Draft 1

The Web of a Mountain;

The Science of Capra Vs. The Romance of Leopold

Aldo Leopold’s landmark book A Sand County Almanac contains a particular section, “Thinking Like A Mountain”, which relates greatly with Fritjof Capra’s epilogue to The Web Of Life. Here, both authors discuss the same concept, the natural balance of nature. Presentation and detail differ greatly between these two sources; however, to the core of each section there is a deep ecological message of balance and cooperation with nature.

The first sentence of Fritjof Capra’s epilogue to The Web of Life spells out its purpose, it reads, “Reconnecting with the web of life means building and nurturing sustainable communities in which we can satisfy our needs and aspirations without diminishing the chances of future generations” (citation). Aldo Leopold’s excerpt from A Sand County Almanac, “Thinking Like A Mountain”, delivers this message much more poetically and methodically. Leopold tells of the day he shot and killed a wolf; he says he reached the beast in time to “watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes” (citation). He goes on to say, “I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes – something known only to her and to the mountain” (citation). What Leopold came to realize was the nature balance of nature, in this case, that expiring the wolves from a mountain does not make for a deer hunters paradise, but for a barren, destroyed mountain due a predator-less deer population. The mountain needs wolves to keep it alive, same as the deer and wolves need the mountain to keep them alive. Of course, the interdependent relationship shared between wolves, deer, and the mountain can also be a kind of allegory to one of modern days greatest problems, mankind’s interdependent relationship with nature. There is little difference between the balance of deer on a mountain to people on the planet, and for the public to realize this idea is an important issue for both Capra and Leopold, however, again, they address this point differently.

Capra believes that in order to teach the masses that nature and people are connected in a web of life, as well as the importance of sustainability, the masses need to become “ecoliterate” (citation). Capra writes that ecoliteracy entails, “understanding the principles of organization of ecological communities (ecosystems) and using those principles for creating sustainable human communities” (citation). He believes that in order to accomplish this we must “revitalize our communities – including our educational communities, business communities, and political communities – so that the principles of ecology become manifest in them as principles of education, management, and politics” (citation). Aldo Leopold offers no such solution to achieving an ecology geared mindset, he only comments on mans lack of recognition towards ecological issues, he writes, “Perhaps this is behind Thoreau’s dictum: In wilderness is the salvation of the world. Perhaps this is the hidden meaning in the howl of the wolf, long known among mountains, but seldom perceived among men” (citation). Leopold suggests that the awareness of natural balance within nature is innate in the natural world; it’s something that has been “long known among mountains”. However, men remove themselves from nature, and thus, do not recognize this natural balancing act; it’s a message that is “seldom perceived among men”. Leopold believed men seldom perceived Capra’s later idea of “ecoliteracy” in observation of nature, and thus, that the world may perhaps soon look like a wolf-less mountain, distressed by the imbalance of the web of life. Understanding our ecological impact, as well as the idea of sustainability were/are important issues to these authors, but again, while Capra provides direct scientific insight and even a solution to these problems, Leopold only provides romantic prose in order to lead the reader to these ideas. However, Capra also goes on to suggest other ideas that may lead to an eco-friendly solution to mankind’s anthropocentric imbalance to this earth.

In his epilogue, Capra also advocates “ecotaxes” as another possible solution to our planets sustainability problem. Ecotaxes are taxes that “would be added to existing products, forms of energy, services, and materials, so that prices would better reflect the true costs” (citation). Capra says that implementing ecotaxs would be long-term and slow moving process, however, it would eventually drive wasteful products out of the market, as they would no longer become financially feasible to produce and turn a profit on.

Another solution Capra suggests maybe the most important, circumstance-changing idea of them all; a change of perception towards production. Capra is correct in his identification of industrial systems as linear systems. Leopold and Capra would both agree that the natural web of life, the ecosystem, works so efficiently because it is cyclical by nature; Capra breaks down the nature of cyclical systems in their most basic terms as he writes, “… All organisms in an ecosystem produce wastes, but what is waste for one species is food for another, so that the ecosystem as a whole remains without waste. Communities of organisms have evolved in this way over billions of years, continually using and recycling the same molecules of minerals, water, and air” (citation). A cyclical system is what our planet needs in order to become truly sustainable; however, we are an industrialized population, and thus, a linear system. Linear systems are not sustainable for many reasons, however, the greatest problems within linear systems are that they thrive on “competition, expansion, and domination” (citation), where as ecology or cyclical systems thrive on “cooperation, conservation, and partnership” (citation). A comparison of the three worlds best associated with linear systems and the three best associated with cyclical systems will plainly show that these two systems are at odds with each other; so in order to change our ways we must change our perception of production. No longer can mankind compete, expand, and dominate in order to produce for the masses. Capra suggests a change in our mindset is in order to guarantee the continued existence of future generations, Leopold would not disagree with these claims, however, “Thinking Like A Mountain” does not dive into these kinds of solutions. Leopold only identifies mankind’s lack of recognition towards natures natural sustainable balance, Capra goes further than this to actually suggests solutions to the problem, such as ecotaxes and a general change in mindset towards industrialized production.

Imagine that you are trying to get to a certain destination, and for the sake of this theoretical example, the destination is an understanding of the natural balance of nature. Fritjof Capra’s epilogue to “The Web of Life” would be an atlas, it will get you to your destination, as well as letting you know every in and out and detail of the surrounding roads leading to your destination. In the case of Aldo Leopold’s excerpt from A Sand County Almanac, “Thinking Like A Mountain”, the directions would be more like oral directions from your good buddy, again, they will get you to where you need to go, but you aren’t going to get the detail and the surrounding insight you would get from Capra’s atlas. Leopold’s oral directions bring you to the desired point, but they also let you explore the surroundings of that place and discover your own new pathways. Capra’s atlas tells you what and where everything is, and even reveals unseen roads to new, better places. Aldo Leopold’s “Thinking Like A Mountain” is a romantic depiction of the stream of thought that delivered Leopold’s mind to the natural sustainability and balance of nature. Capra’s epilogue to The Web Of Life reads more like a scientific journal, offering reason, acknowledgement of the problem, and even solutions. However, these two pieces both function brilliantly in their own arenas, and both produce thought provoking ideas and truths towards ecology and sustainable practices naturally found on our planet.