spencer thinking like a muntain

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Summary of “Thinking Like a Mountain”

Aldo Leopold’s essay, “Thinking Like a Mountain” shines light on a prominent issue amongst the ecosystem concerning the importance of a single organism. Leopold attempts to help the reader understand the importance of all animals in the ecosystem by allowing a wolf, deer, and a mountain to represent the ecosystem and how changes amongst them cause adverse effects on each other. Leopold recounts of the killing of a wolf and seeing a "fierce green fire" die in its eyes, this became a transformational moment in his life causing him to rethink the beliefs he had grown up with. By connecting the wolf’s death to the health of the mountain he was inspired to promote the idea that all predators matter to the ecosystem. He believed then that all native organisms are critical to the health of the land, if any change occurs in one part of the circuit, many parts will have to adjust to it and if something is removed the consequence can be detrimental. The essay highlights the idea that all living things on earth have a purpose and that everything is interdependent of each other.
Every organism has a role to play in the ecosystem and each one has it effects on others. To explain this idea leopard begins by describing the howl of the wolf: “A deep chesty bawl echoes from rimrock to rimrock, rolls down the mountain, and fades into the far blackness of the night. It is an outburst of wild defiant sorrow, and of contempt for all the adversities of the world. Every living thing (and perhaps many a dead one as well) pays heed to that call.” Leopold is explaining how the howl of the wolf means different things to different organisms in the ecosystem. The howl is not simply just a call of the wolf, it generates d...

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... that during that time was not very prominent. He took steps to learn about it so that he could help other people understand.

In conclusion Leopold explains the importance of the wolf and its effects on others. In doing this it is clear that each part of the ecosystem plays an important role and the effects that each single organism have on one another are grand. Leopold personifies the mountain so that people can think objectively about the environment and act in a way that doesn’t do harm to it. Humans have become alienated from the rest of nature and Leopold want everybody to understand that we are all part of a big interconnected system. Leopold does not want us parallel his youthful actions by continuing to be ignorant towards the environment and in writing this essay he is able to help educate people.

Works Cited

http://www.eco-action.org/dt/thinking.html

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