Editing Land ethic (section)

==Ecologically based land ethic==

Land ethics may also be based upon the principle that the land (and the organisms that live off the land) has intrinsic value. These ethics are, roughly, based on an [[ecological]] or [[systems thinking|systems view]]. This position was first put forth by Ayers Brinser in ''Our Use of the Land'', published in 1939. Brinser argued that white settlers brought with them "the seeds of a civilization which has grown by consuming the land, that is, a civilization which has used up the land in much the same way that a furnace burns coal.”{{citation needed|date=April 2018}} Later, [[Aldo Leopold]]'s posthumously published ''[[A Sand County Almanac]]'' (1949) popularized this idea.

Another example is the [[deep ecology]] view, which argues that human communities are built upon a foundation of the surrounding ecosystems or the biotic communities and that all life is of inherent worth.<ref>Naess, Arne (1973) "The Shallow and the Deep, Long-Range Ecology Movement." ''Inquiry'' 16: 95-100</ref> Similar to egalitarian-based land ethics, the above land ethics were also developed as alternatives to utilitarian and libertarian-based approaches. Leopold's ethic is one of the most popular ecological approaches in the early 21st century. Other writers and theorists who hold this view include [[Wendell Berry]] (b. 1934), [[N. Scott Momaday]], [[J. Baird Callicott]], [[Paul B. Thompson (philosopher)|Paul B. Thompson]], and [[Barbara Kingsolver]].