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Paper Three

bromeliad1.jpg (23226 bytes) 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:

  1. Explain what a "social trap" involves.
  2. Explain from Orr's Perspective,   why "markets" & "mainstream economics" necessarily result in social traps.
  3. Identify what options Orr provides to avoid falling into "social traps."
  4. Clarify the role of "ecological literacy" in solving the problems endemic to mainstream economic forces, and
  5. 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

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