Dr. Seuss stated pointedly, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” I think a lot about what caring means as I wander in the park and wonder about the future of the planet.
I am reminded of a concept I learned early in my parks and recreation graduate education called carrying capacity. It relates to the number of people and other living organisms that an ecological area can support without environmental degradation. For outdoor space management, it addresses the number of people that can be sustained in an area before physical damage becomes omnipresent. Land managers have the responsibility to assess carrying capacity on public lands, and further it can be each person’s responsibility to bring to that land a caring capacity.
In 1968, ecologist Garrett Hardin explored a social dilemma in “The Tragedy of the Commons.” Hardin argued that individuals could not rely on themselves alone without considering the impact of their actions as a common concern. For example, if every individual felt he/she had the right to graze as many animals on a landscape as he/she wanted, the landscape soon would be decimated for everyone. If individuals act only in rational self-interest, resources will be depleted. The use of common resources for personal gain with no regard for others and the land cannot be sustained.
In the context of avoiding over-exploitation of common and natural resources, Hardin concluded freedom and necessity are linked. People are only free when they consider the impact of their actions on others. The linking of carrying capacity as determined by science with a caring capacity at the heart of individual behavior is necessary.
I love Rocky Mountain National Park and other public lands. I want them to be around for generations to come. Yet I fear that regardless of what management plans are developed to preserve natural resources, the element that must occur in tandem is the development and maintenance of a caring capacity by individuals who enjoy these resources. Caring is not just about kindness for others but also kindness for the land.
Caring, attention, affection, appreciation, and love are precious gifts to give. The challenge in a society that tends to value the individual more than the community is to nurture the caring capacity in each person to address common good. I believe humans are inherently virtuous and want to do the right thing. However, I continue to worry about what the future may hold for communities who do not have enough individuals who care about the land as well as about each other. I am striving for a whole lot of caring capacity in my own life as well as in the lives of others.
Karla,
Did you coin the term “caring capacity”? If so, I think you should write a journal article about it. If not (or even if you did), I wish I had coined it years ago. I love the concept. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Dan
Hello Dan. No, I did not coin the term but I honestly don’t know who to attribute it to. I was on a zoom seminar about a year ago and someone brought up the idea (I think it was a fellow from the UK) and it sorta morphed into quite a discussion. I wish I could claim it and I wish I knew who said it first, but I don’t. I love the idea. I doubt I will write a journal article, however. If you want to do that, have at it and perhaps I could contribute. I have never seen the idea in print so I don’t know how one cites a zoom seminar discussion!
So thoughtful and full of concern for the environment and others! Thank you, Karla. ANNE
Timely blog Karla. I would like to learn more about your statement, “I am striving for a whole lot of caring capacity in my own life as well as in the lives of others.”
I like this idea of carrying capacity and caring capacity… that’s a cool idea! And right on target!!