Aldo Leopold writing at “the shack” in Wisconsin in the 1940s INSTRUCTIONS
For this exam, you will prepare four separate essay responses (grouped in one Word
document, with each essay numbered) to the set of questions on the next page. In
general, each of the four questions requires a 2.5 - 3 page essay (typed, double-spaced,
12 pt. font, 1 inch margins) to answer effectively. The overall page count for the exam
should therefore be 10-12 pages. Do not add a cover page.
The best essays will be detailed and thorough (answering all parts of each question), as
well as clearly and cleanly presented (i.e., well-written, spell-checked, etc.). You do not
need to provide a separate bibliography as long as you make it clear in your in-text
citations where the material in question was taken from, e.g.: (Leopold, p. 130).
You will submit your exams through the course site in the “Assignments” folder via
SafeAssign, which is a plagiarism detection software tool (it also checks submitted exams
against one another). So just a reminder: do your own work and make sure to cite any
lines of text that are taken from another source!
EXAM QUESTIONS
1. Over the decades, scientists from Rachel Carson (Silent Spring) and Paul Ehrlich (The
Population Bomb) to E.O. Wilson have alarmed readers with their predictions of environmental
catastrophe. In your essay, briefly summarize each of their concerns (drawing on the assigned
readings, lectures, and videos from Unit 1). In what ways does the environmental scientist Erle
Ellis challenge the alarmism and catastrophic views of environmentalists like Carson, Ehrlich 1 and Wilson in his New York Times op-ed essay on population and human environmental
impacts? Do you think Ellis’s disagreement with the traditional environmental crisis
worldview is mainly a scientific dispute about biological realities and facts on the ground, or is it
ultimately more of a difference in environmental values/ethics? Defend your answer. Rachel Carson was an experienced biologist who gained attention through her book Silent
Spring. Her book focused on the negative aspects of the pesticide DDT and its widespread use.
She shed a light on the chemical on how it has staying power and its “breakdown products”
which wreak havoc in our body if ingested. The book also focused on anti-environmental human
ethics which permitted this use. This ethic, called the “Neanderthal philosophy” focused on
irresponsible dominion over nature through one main goal which is profit (Carson, 297). But
overall, there were 3 types of environmental ethics that Carson and her book projected. The first
was the protection of our well-being against “biocides” such as DDT. The second talks about
moral or “intrinsic” values that other organisms have. The third then talks about conservation
and preservation of our environments.
Paul Ehrlich is another biologist which also gained attention through his beliefs and book
The Population Bomb. He had a very alarming belief that if reproduction was left unchecked, it
would overcrowd the earth and drain food supplies bringing forth catastrophe in all levels. This
argument stems from the well-known Malthusian growth or exponential growth model which
shows that population is limited by supplies naturally.
E. O. Wilson 2. Based on your reading and the lecture material, what exactly did Lynn White mean when he
wrote (in his essay, “The Historical Roots of our Ecologic Crisis”) that Christianity was one of the
most “anthropocentric” religions the world has seen -- and what evidence did he offer to support
this judgment? As we’ve seen, scholars and theologians have since challenged White’s views in
this essay, arguing instead that there are other ideas in the Judeo-Christian tradition that are more
suitable for building a respectful ethical attitude toward nature. What are these ideas? [Here you
should refer directly to the relevant readings in Moral Ground for the environment & religion
discussion in Unit 1, i.e., at least two of the following essays: McFague, Borg, Robinson, Kaplan, 2 Perry.] Do these alternative ideas about religion and the environment in Moral Ground provide a
significant challenge to the anthropocentrism of Western religion? Why/why not?
3. Two of the readings from Moral Ground that we’ve emphasized in the lecture videos are the
essays by Alan Weisman (“Obligation to Posterity?”) and Derrick Jensen (“You Choose”). Discuss
the main differences between the essays regarding their strategies for changing societal attitudes
and behaviors toward the environment. Which approach, Weisman’s or Jensen’s, do you believe
is ultimately the most likely to succeed in achieving its goals, and why? If you choose Weisman,
tell us why we shouldn’t be worried by his lack of attention to the deeper moral concern for nature
articulated by Jensen. If you choose Jensen, tell us why we shouldn’t be worried that he seems to
ignore many pragmatic realities about human interests and motivations in his argument. Finally,
and drawing from the lecture material and readings for Unit 2, discuss whether the perspective
you’ve chosen (i.e., Weisman’s or Jensen’s) is fundamentally an anthropocentric or
nonanthropocentric argument -- and tell us why you’ve drawn this conclusion.
4. Aldo Leopold, in his essays “Prairie Birthday,” “Marshland Elegy,” and “On a Monument to the
Pigeon” (all of which appear in A Sand County Almanac), talks about how our notions of progress,
civilization, and development have led to ecological losses that should concern all of us deeply. In
your essay, a) briefly summarize the main arguments of these three essays and especially their
conclusions about our impacts on the natural world; and b) tell us whether you believe Leopold is
arguing for the widespread adoption of a biocentric/ecocentric environmental ethic or a more
anthropocentric perspective on the human-nature relationship in these three essays. Explain and
defend your answer. 3

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