1.1 Environmental Value Systems Flashcards
Gaia Hypothesis
An idea put forward by James Lovelock in the 1970s likening the planet, or rather the biosphere to a vast self-regulating organism.
Its about big systems and interconnections.
James Lovelock
He’s the guy (an environmentalist and futurist) who in the 1970s coined the concept of Gaia.
Environmental Value System
A set of ethical and cultural beliefs that shape an individual’s or a society’s attitude and approach towards the environment.
Ecocentrist/Ecocentrism
finds inherent (intrinsic) value in all of nature. It takes a much wider view of the world than does anthropocentrism, which sees individual humans and the human species as more valuable than all other organisms.
Anthropocentrist/Antropocentrism
the belief that human beings are the central or most important entity on the planet.
Interprets the world in terms of human values and experiences. It is considered to be profoundly embedded in many modern human cultures and religions.
Technocentrist/Technocentrism
centered on technology and its ability to control and protect the environment.
Cornucopian
The Earth’s bounty knows no bounds.
An extreme form of technocentrism, which views the Earth’s resources, with the right technoligical tweaks as limitless
Environmental Manager
A mild form of technocentrism.
Environmental managers see the Earth as a garden that needs tending —the stewardship worldview.
Promote working to create change within the existing social and political structures.
Deep Ecologist
An extreme form of ecocentism.
Values Earth and environment over all; favors self-restraint and individual action; deep mistrust of technology
Soft Ecologist
self-sufficiency in resource management, but not as extreme as a deep ecologist
Intrinsic Value
The value of something independent of and regardless of its potential use to humans.
Think cultural, aesthetic, spiritual, philosophical values.
Biocentrist/Biocentrism
Individuals or groups who adhere to a philosophical perspective that places intrinsic value on all living beings and ecosystems.
Distinguished from ecocentrism in that it focuses on biotic parts of an environment
Biorights
The right held by species and landscapes to remain un-impacted by consumptive human activity.
Notable People of the Environment Movement:
Greta Thunberg
Teenager
Swedish
Climate activist
Notable People of the Environment Movement:
David Attenborough
British broadcaster, writer and naturalist.
Since the 50s has been brining nature into people’s living rooms.
Notable People of the Environment Movement:
Rachel Carson
Marine biologist, writer and conservationist….and whistle blower.
Her 1962 book silent spring drew attention to the biomagnification of persistent organic pollutants, like DDT, and inspired the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Notable People of the Environment Movement:
Henry David Thoreau
American writer (and ecocentrist), who first explored the idea of environmental consciousness in the mid 19th century
Notable People of the Environment Movement:
Charles Darwin
The natural selection and evolution guy. Wrote On the Origin of Species.
Darwin’s views challenged the doctrine of God having created “man”, and thus reduced “man” to a mere part of the environment (as opposed to its controller).
Notable People of the Environment Movement:
Theodore Roosevelt
US President (among many other colourful credits)
Expanded the American National Parks Service and protected lands in the US for the enjoyment of others.
Notable People of the Environment Movement:
Jane Goodall
Chimpanzee biologist
Helped pioneer modern species conservation techniques, including involvement of local people and knowledge.
Notable People of the Environment Movement:
Norman Borlaug
Nobel Peace Prize Winner (1970)
Green Revolution
Developed higher-yielding corn and other grain varieties to foster independence and survivorship in the developing world.
Environmental Accidents/Events:
Exxon Valdez (1989)
Oil spill off the coast of Alaska. Media coverage of oily birds spurned national action.
Environmental Accidents/Events:
Deepwater Horizon (2010)
A BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico exploded causing the largest marine oil spill in history.
Led to public awareness and stricter regulations on deepwater drilling.
Environmental Accidents/Events:
Bhopal (1984)
Chemical (gas) leak from pesticide factory in Bhopal, India killed 4000.
Emergence of concept of environmental accountability of corporate entities. Union Carbide, paid huge settlement and had to rehabilitate affected area.
Environmental Accidents/Events:
Minamata Bay (1950s)
Japan.
Residents suffered mercury poisoning after eating contaminated fish following industrial chemical spills.
Environmental Accidents/Events:
Chernobyl (1986)
Nuclear meltdown in the Ukraine.
Large exclusion area as a result of contamination.
Raised concern about the dangers of nuclear power and started a shift towards renewable energy.
Environmental Accidents/Events:
Fukushima (2011)
Nuclear accident following Japanese Tsunami
Large exclusion area as a result of contamination.
Environmental Accidents/Events:
Dust Bowl (1930s)
Swathes of the American West succumbed to drought following over-farming and unsustainable farming practices.
Environmental Accidents/Events:
Amazon Wildfires (2019)
Evidence of a changing climate.
An environmental wake-up call.
Environmental Accidents/Events:
Aral Sea (1960s-present)
Drying up of large inland sea following diversion of major rivers by the Soviet Union to irrigate crops
Notable People of the Environment Movement:
Al Gore
Former vice president of the US.
Produced a documentary in 2006 called An Inconvenient Truth, which brought global warming and climate change into the public consciousness.
