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By Isis Johnson
April 25, 2010
In this sermon I would like to share with
the congregation my personal evolution toward a life dedicated to
conservation, explain some of the "ethics" that guide me, and what
we can all do to save to world and save ourselves. I'll reflect on
the words of Aldo Leopold, explaining what "A Land Ethic" is, and
why we should care.
Happy belated Earth Day. My name is Isis Johnson and I’ve been a
member of this congregation for about 6 years. I’m a Unitarian, with
both Christian and Buddhist spiritual practices. I’m an artist in my
free time, but being an environmental biologist for the federal
government is my day job.
I don’t do anything fancy like save the whales or stop the
destruction of the rainforest, but my work helps ensure the swift
resolution of hydropower issues that consider the interests of
industry, state and federal agencies, and the American public. My
primary duties include the preparation of Environmental Assessments,
the evaluation of development proposals, and the review of resource
management plans. My goal is not to stop development, but instead to
regulate the amount of development that occurs and how it is
conducted in areas with significant ecological value.
Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Far and away the best prize that life
has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” As a
little girl, I was always fascinated with the idea of doing what I
could to try to save the world and the people in it. Now, curing
cancer, discovering a truly renewable energy source, and cultivating
world peace are all great ways of doing that. But I, like all of you
I’m sure, decided to do the best I could with what I’d been given.
So, as I will explain, there’s much work that can be done and more
than one way to save the world.
On this weekend which commemorates the 40th anniversary of Earth
Day, I believe taking some time to reflect on conservation, is a
good place to start. Conservation comes from the latin word “con”
which means “together” and “servare” which means “to save” or “to
protect.” Conservation, then, is not about saving whales for its own
sake, it’s about the fellowship of humanity uniting to protect this
planet we all share. It combines preservation (leaving everything as
is), with management (involves controlling human activities with
respect to their environmental impact). I’d like to share with you
how I first learned about conservation, why I believe in it, and
what we can all do to protect the resources that are really the
physical foundation of our continued existence.
When I was about eight years old, a cartoon taught me my first real
lessons about conservation. Now, some may think it more appropriate
to start by citing Rachel Carson, E..O. Wilson, or Aldo Leopold as
influences, but this cartoon is one of the most vivid memories of my
childhood. The cartoon titled, “Captain Planet” featured five
teenagers who could harness and wield the power of the elements
(Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and Heart) to stop pollution, poaching and
the destruction of critical habitat. When their powers combined it
released an all-powerful superhero “Captain Planet,” who was
virtually unstoppable.
These teenagers were different races, each from a different
continent, but they worked together to educate others about the
beauty of the natural world. As an African-American girl born and
raised in D.C., and the surrounding Maryland suburbs, it was my
first real exposure to the concept of protecting, preserving and
embracing Mother Nature. If asked how my interest in conservation
developed, I would have to say that “Captain Planet” is where it
began.
I am not sure how to best relay my enthusiasm for conservation,
except to say that maybe it is the artist in me that appreciates the
aesthetics of beauty in its rawest form. I also think that watching
“Captain Planet” made the whole “saving the world” thing look pretty
cool. Throughout primary and secondary school, my interest in
ecology and conservation continued to develop despite my enrollment
in schools that specialized in the visual and performing arts. I may
have spent a lot of my time drawing and painting, but I was also a
Girl Scout. I went to Girl Scout Camp in the summers and I would
like to take this opportunity to thank my mother, who
enthusiastically took us camping, even though (as I found out only a
few years ago) she absolutely hated it. I would also like to thank
my mother for being supportive of me when instead of applying to
visual arts colleges; I decided to attend the University of Delaware
for their program in Wildlife Conservation. She was helpful…and
encouraging…and absolutely certain that I was on some strange and
sudden quest to become a park ranger. Not that there’s anything
wrong with being a park ranger.
While I was uncertain of my career goals at the time, I trusted that
I had chosen a path that would equip me with the knowledge to not
only appreciate nature, but to also understand the processes that
drive it, find ways to protect it, and find my own way…my own place
as part of it.
It’s been nearly six years since then. I’ve completed by B.S. with a
double major in Wildlife Conservation and Entomology. In 2008, I
received my M.S. in Sustainable Development and Conservation
Biology. I am the current President of the DC Chapter of the Society
for Conservation Biology, but in these economically-driven times,
where consumption is encouraged, and many of our school-aged
children believe that fruit and vegetables come from the supermarket
and not from the earth, even I struggle with how to convince others,
how to explain why conservation is important. Why stewardship of our
planet is essential. Why we should care about monopolies on water
rights, and the fact that species of plants and animals, that many
of us will never see, are vanishing.
Collectively, as a species, we live with the mindset that the Earth
was created solely for our prosperity. We thrive in being conquerors
of our environment, instead of acknowledging that no species lives
in isolation. In 1949, Aldo Leopold notes in his book A Sand County
Almanac, that such a role is self-defeating, its success would be
based on having the knowledge of what makes the community tick,
knowing “what and who is valuable and worthless in community life.”
Since this knowledge is not something that we readily possess, our
conquests are eventually harmful to our ultimate survival as part of
this community. Leopold describes man as, “in fact, only a member of
a biotic team”. He introduced the idea of a world community (a novel
idea at the time it was published), the concept of enlarging the
boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and
animals, or collectively: the land. Thus it was called “A land
ethic.”
Aldo Leopold was a philosopher and scientist who is often considered
“the father” of wildlife management. He pioneered the idea of living
life in a way that leaves the environment in as good or better
shape, than when you first encountered it.
Leopold described conservation as “a state of harmony between men
and the land,” and that “an ethic, [from and ecological standpoint]
is a limitation on freedom of action in the struggle for continued
existence.” Now, its important to make the distinction that these
“limitations” do not prohibit the use of our natural resources, but
rather it encourages all of us to “do no harm,” to use these
resources wisely, and avoid overexploitation. To support this,
Leopold states “A land ethic of course cannot prevent the
alteration, management and use of these ‘resources’, but it does
affirm their right to continued existence, and, at least in spots,
their continued existence in a natural state.” So, manipulation of
the environment is okay as long as it is done sustainably and not in
excess, but there should be some areas that remain pristine and
untouched.
Leopold also took the opportunity to criticize environmentalists who
he felt, in explaining conservation to the general public, often
forgot substance in their quest to persuade the larger population to
act. People are encouraged to “obey the law [like ESA and NEPA],
vote right, join some organizations, and practice whatever
conservation is profitable on [their] own land,” that the government
will do that rest. This argument “defines no right or wrong, assigns
no obligations, calls for no sacrifice, and implies no changes in
the current philosophy of values.” Leopold rightly asserts that “no
changes in ethics were ever accomplished without a internal change
in our intellectual emphasis, loyalties, affections, and
convictions…that we can be ethical only in relation to something we
can see, feel, understand, love, or otherwise have faith in.”
So where does that leave us now, and where do we go from here? Well,
thinking back to my days of watching “Captain Planet,” I remember
wanting very badly to be a “planeteer.” To have a ring of power, to
be able to outsmart the bad guys by making the earth open up in
front of them, setting their factories on fire, creating a tornado
to whisk them away, or knocking them down with the force of a tidal
wave. But the one power that I never pretended to have, was “heart”
or the power of love. To be able to communicate with nature and be
one with the other elements, seemed kind of lame at the time;
boring, unexciting, maybe even unnecessary.
But Captain Planet had it right. Love is vital. Now it’s important
to understand that this doesn’t mean you should never cut down a
tree, that you have to become vegan, or leave your home to spend the
rest of your days in the wilderness of Montana. You don’t have to
love camping, or desire a career in the environmental field to do
your part in saving our planet and its resources. You can start by
remembering Aldo Leopold and what he taught. That “land is not
merely soil,” but a base for the flow of energy, as plants rest on
the soil, and animals depend on the plants; being fueled by the sun,
and nourished by water. “Each successive layer depends on those
below it for food and survival.”
You can quite simply live your life with an open heart that includes
a healthy respect for the soils, plants, animals, and waters as part
of your community. You can think of the natural world as part of
your family, as something to look out for, take care of, something
appreciate, and love. It’s about looking inward and analyzing your
perceptions. It’s about being man the biotic citizen versus man the
conqueror; about seeing land as a member of the community versus
land the slave and servant. It’s about seeing yourself as an
integral member of the natural world; that you do not exist apart
from it. The land ethic reflects “a conviction of individual
responsibility…[that] a thing is right when it tends to preserve the
integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is
wrong when it tends otherwise."
Most environmental problems are based on conflicts of interest: the
struggle between the interests of people and the interests of the
environment in which people live. The two can coexist. But as a
sentient being with the ability to think, understand, and alter our
behavior, part of being a model citizen is more than paying taxes
and obeying the law. It’s being conscious of the decisions you make,
and how those decision impact the world around you.
I’m not going to tell you not to go shopping. But the next time you
do, I hope that you will think about the things that you buy. Most
things we purchase end up in landfills, so first, do you really need
or want it? Can it be recycled? Donated to good will? Can it be
reused by someone else?
I’m not going to tell you that you shouldn’t fertilize your lawn.
But use organic fertilizers when possible, it means that less
nitrogen and phosphorus will end up in our water systems.
Pull weeds when possible instead of using herbicides. Think about
planting a garden using native plants whenever possible. It means
not going to Loews or Home Depot, but a quick Google search will
provide you with a list of nurseries that specialize in natives.
Native plants are usually less water-intensive, and support local
birds and insects.
Buy local, organic produce whenever possible and reduce you
consumption of meat, beef in particular. Reducing you intake of meat
by one serving a day, or one serving a week is good for your body,
and livestock production is extremely land, and water intensive.
Look for “Fair Trade” Products which are sustainably harvested and
ensure that the workers who harvest them receive fair compensation.
Turn off the water as much as possible, when washing your hands,
brushing your teeth, and washing dishes. Also, buy a water filter
instead of buying bottled water. Companies like Nestle, who bottle
“Deer Park” often buy water rights from local populations and then
monopolize the fresh water supply. Being an educated consumer is
half the battle.
Think about family planning, population growth is another threat to
the environment.
I could go on, and give other examples, but I think you get the
idea. I do have some resources that I’ll happily leave out on the
bulletin board (name them).
So in closing, I was not born into a family of hikers, outdoorsman,
or environmentalists, but I care about the environment because I was
taught, at an early age, how much fun it could be. How important it
was. So I encourage all of you to expose your kids, grandkids,
nephews, and nieces, to the world that exists outside of videogames,
cell phones and television. To let them run around and get dirty. To
teach them about birds, and insects so that their not afraid of
them, but fascinated by them.
What began for me, as a young girl admiring my favorite cartoon
characters, and camping with my friends and family, has grown into a
genuine enthusiasm for conservation. I’m not infallible, but I try
to be a good steward of the land that we all depend on. We’re all
superheroes in our own right, and have more power than we realize to
influence the way we interact with the world. So, when the 80th
anniversary of Earth Day comes to pass, may our hearts be more open,
may we hold each other more accountable, may our moral compass hold
true to the land ethic, may we collectively uplift, and protect our
natural environment for the betterment of our world community. Thank
you.
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