Aldo Leopold is known as the father of American conservation. If you’ve never enjoyed his Sand County Almanac, you might want to put it on your ‘wish list.’ It tells a story of his evolution and enlargement in thinking about the natural world and our place in it. One of his most profound statements in that work is this: “To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.” This is the banner of those concerned about our disappearing biodiversity, the Sixth Great Extinction, which scientists describe is taking place in our lifetimes.
Are we paying enough attention? Are we living to preserve every cog and wheel of nature? How can we support the parts that make up the whole, before the warp and weft of the whole are hopelessly compromised?
What we can do:
- Read, study, learn, teach our children
- Preserve intact green spaces, and work to create green corridors for wildlife
- Live as simply and sustainably as we can
- Work and vote for conservation values
- Brainstorm with others on how to proceed
