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Paper Three
Social Traps, Land Ethics, & Your Response: Orr & Leopold
Paper three is due on Class Eight. David Orr's Ecological Literacy and Aldo Leopold's "The Land Ethic" display a number of convergent or complementary ideas. One of the most important of these is the idea that the principles of "mainstream economics" as well as the assumption that "self-interest" and the desire for personal profit are humanity's principal motivations, hamper the development of an environmentally sustainable ethic.
This writing assignment asks you to write a paper in which you do the following:
- Explain what a "social trap" involves.
- Explain from Orr's Perspective, why "markets" & "mainstream economics" necessarily result in social traps.
- Identify what options Orr provides to avoid falling into "social traps."
- Clarify the role of "ecological literacy" in solving the problems endemic to mainstream economic forces, and
- Explain how Leopold's "land ethic" relates to the role the Orr portrays of how "ecological literacy" can contribute to environmental sustainability.
Address these issues in a paper of approximately 4 pages in length that is typed and double-spaced.
Your Paper will be evaluated according to the criteria presented by the assessment rubric and by your section instructor.
Recommended: Elements of Style, William Strunk and E.B. White, Macmillan, N.Y., 1979
Grading: See scoring Rubric for Short Papers
Due: Session 8