introduction

Ansel Adams (1902-1984) was an American photographer and environmentalist who had a spirituality deeply connected to the natural world. In his book The Portfolios Of Ansel Adams (1981), he says “I know of no sculpture, painting or music that exceeds the compelling spiritual command of the soaring shape of granite cliff and dome.”[fn][[nid:695]][/fn]

Aldo Leopold (1887-1948), (left, with naturalist Olaus Murie) was an American ecologist famous for the ‘land ethic’ he proposed in his book A Sand County Almanac (1949). Leopold believed we must change our characters from “conqueror of the land-community” to “plain member and citizen of it”; only then will we respect all creatures of the natural world as our “fellow members” in a shared community.[fn][[nid:684]][/fn]

Dr. Vandana Shiva is an Indian physicist and environmental activist who opposes the idea that nature has only instrumental value, as in the development of genetically modified organisms (GMO’s). See this video for a presentation of her ideas and opposition to GMO’s. [fn][[nid:682]][/fn]