34. Foundations of a Water Ethic Aldo Leopold included water in his call for a land ethic. This community instinct-in-the-making would build an ecological conscience among everyone who uses land: A common-sense approach to right and wrong. Leopold’s son, the river hydrologist Luna Leopold , built upon his father’s ideas to call specifically for a water ethic. He articulated the ethic as a set of guiding beliefs for government, large water users and citizens .