Never before have people taken keen interest in the issue of environmental conservation and land ethics than in the present day America. With increasing population, changed land use patterns and tourism activities, the environmental and land conservation movement has taken the anthropocentric viewpoint, an ideology that all the earth’s resources exist for the good of humans and their consumption. Further, according to Norton (1992), there is now more focus on the value of nature and human interaction. To Nelson, this symbiotic relationship between humans and their environment or land must mean more appropriate and progressive land conservation policies. According to this author, most of the federal land policies as they stand now are outdated and the land resources are tied up in bureaucracy and red tape thus leading to environmental harm (Nelson, 2012)). He argues that though public land policy in the US as is everywhere else, is a historical vestige, much has changed and the needs of the current generation are quite different from and greater than those of the past. Public land of national importance must be reverted and used in ways that benefit both the land and the population.
There is therefore need for more rational policies on public land in America in order to suit the needs of both the present and future generations. The mistake of the past management that has led to poor land systems and less benefits to local land holders must never be repeated by a new government system, says the author. Further, according to Norton (1992), there is increased movement towards land ethics with the realization that there exists a symbiotic relationship between the environment and humans hence calling for tighter conservation efforts for the earth’s resources. Further, Munir (2009) through his epic journeys through the wilderness portrays just how the American conservation movement had begun to take shape with increasing awareness of the value and essence of the environment.
References
Muir, J. (2009). Journeys in the wilderness: A John Muir reader. Edinburgh: Birlinn.
Nelson, R.H. (2012, March 07). Free the American West; get the federal government off public lands that are of no national importance. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 15, 2016, from http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/07/opinion/la-oe-nelson-public-lands-20120307
Norton, B. G. (1992). Epistemology and environmental issues. The Monist, 75(2), 208-226. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27903286
