hifsa shaukat

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Name: Khaled Aldoughji

Course: English 113B

Professor: Amy Reynolds

Date: 09/27/14

Balance of nature

The essay “Thinking like a mountain” by Aldo Leopold first appeared in a Sand County

Almanac and sketches here and there in the year 1949 in which the author Aldo tries to bring

forth the mutual harmony between animals and nature to help his readers understand the

importance of staying together, depending on each other as well as appreciating one another just

like a food chain in which for some given reason the prey or predator should not over run the

other.

This is clearly seen when he says, “the deer herd begins to die of its own too much.”

Basically, I believe that the idea the author wants his reader to understand is how we choose to

live with each other and the world matters a lot as it focuses to define our tomorrow. This

therefore gives me the impression that the author is very passionate about nature and humanity

and therefore wants to use this essay is to inform as well as educate the public on the importance

of conserving the forest as well as the environment.

The other is to ensure equal and balanced dependence in the food chain especially coming

from an essay in which the writer decide to incorporate a lot of words that are not in use in

today’s world. I as a result do agree with Leopold when it finally dawns to him that wolves are

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just as an important aspect of nature like the rest of the other creatures and that nature should be

equally balanced to serve to the interests of its beings.

In a story that begins when a family of wolves has just stopped playing in the river, and

without a second thought a hunter decides to shoot the wolf and injuring the young one shows

that without the wolf there is a complete imbalance in the ecosystem. Therefore this essay clearly

focuses to portraying a food balance in nature. It is therefore in my belief that this essay is not

only out to bring a food chain balance between animal and nature but also between man, animal

and nature.

When the writer through his essay, goes ahead and says, “We all strive for safety,

prosperity, comfort, long life, and dullness. The deer strives with his supple legs, the cowman

with trap and poison, the statesman with pen, the most of us with machines, votes, and dollars,

but it’ll comes to the same thing: peace in our time. A measure of success in this is all well

enough, and perhaps is a requisite to objective thinking, but too much. Safety seems to yield only

danger in the long run.” I am more than convinced that the write Aldo is talking about a food

chain balanced strike in nature and man.

In addition to that, Leopold’s essays also tries to focus on animal rights and the need to

extend ethics as well as understanding the ways of nature with regards to basic ecology and the

true meaning of living ultimately on land within the animal rights movement and further

discussion on environmental ethics that clearly illustrates just how alienated from nature humans

have become and this is further seen through the process or death (Ahlers, 1990).

In my own point of view, I think the writer,Aldo was in so much pain as he seriously care

about the loss of the wilderness and the mistreatment of wild animals at the expense of the

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growth and development of nature and the environment. In addition to that, the essay “Thinking

like a mountain” also works to clearly bring forth the works of Leopold while he was working as

a forester in the southwestern united states where he was able to witness the old wolfs and pups

crossing the river below the canyon that he and the other foresters were on which were fearlessly

struggling for a kill. The result led Leopold to show enormous concern for these animals as well

as nature, which greatly reflected on the environmental values such as care and understanding. It

is for this reasons that I think as well as believe that the writer idea was very well created and in

order since it tries so hard to make man understand and incorporate the idea of caring for the

environment.

Moreover, Aldo’s ability to rethink on the importance of predators in the balance of nature

that brought back the bears and mountain lions, served as an eye opener to lead me to my choice

of agreeing with Aldo since both our ideas work to protect and conserve the environment and

nature. This I believe is the connection that we both share.

Furthermore, I believe that the writer’s idea to conserve the environment as well as wild

animals clearly works best to preserve young and immature animals that are very fragile and

vulnerable to stand and support them. This I also believe works to build and grow the tourism

sector that will further help to act as a tourism attraction center leading to a growth in the market

industry hence the international market will be improved and enhanced to facilitate and serve the

growing market environs.

Through the challenge and courage that the author envisions clearly states that it is the

responsibility of any sound minded persons in the society to care for animals as well as the

environment to ensure a more balanced environmental state that is interesting and full of life. For

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this will ensure more comfortable surroundings. And just as the writer points out, that an

individual’s moral values like love and trust are the key additional advantage to caring for the

environment and its species in a free and exciting manner leading to a more mutual relationship

between the two.

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Work Cited list:

Ahlers, J (1990) Thinking like a mountain: Towards a sensible land ethics, Retrieved from;

http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=768 on 09/27/2014

Diehm, C. (2013) wolves,Wisconsins and Aldo Leopold, retrieved from;  

http://www.humansandnature.org/wolves--wisconsin--and-aldo-leopold-article-

141.php?issue=19 on 09/27/2014