RNR 1001 Lecture : RNR Notes 002
Document Summary
Aldo leopold, professor at the university of wisconson. Wrote the land ethis in 1949, mostly in response to forest dervice policies that favored harvesting in national forests. Considered three phases in the development of human ethics: Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the u. s. was characterized by frontier ethics, emphasizing resource extraction and exploitation, with economic expansion of highest priority. Many rivers dammed for hydropower gerneration, irrigation diversions, flood reduction, and municipal water supplies. Radioactive mill waste from defunct facility near moab, utah 110,000 gallons of radioactive groundwater into river each day. The dust bowl- drought between 1926-1934, poor farming of marginal land. Switch from organic to inorganic fertilizers runoff and non-point source pollution. Converted grasslands to croplands, but grassland soils dependent on cover. Tall-grass prairies, more rainfall, mostly gone to agriculture (sustainable?) Short-grass prairies, little rainfall, drought common, agriculture not sustainable. 9 million acres of topsoil lost to wind-driven erosion, 80 million acres damaged.
