Student Name

Teacher
G.A. English 12
7 October 2016
Product Redesign
We think about nature and land as resources ready to be taken, when in reality they are
things that are part of this world, in your life and mine. Aldo Leopold was an American
philosopher that believed in land ethic, and Milton Friedman was an American economist who
believed in a free-market. Both who had their beliefs, but how it is used today affects the way we
might think of such things like, bottled water. For that reason we must use Leopold's idea of how
we must consider land and nature as part of our community, with basic rights, and the right to
keep on existing.
Water is an essential basic need that all humans need to survive. Companies such as
Crystal Geyser Alpine Spring water bottle water and sell for profit. It's not the best way of using
the natural resource available. According to Toms Bosque, it takes three times more water to
make the bottle itself, than it does to fill it. Crystal Geysers company extracts the water directly
from the aquifer and spring water source. The Groundwater Foundation says that surface and
groundwater are connected and if the water is with-drawled at fast rates, this causes the water to
deplete in vast amounts leaving rivers, lakes and streams to diminish. The general concept here is
that we should not bottle water for profit, but for the reason that we need water to drink because
it is a fundamental human need.
Leopold's argument about nature is that it too has a moral value. He wants us to consider
land as it exists, with love, respect, admiration, and value. He wants us to value the land that

exists, not just to view it as only having an economic value. He argues, When one of these noneconomic categories is threatened, and if we happen to love it, we invent subterfuges to give it
economic importance (Leopold 870). Leopold tells us that we only care for the things that are
valuable to us or have meaning to us. If they have meaning such as value, then they are worth
protecting. Leopold also would like that we view nature as part of our community, and that it too
has rights, just as we have rights. Leopold wants us to no longer see land as a resource that just
makes us money, food, and comfort but something that is precious and part of this ecosystem that
should not be harmed. As he points out, The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the
community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land (Leopold 866).
The land ethic affirms their right to continued existence and our relation to land in a nature state
of being, with care.
Friedman talks about how there cannot be political freedom without there having to be
economic freedom. As he points out, The kind of economic organization that provides economic
freedom directly, namely, competitive capitalism, also promotes political freedom because it
separates economic power from political power and in this way enables the one to offset the
other (Friedman 16). They both go hand in hand. That is why both are essential to have
freedom. Friedman also points out the various instances where economics will play a role of
freedom to choose what one desires. He argues how, A citizen of the United States who under
the laws of various states is not free to follow the occupation of his choosing unless he can get a
license for it (Friedman 16). For economic reasons, the citizen would have to pay for their
studies to achieve his or her license for that occupation, not permitted to do otherwise unless he
or she pays the money for studies to obtain that license. Its bad because if one doesnt have the
money for the studies than they are giving no choice but to quit.

The justification for why Leopold is correct, is because he firmly believes that land itself
is a fellow citizen with basic rights just as any of us have, and we should seek to protect it. We
should seek to preserve and protect our limited water because we only have so much left in the
world that we can use. His main point here is that, ...land ethic changes the role of Homo
sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it(Leopold 866).
This shows when we are all plain members of a community, we will exhibit respect for one
another, exhibit knowing how the community works as a whole, knowing what and who is
valuable and what is worthless in the community. With land being part of the community, it
assures it protection from people who are willing to destroy it for profit. They might not
understand that preserving some of the land creates safe zones for our natural resources, one
being the water we take for granted. As he points out, Conservation is a state of harmony
between men and land (Leopold 868). If we are able to conserve just a minimal of the land, we
are insuring our well being to survive for generations and generation to come.
Friedman believes in having economic freedom. Although I grant that ...economic
freedom, in and of itself, is an extremely important part of total freedom, I still maintain that,
allowing all people to freely do as they please and control their own labor and property is risky;
not every single person will have good intention on how they will operate their business
(Friedman 16). Some people might take advantage and exploit their land to hardship,
contributing to land destruction. Some who operate water companies might extract huge levels of
water from surface or underground water, not conserving some to flow downstream to other
bodies of water, leaving those bodies of water exposed to become drought areas. An article by
Leighton Woodhouse Capital & Main tells of LADWP that began pumping the valleys
groundwater until all but a single major spring had run dry. The extraction of water leads to the

death of wildlife and plants growing in those areas. While it is true that The kind of economic
organization that provides economic freedom directly, namely, competitive capitalism, also
promotes political freedom because it separates economic power from political power and in this
way enables the one to offset the other, it does not necessarily follow that there will be laws put
in, in limiting their power, as well as putting in land conservation laws (Friedman 16).
The Crystal Geyser redesign takes in account Leopolds idea of protecting nature. The
redesign will be a better improved bottle that will no longer be made out of plastic but glass.
Glass bottles that will be food-grade safe or GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe). The Glass
Packaging Institute says that glass is one-hundred percent recyclable, and the recycled glass
reduces emissions and consumption of raw minerals because it can be reused almost indefinitely,
and extends the life of plant equipment, while saving energy. All while saving over a ton of
natural resources for every ton of glass recycled says the Glass Packaging Institute. It also uses
up to ninety-five percent raw materials, such as sand, soda ash, limestone and cullet (recycled
glass). These are raw materials that are nontoxic to the environment, thus protecting the
environment.
To conclude, what we do to conserve water and land is up to us. We can choose to follow
Friedmans idea of using land for profit or choose to follow Leopold's idea and give land and
nature the right to existence. In all, we must preserve to protect all we can, for land is all that is
left.

MLA Citation
(How much water it takes to make a bottle)
Bosque, Toms. "15 Outrageous Facts About The Bottled Water Industry." Ban the Bottle RSS.
N.p., 3 Nov. 2011. Web. 7 Oct. 2016. <https://www.banthebottle.net/articles/15-outrageous-factsabout-the-bottled-water-industry/>.

(Effects of depleting groundwater)

"Groundwater Overuse." Groundwater Overuse. The Groundwater Foundation, Web. 7 Oct.
2016. <http://www.groundwater.org/get-informed/groundwater/overuse.html>.

(Drought areas)
Reilly, Mollie. "How A Bottled Water Plant Is Making The Water Crisis Worse For This
California Region." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 20 May 2015. Web. 7 Oct.
2016. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/20/owens-valley-water_n_7345100.html>.

(Mt. Shasta Crystal Geyser)

Woodhouse, Leighton. "Life in Time of Drought: Will Mount Shasta Bottle Its Water for Profit?
Capital & Main." Life in Time of Drought: Will Mount Shasta Bottle Its Water for Profit?
Capital & Main. Capital & Main, 11 May 2015. Web. 7 Oct. 2016.
<http://capitalandmain.com/life-time-drought-will-mount-shasta-bottle-water-profit>.

(Reason why plastic bottle is bad)

"Bottled Water Facts." Ban the Bottle RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2016.
<https://www.banthebottle.net/bottled-water-facts/>.

(Food-grade safe)
Samantha. "Quick Question Monday : Is My Glass Bottle And Plastic Bottle Food-Grade Safe?"
O.Berk. O.Berk Company, LLC, 2 Mar. 2015. Web. 7Oct. 2016.
<http://www.oberk.com/packaging-crash-course/quick-question-monday-is-my-glass-bottle-andplastic-bottle-food-grade-safe>.