Environmental History and Value Systems
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Transcript of Environmental History and Value Systems
Environmental History and Value Systems
7.1.1-7.1.6Videos – The Lorax
7.1.1 – State what is meant by an environmental value system
7.1.2 – Outline the range of environmental philosophies with reference
7.1.3 – Discuss how these philosophies influence the decision-making process with respect to environmental issues covered in this course
7.1.4 – Outline key historical influences on the development of the modern environmental movement
7.1.5 - Compare and contrast environmental value systems of two named societies
7.1.6 - Justify your personal viewpoint on environmental issues
Environmental History
In the US – frontier ethic dominates during 1700’s &1800’s
In 1800’s naturalists begin to voice concern
John James Audubon – painted birds and sparked interest
Henry David Thoreau – writer and naturalist who lived on Walden pond for 2 years
George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882) – wrote Man and Nature 1st discussion of humans as agents of environmental change
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) – 17.4 million acres of land protected
1872 – Yellowstone NP established world’s first NP
John Muir (1838-1914) est. Yosemite, Sequoia NPs and Sierra Club
Aldo Leopold (1886-1948) – Naturalist – A sand county almanac
Rachel Carson (1907-1964) – Silent Spring Garrett Hardin (1968) – Tragedy of the
Commons Paul Ehrlich (1968) – Population Bomb
Interactive timeline
http://blog.longnow.org/2007/08/10/environmental-history-timeline/
Environmental History of U.S. in the last 30 years
Top 10: Anthropogenic Environmental Disasters
n Sometimes we get a wake up call 1. Bhopal: the Union Carbide gas leak2. Chernobyl: Russian nuclear power plant explosion3. Seveso: Italian dioxin crisis4. The 1952 London smog disaster5. Major oil spills of the 20th and 21st century6. The Love Canal chemical waste dump7. The Baia Mare cyanide spill8. The European BSE crisis9. Spanish waste water spill10. The Three Mile Island near nuclear disaster
http://www.lenntech.com/environmental-disasters.htm
Bhopal disaster (1984, India)
Union Carbide pesticide plant released 42 tonnes of toxic methyl isocyanate gas 500,000 exposed, 8,000 dead within a week, >16,000 dead since
Chernobyl Meltdown (1986
Ukraine)
Reactor tests conductedRequired shutdown of
safety systems
Cooling system failureLeading to meltdownExplosion releasing
radioactive cloud
Permanent evacuation in 30
km radiusEventual deaths 8,000-
400,000
Now?
Contained not Cleaned
Mercury and Minamata 1950’s Japan Suddenly people
develop acute mercury poisoning – numbness, muscle weakness, coma death
Minamata disease – 2,300 officially recognized victims
Chisso corporation dumping methyl mercury into local bay
Biomagnification of Hg through food chain into people
Whaling Historically hunted
for blubber, whale oil
Now hunted for meat
International Whaling commission forms in 1946 – moratorium in 1986
Now whaling by Inuits & Norway & Iceland (legitimate?) & Japan (Scientific?)
Extinct Critically Endangered
Endangered Vulnerable Lower Risk(Conservation
Dependent)
Lower risk(Near
Threatened)
Lower Risk(Least
Concern)
None*•Blue Whale(ANTARCTIC)[48] •Gray WhaleNorthwest Pacific population(cf. Northeast Pacific population)[49]
•Blue Whale[50] •Fin Whale[51] •North Pacific Right Whale
[52] •North Atlantic Right Whale
[53] •Sei Whale[54]
•Beluga[55] •Blue Whalemusculus subspecies - Atlantic population[56] •Sperm Whale[57]
•Antarctic Minke Whale
•Arnoux's Beaked Whale
•Baird's Beaked Whale
•Blue Whale(North Pacific)[58] •Bowhead Whale[59] •Gray WhaleNortheast Pacific population[60] •Northern Bottlenose Whale
•Southern Bottlenose Whale
•Short-finned Pilot Whale
•Southern Right Whale
[61]
•Minke Whale
[62] •Dwarf Sperm Whale
[63] •Pygmy Right Whale
•Long-finned Pilot Whale
•Humpback Whale
[64] •Pygmy Sperm Whale
[65] •Melon-headed Whale
•Gray Whale (species)[62]
• Atlantic population of Gray Whale went extinct in late 17th Century. It is not listed as a part of IUCN's red list. [41]
Once we’re awake (aware)
Growth of environmental pressure groups – Greenpeace, Sea Sheppard
Function locally and globally Development of Environmental Stewardship Increased media coverage increased
awareness of issues
These events
Help us to establish our environmental value systems
This is a world view or set of paradigms that shapes the way an individual or group perceives and evaluates environmental issues
Influenced by cultural, religious, economic and socio-political factors
Environmental Values as a system
Input – education, cultural dogma, religious doctrines, media
Transfers and Transformations – Processing of information, thinking, discussion, regurgitation
Outputs – decisions, perspectives, courses of action
Value Systems can beGrouped into a spectrum Of Philosophies
Know / Understand figure 6
Be able to outline the range
The continuum
Ecocentrism
Anthropocentrism
Technocentrism
Deep Ecologists
Soft Ecologists
Environmental Managers
Cornucopians
Pick a world view and from that standpoint describe what you see
The influence of these philosophies
We will look back to this as we move forward in the course
Some examples look to our presidents Carter progressive environmental policy to get us
off of oil Reagan crushes solar energy industry Bush 1 reauthorized clean air act but Gulf war was
one of the worst environmental disasters in history Clinton good – increased preserve area, pollution
standards; bad – NAFTA, subsidizing SUV era of US automakers
Bush 2 Works to weaken environmental regulations on businesses – loosening scrubber requ.
Obama Blocks mountain top coal mining
Historical Clashes of Worldviews
Native Americans (first nation americans) vs. European Pioneers
Buddhist vs. Judeo-christian Societies Communist vs. capitalist societies
Native Americans Deep respect for the natural world Thought of themselves as part of it not
lords over it Much of their religion was tied to nature so
spiritual connection as well
Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the
last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.
~ Cree Indian Proverb ~
European Pioneers Frontier economics Exploitation of seemingly unlimited resources Becomes Manifest destiny – expansion not
only good but obvious and certain
Justify your personal viewpoint on environmental issues
-Where do you stand on the continuum of philosophies?
Does it change with the specific issue For example does your stance on
population control put you in the same area as your stance on resource exploitation or sustainable development
We will answer this question again at the end of the course as well
Sites of interest
http://www.foxriverwatch.com/nrda/bush_record.html - Bush 2’s environmental record