Environmental Perspectives Environmental Systems and Society Environmental Value

Environmental Perspectives Environmental Systems and Society

Environmental Value System The “world view” or set of paradigms that shape the ways that individuals and groups approach environmental issues.

Inputs and outputs Inputs: Media, religion, education, background, science, politics, economics Outputs: Decisions, perspectives, course of action

Environmental Perspectives Ecocentric Anthropocentric Technocentric (Nature Centered) Minimum disturbances to nature (people centered) People are managers of the Earth (Technology solves problems

Ecocentrism All life has inherent value We should not cause extinction of other species We should protect habitats and ecosystems Humans are not more important than other species Resources are limited We need the Earth more than it needs us.

Deep ecologists and Soft Technologists Deep Ecologists: Nature has more value than humanity. Biorights for all species Soft Technologists /Self-reliance Small scale, local community action Individuals make a difference

Anthropocentrism Humanity centered environmental perspective Nature is used to benefit mankind People from MEDC tend to be anthropocentric Humans are the most important species

Environmental Managers believe that humans can use the Earth’s resources while taking care of it. The Earth needs tending: Stewardship Governments legislate and protect the environment

Technocentrism Humanity center environmental perspective that places a lot of faith in technology. Humans control and manage resources Humans can solve any problem we cause, including pollution Economic growth is viewed as useful in solving environmental problems

Cornucopians are optimistic The world has infinite resources Technology and inventiveness can solve problems and increase living standards Earth is a spaceship and we are the crew!

Environmental attitudes questionaire Complete the questionaire on page 18 in the Course Companion in your notebook.

Chief Seattle “Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect. All are holy in the memory and experience of my people. “

Aldo Leopold, 1949 “ A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise. “ “We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect. ” Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

The Land Ethic The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land…. A land ethic of course cannot prevent the alteration, management, and use of these ‘resources, ’ but it does affirm their right to continued existence , and, at least in spots, their continued existence in a natural state. In short, a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land community to plain member and citizen of it. It implies respect for his fellow-members, and also respect for the community as such. ”

T. O’Riordan “The most serious, insidious danger in the environmental movement is that it may sap the will of advanced communities to face the problems which no doubt lie ahead. Throughout history, hope for the future has been a powerful incentive for constructive change. ” Maddox (1972) in Environmentalism T. O’Riordan

Rachel Carson "The most alarming of all man's assaults upon the environment is the contamination of air, earth, rivers, and sea with dangerous and even lethal materials. This pollution is for the most part irrecoverable; the chain of evil it initiates not only in the world that must support life but in living tissues is for the most part irreversible. In this now universal contamination of the environment, chemicals are the sinister and littlerecognized partners of radiation in changing the very nature of the world—the very nature of its life. ” Carson was the author of the book Silent Spring.

James Lovelock – The Gaia Hypothesis “A billion could live off the earth; 6 billion living as we do is far too many, and you run out of planet in no time. ” “ Any species that harms the environment to a point where it threatens its own progeny is doomed and will become extinct. . . and that's us. ”

Arnold Naess “We are living on an incredibly beautiful little planet, but our human existence is threatened. If we are to survive we have to learn to think differently. The thinking for the future has to be loyal to nature. It must encompass all humans and all living creatures, because everything alive, in itself, has a value. ” Naess is credited as the father of the deep ecology movement.

Mahatma Gandhi “The earth, the air, the land the water are not am inheritance from our fore fathers but on loan from our children. So we have to handover to them at least as it was handed over to us. ” “There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed. ”

George W. Bush "It would be helpful if we opened up ANWR (The Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge – a wilderness reserve). I think it's a mistake not to. And I would urge you all to travel up there and take a look at it and you can make the determination as to how beautiful that country is. ” Mar. 29, 2001

Barrack Obama “ One of the things I draw from the Genesis story is the importance of us being good stewards of the land, of this incredible gift. And I think there have been times where we haven’t been [good stewards], and this is one of those times where we’ve got to take the warning seriously [about climate change]. And part of what my religious faith teaches me is to take an intergenerational view, to recognize that we are borrowing this planet from our children and our grandchildren…. We have to find resources in ourselves to make sacrifices so we don’t leave it to the next generation. We’ve got to be less wasteful, both as a society and in our own individual lives … As president, I hope to rally the entire world around the importance of us being good stewards of the land. ” Source: 2008 Democratic Compassion Forum at Messiah College Apr 13, 2008

John Passmore “ To take our ecological crises seriously. . . is to recognize, first, man's utter dependence on nature, but secondly, nature's vulnerability to human depredations —the fragility, that is, of both man and nature, for all their notable powers of recuperation. And this means that neither man nor nature is sacred or quasi-divine. " Author of Man’s Responsibility for Nature 1974

Seymour Papert “I think there is good reason to believe that if everything were open, fewer bad things could happen. So give everyone the tools to observe and communicate what is happening. ” Papert is a mathematician, computer scientist and educator

Wes Jackson http: //www. npr. org/templates/story. php? story. Id= 113766846

GM crops Monsanto's commitments Find the video at the bottom of the page Monsanto's Committment to Sustainable Agriculture

Patagonia without dams Patagonia Sin Represas

Hans Rosling Gapminder 200 years that changed the world

And you? In your notebook, draw a table with two columns labelled “Ecocentric” and “Anthropocentric/Technocentric”. Complete the “To Do” assignment on page 22 in the Course Companion. Also copy and complete the “review table”