Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac

With his book A Sand County Almanac, forestry scientist and wildlife researcher Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) was one of the first to explore the ethics of sustainability. His work strongly influenced the traditional American environmental movement and later, sustainability discourse. Leopold, who was influenced by American transcendentalists such as Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, as well as conservationist John Muir, stressed the importance of biological diversity and argued in favor of a “land ethic,” in which “a thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” His concepts became highly influential for future conservationists, as well as for modern environmental movements.