1. © Cengage Learning 2015 LIVING IN THE ENVIRONMENT, 18e G. TYLER MILLER SCOTT E. SPOOLMAN © Cengage Learning 2015 25 Environmental Worldviews, Ethics, and Sustainability

2. © Cengage Learning 2015 1991 – Biosphere 2 –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 Core Case Study: Biosphere 2 – A Lesson in Humility

3. © Cengage Learning 2015 Fig. 25-1, p. 684

4. © Cengage Learning 2015 Major environmental worldviews differ on which is more important—human needs and wants, or the overall health of ecosystems and the biosphere 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?

5. © Cengage Learning 2015 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 There Are a Variety of Environmental Worldviews

6. Environmental Worldviews ■ 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. 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. Stepped Art 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. Fig. 25-2, p. 685

7. © Cengage Learning 2015 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 Most People Have Human-Centered Environmental Worldviews

8. © Cengage Learning 2015 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 Case Study: Managing Public Lands in the United States

9. © Cengage Learning 2015 Four principles should govern use of public lands and their resources: –1. Primary use for protecting biodiversity –2. No subsidies for using or extracting resources –3. Fair compensation for use of land –4. Fully responsibility for environmental damage caused by users Case Study: Managing Public Lands in the United States (cont’d.)

10. © Cengage Learning 2015 Developers wish to open more federal lands: –1. Sell public lands to private corporations or individuals –2. Slash federal funding related to public lands –3. Cut diverse old-growth forests –4. Open national parks to oil and gas drilling –5. Eliminate the National Park Service Case Study: Managing Public Lands in the United States (cont’d.)

11. © Cengage Learning 2015 Criticism of the human-centered worldviews –Wrongly assumes we can be good stewards –We do not know enough about the earth Can We Manage the Earth?

12. © Cengage Learning 2015 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 Some Environmental Worldviews Are Life- Centered and Others are Earth-Centered

13. Fig. 25-6, p. 689 Biosphere Biodiversity) Ecosystems All species on earth All people on earth Nation Community and friends Family Self

14. © Cengage Learning 2015 Fig. 25-7, p. 690

15. © Cengage Learning 2015 The first step to living more sustainably is to become environmentally literate 25-2 What Is the Role of Education in Living More Sustainably?

16. © Cengage Learning 2015 Three foundations of environmental literacy: –1. Natural capital matters –2. Our ecological footprints are immense and growing rapidly –3. Ecological and climate tipping points: irreversible and should never be crossed Requires answering key questions and having basic understanding of key topics We Can Become More Environmentally Literate

17. © Cengage Learning 2015 Fig. 25-8a, p. 691

18. © Cengage Learning 2015 Fig. 25-8b, p. 691

19. © Cengage Learning 2015 Formal environmental education –Is it enough? We have much to learn from nature: –Ecological, aesthetic, and spiritual values of nature We Can Learn from the Earth

20. © Cengage Learning 2015 Fig. 25-9, p. 692

21. © Cengage Learning 2015 Fig. 25-10, p. 693

22. © Cengage Learning 2015 We can live more sustainably by: –Becoming environmentally literate, learning from nature –Living more simply and lightly on the earth –Becoming active environmental citizens 25-3 How Can We Live More Sustainably?

23. © Cengage Learning 2015 Ethical guidelines: –1.Apply principles such as the principles of sustainability –2.Protect the earth’s natural capital –3.Use matter and energy resources efficiently –4. Protect biodiversity –5. Leave the earth in as good condition as we found it, or better We Can Live More Simply and Lightly on the Earth

24. © Cengage Learning 2015 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: 1.Gloom-and-doom pessimism 2.Blind technological optimism We Can Live More Simply and Lightly on the Earth (cont’d.)

25. © Cengage Learning 2015 Fig. 25-14, p. 696 Food Reduce meat consumption Buy or grow organic food and buy locally grown food Transportation Reduce car use by walking, biking, carpooling, car-sharing, and using mass transit Drive an energy-efficient vehicle Home Energy Use Insulate your house, plug air leaks, and install energy- efficient windows Use energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, lights, and appliances Reduce, reuse, recycle, compost, replant, and share Resource Use Use renewable energy resources whenever possible

26. © Cengage Learning 2015 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 Case Study: Rebuilding Greensburg, Kansas – From Ruin to Sustainability

27. © Cengage Learning 2015 Fig. 25-15, p. 697

28. © Cengage Learning 2015 Sustainability revolution: –1.Increase energy efficiency –2.Shift to renewable energy resources –3.Stabilize climate change –4.Stop destroying forests –5.Produce food more sustainably –6.Reuse or recycle 80% of the solid wastes we produce –7.Reconnect and work with the biosphere We Can Bring About a Sustainability Revolution in Your Lifetime

29. © Cengage Learning 2015 Fig. 25-16, p. 699 Current EmphasisSustainability Emphasis Energy and Climate Fossil fuels Direct and indirect solar energy Energy wasteEnergy 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 Life Deplete and degrade natural capital Protect natural capital Reduce biodiversity Protect biodiversity Population growth Population stabilization

30. Fig. 25-17, p. 700 Change Unsustainable Living More Sustainable 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 Time

31. © Cengage Learning 2015 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 Three Big Ideas

32. © Cengage Learning 2015 Living more sustainably means: –Learning from nature –Living more lightly –Becoming active environmental citizens who leave small environmental footprints on the earth Three Big Ideas (cont’d.)

33. © Cengage Learning 2015 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 Tying It All Together: Biosphere 2 and Sustainability

34. © Cengage Learning 2015 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 Tying It All Together: Biosphere 2 and Sustainability (cont’d.)