Great Idea but Needs More

Aldo Leopold argues that the fundamental reason that conservation attempts have been so unsuccessful in the past is because people are only willing to take conservative efforts when it is economically beneficial for them. He groups people into two categories: A and B. Those in category A, he claims sees the land and all non-human things that inhabit it as a commodity to be used for any purpose we choose. The other group sees the land as "biotica", or in other words a part of a larger living community. Leopold believes that would should strive to be a part of the second group, which respects nature and understands that importance of preserving it. Most people, unfortunately fall into category A. While I agree with Leopold that we should respect the earth and carefully consider how we use it, the question he fails the address adequately is how do we make people care about conservation?
Leopold offers interesting insight into why the land is important such as that it is a part of the larger biotic community. We do not yet fully comprehend what long-term affects our exploitation of the earth will have, and it is difficult to predict what benefits the vanishing species of flora and fauna will have in eventually repairing our world.
Yet Leopold gives no indication as to how we make people who are only interested in the economic value of the earth believe this notion and understand the importance of conservation. He acknowledges that the "evolution of a land ethic is and intellectual as well as an emotional process" (172). There must be a total change in mindset in order for Leopold's ideas about environmental conservation to be taken seriously and utilized by those who only see the instrumental value of the land. While I think that Aldo Leopold is on the right track when it comes to determining how the earth should be treated and why conservation has failed in the past, he needs to provide more guidance and instruction in order to make his dream of saving our planet a reality.