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Environmental Worldviews, Ethics, and Sustainability

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1 Environmental Worldviews, Ethics, and Sustainability
25 Environmental Worldviews, Ethics, and Sustainability

2 Core Case Study: Biosphere 2 – A Lesson in Humility
Constructed near Tucson, Arizona Designed to mimic the earth’s natural chemical recycling systems Many unexpected problems Life-support system issues Some successes Waste and wastewater recycled

3 Figure 25-1: Biosphere 2, constructed near Tucson, Arizona, was designed to be a self-sustaining life-support system. Fig. 25-1, p. 684

4 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?
Major environmental worldviews differ on which is more important—human needs and wants, or the overall health of ecosystems and the biosphere

5 There Are a Variety of Environmental Worldviews
How people think the world works and what they think their role should be Environmental ethics Beliefs about behavior is right and what behavior is wrong with regard to the environment

6 Environmental Worldviews
Planetary Management ■ We are apart from the rest of nature and can manage nature to meet our increasing needs and wants. ■ Because of our ingenuity and technology, we will not run out of resources. ■ The potential for economic growth is essentially unlimited. ■ Our success depends on how well we manage the earth's life- support systems mostly for our benefit. Stewardship ■ We have an ethical responsibility to be caring managers, or stewards, of the earth. ■ We will probably not run out of resources, but they should not be wasted. ■ We should encourage environmentally beneficial forms of economic growth and discourage environmentally harmful forms. ■ Our success depends on how well we manage the earth's life- support systems for our benefit and for the rest of nature. ■ Resources are limited and should not be wasted. Environmental Wisdom ■ We are a part of and totally dependent on nature, and nature exists for all species. ■ We should encourage earth- sustaining forms of economic growth and discourage earth-degrading forms. ■ Our success depends on learning how nature sustains itself and integrating such lessons from nature into the ways we think and act. Figure 25-2: Comparison of three major environmental worldviews (Concept 25-1). Questions: Which of these descriptions most closely fits your worldview? Which of them most closely fits the worldviews of your parents? Stepped Art Fig. 25-2, p. 685

7 Most People Have Human-Centered Environmental Worldviews
Two human-centered worldviews Planetary management worldview We can and should manage the earth for our own benefit No-problem school Free-market school Spaceship-earth school Stewardship worldview We have an ethical responsibility to be caring stewards

8 Case Study: Managing Public Lands in the United States
35% of the country’s land is managed by the federal government National Forest System Bureau of Land Management U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Park System National Wilderness Preservation System

9 Case Study: Managing Public Lands in the United States (cont’d.)
Four principles should govern use of public lands and their resources: Primary use for protecting biodiversity No subsidies for using or extracting resources Fair compensation for use of land Fully culpability for environmental damage caused by users

10 Case Study: Managing Public Lands in the United States (cont’d.)
Developers wish to open more federal lands: Sell public lands to private corporations or individuals Slash federal funding related to public lands Cut diverse old-growth forests Open national parks to oil and gas drilling Eliminate the National Park Service

11 Can We Manage the Earth? Criticism of the human-centered worldviews
Wrongly assumes we can be good stewards We do not know enough about the earth

12 Some Environmental Worldviews Are Life-Centered and Others are Earth-Centered
Inherent or intrinsic value of all forms of life Environmental wisdom worldview We are all part of the community of life and the ecological processes that sustain all life The earth does not need our management

13 Biosphere Biodiversity) Ecosystems All species on earth
All people on earth Nation Figure 25-6: Levels of ethical concern: People disagree about how far we should extend our ethical concerns on this scale. Question: How far up this scale would you extend your ethical concerns? Community and friends Family Self Fig. 25-6, p. 689

14 Figure 25-7: The earth flag is a symbol of commitment to promoting environmental and economic sustainability by working with the earth at the individual, local, national, and international levels. Question: Explain why you agree or disagree with the earth-centered worldview. Fig. 25-7, p. 690

15 25-2 What Is the Role of Education in Living More Sustainably?
The first step to living more sustainably is to become environmentally literate

16 We Can Become More Environmentally Literate
Three foundations of environmental literacy: Natural capital matters Our ecological footprints are immense and growing rapidly Ecological and climate tipping points: irreversible and should never be crossed Requires answering key questions and having basic understanding of key topics

17 Figure 25.8 Achieving environmental literacy involves being able to answer certain questions and having an understanding of certain key topics (Concept 25-2). Question: After taking this course, do you feel that you can answer the questions asked here and have a basic understanding of each of the key topics listed in this figure? Fig. 25-8a, p. 691

18 Figure 25.8 Achieving environmental literacy involves being able to answer certain questions and having an understanding of certain key topics (Concept 25-2). Question: After taking this course, do you feel that you can answer the questions asked here and have a basic understanding of each of the key topics listed in this figure? Fig. 25-8b, p. 691

19 We Can Learn from the Earth
Formal environmental education Is it enough? We have much to learn from nature: Ecological, aesthetic, and spiritual values of nature

20 Figure 25-9: Solar cells provide this Mongolian family with electricity in their yurt, or hut. The yurt and solar cells can be moved easily to support their nomadic way of life. Fig. 25-9, p. 692

21 Figure 25-10: An important way to learn about and appreciate nature is to experience its beauty, power, and complexity firsthand. This involves understanding that we are part of—and not apart from or in charge of—nature. Fig , p. 693

22 25-3 How Can We Live More Sustainably?
We can live more sustainably by: Becoming environmentally literate, learning from nature Living more simply and lightly on the earth Becoming active environmental citizens

23 We Can Live More Simply and Lightly on the Earth
Ethical guidelines: Apply principles such as the principles of sustainability Protect the earth’s natural capital Use matter and energy resources efficiently Protect biodiversity Leave the earth in as good condition as we found it, or better

24 We Can Live More Simply and Lightly on the Earth (cont’d.)
Voluntary simplicity Learn to live with less Start by asking “How much is enough?” Living more sustainably is not easy Change the way we think about, and act in, the world Mental traps: Gloom-and-doom pessimism Blind technological optimism

25 Reduce meat consumption
Food Transportation Reduce meat consumption Reduce car use by walking, biking, carpooling, car-sharing, and using mass transit Buy or grow organic food and buy locally grown food Drive an energy-efficient vehicle Home Energy Use Insulate your house, plug air leaks, and install energy-efficient windows Resource Use Reduce, reuse, recycle, compost, replant, and share Figure 25-14: Living more lightly: Eight ways to shrink our ecological footprints (Concept 25-3). Questions: Which of these things do you already do? Which, if any, do you hope to do? Use energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, lights, and appliances Use renewable energy resources whenever possible Fig , p. 696

26 Case Study: Rebuilding Greensburg, Kansas – From Ruin to Sustainability
2007 – massive tornado destroyed town Citizens proposed rebuilding as a more sustainable community By 2012, town has more LEED Platinum certified new buildings per capita than any other U.S. city K-12 school building uses 72% less energy than a comparable conventional building

27 Figure 25-15: After a tornado devastated most of Greensburg, Kansas (left), the town rebuilt its houses and buildings with a focus on energy efficiency, reliance on wind power, and other elements of sustainability. One result was the new LEED Platinum–certified K–12 school (right). Fig , p. 697

28 We Can Bring About a Sustainability Revolution in Your Lifetime
Increase energy efficiency Shift to renewable energy resources Stabilize climate change Stop destroying forests Produce food more sustainably Reuse or recycle 80% of the solid wastes we produce Reconnect and work with the biosphere

29 Sustainability Emphasis
Current Emphasis Sustainability Emphasis Energy and Climate Direct and indirect solar energy Fossil fuels Energy waste Energy efficiency Climate disruption Climate stabilization Matter High resource use and waste Less resource use Consume and throwaway Reduce, reuse, and recycle Waste disposal and pollution control Waste prevention and pollution prevention Figure 25-16: Solutions: Some of the cultural shifts in emphasis that scientists say will be necessary to bring about a sustainability revolution. Questions: Which of these shifts do you think are most important? Why? Life Deplete and degrade natural capital Protect natural capital Reduce biodiversity Protect biodiversity Population growth Population stabilization Fig , p. 699

30 Change Time More Sustainable Living Unsustainable Living
Environmental Concerns Protecting natural capital Sustaining biodiversity Repairing ecological damage Addressing climate change Social Trends Reducing waste Using less Living more simply Reusing and recycling Growth of eco- cities and eco-neighborhoods Environmental justice Environmental literacy Economic Tools Full-cost pricing Micro-lending Green subsidies Green taxes Cap and trade Net energy analysis Technologies Pollution prevention Organic farming Drip irrigation Solar desalinization Energy efficiency Solar energy Wind energy Geothermal energy Environmental nanotechnology Ecoindustrial parks Figure 25-17: The concerns, trends, tools, and technologies listed under this curve of exponential growth could all be parts of a major shift toward sustainability. These agents of change are growing slowly, but at some point, some or all of them could take off, round the J-curve of exponential growth, and bring about a sustainability revolution within your lifetime. Questions: Which two items in each of these four categories do you believe are the most important to promote? What other items would you add to this list? Time Fig , p. 700

31 Three Big Ideas Our environmental worldviews play a key role in how we treat the earth that sustains us, and thus, in how we treat ourselves We need to become more environmentally literate about: How the earth works How we are affecting its life-support systems that keep us and other species alive What we can do to live more sustainably

32 Three Big Ideas (cont’d.)
Living more sustainably means: Learning from nature Living more lightly Becoming active environmental citizens who leave small environmental footprints on the earth

33 Tying It All Together: Biosphere 2 and Sustainability
Biosphere 2 created a microcosm to help us understand how to live sustainably The takeaway: nature is complex Our lives depend on natural capital We need to reuse and recycle We need to depend on renewable energy resources We need to mimic biodiversity

34 Tying It All Together: Biosphere 2 and Sustainability (cont’d.)
We need to look for win-win solutions Satisfying the largest number of individuals while minimizing environmental harms Example: paying more for the harmful environmental and health costs of our goods and services We need to band together as individuals to make progress


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