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“There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot. These essays are the delights and dilemmas of one who cannot. Like winds and sunsets, wi
by namuol 3y ago
“There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot. These essays are the delights and dilemmas of one who cannot.
Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them. Now we face the question of whether a still higher ‘standard of living’ is worth its cost in things natural, wild, and free. For us of the minority, the opportunity to see geese is more important than television, and the chance to find a pasque-flower is a right as inalienable as free speech.”
- Foreword to A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold, 1949
- jackconsidine 3y agoAldo Leopold was a genius. His love for nature was poetic and inspiring. He also offered a pragmatic ethic of the land. I'm not sure I've ever read someone as holistic and well-intentioned.
- namuol 3y agoAbsolutely. One example for anyone who isn’t familiar: He dedicates several pages to an oak tree he cut down for firewood after a lightning strike destroyed it, and his tribute to its sacrifice left me in tears.