Wildlife in American Culture - Aldo Leopald

          The general argument/point made by Aldo Leopald in his work “Wildlife in American Culture” is that culture and the environment go hand in hand; one effects the other. More specifically, Leopald argues, suggests that our environment effects the way life is lived or in other words our culture; it may determine whether we wear clothes made out of buffalo hide, nor gator skin. He also argues/suggests the opposite which is that our culture can effect our environment; our culture at certain times may include more house building which would effect the forests’ tree supplies. He writes, “Wildlife has still value, now visible only to a few ecologists, but of potential importance to the whole human enterprise.” (pg. 375) In this passage Leopald is suggesting that environment effects culture and culture effects environment and that they have an irreplaceable and necessary connection. In conclusion, it’s Leopald’s belief that the environment has a great effect on the culture of the people around it and vice versa.

           In my view, Leopald is right because in history when no other resources were available, people had to live off the land/environment which would effect the type of lives they lived (their culture). For example, people today know how to hunt and enjoy hunting because their ancestors had to hunt in past times to survive when farming and the Industrial Revolution were not around yet. Therefore, I conclude my agreement with Aldo Leopald and believe that environment and culture go hand in hand and have great effects on each other.