols and accords. Radioactive waste, long-term climate change, technology all effects the growing human population/ animal extinction, so we must take this into consideration and act accordingly.
