The Influence of Aldo Leopold on Modern Resource Management and Conservation - Essay Example

They include the materials and energy that serves the needs of man in the society (McKinney, Schoch, & Yonavjak, 153). The naturally occurring materials like trees, soil, and water are all resources that are valued by man. There are those resources that can be replaced within a short duration and those that cannot be replaced within the short duration. These are referred to as renewable and non-renewable resources respectively (McKinney, Schoch, & Yonavjak, 153). Some of the non-renewable resources like coal may take thousands or millions of years to be replaced.

An important point to note for the resources is that the rate at which they are consumed often exceeds the rate of renewal and posing a challenge on their scarcity. On the other hand, there are some resources that are in large supply but the problem is how to harness and use it appropriately e.g. the solar energy (McKinney, Schoch, & Yonavjak, 153). The increasing size of human population is becoming a threat to the natural resources with a possibility of overexploitation of the resources. There is, therefore, a need to provide an alternative to this excess exploitation of natural resources (McKinney, Schoch, & Yonavjak, 153).

This brings in the concept of resource management. Resource management entails a controlled exploitation of the natural resources. It arises due to the fact the exploitation of natural resources has both costs and benefits. The big deal is to perform a cost-benefit analysis and develop a mechanism for proper use of the resources. Aldo Leopold was a philosopher, forester, and conservationist who played a key role in the establishment of wildlife management system in the United States. He was born towards the end of the nineteenth century and was brought up in Burlington (Austin College, para.9) He had an early interest in the natural resources and this would influence his future careers and profession.

He pursued forest related careers at various institutions