Transcript IB ESS topic 1 - Mr Hartan`s Science Class

IB ESS TOPIC 1
1.1 ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE SYSTEMS
An Environmental Value System (EVS) is a worldview or paradigm that shapes
the way an individual or group of people perceive and evaluate
environmental issues. This will be influences by cultural, religious, economic
and socio-political contexts.
AN OVERVIEW
SIGNIFICANT IDEAS:
• Historical events, among other influences, affect the
development of environmental value systems (EVSs) and
environmental movements.
• There is a wide spectrum of EVSs, each with its own premises
and implications.
APPLICATIONS AND SKILLS:
Discuss the view that the environment can have its own
intrinsic value.
Evaluate the implications of two contrasting EVSs in the
context of given environmental issues.
Justify, using examples and evidence, how historical
influences have shaped the development of the modern
environmental movement.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE
ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT
Significant historical influences on the development of
the environmental movement have come from
literature, the media, major environmental disasters,
international agreements and technological
developments.
Chief Seattle (1855)
“Whatever befalls the Earth-befalls
the sons of the Earth. Humankind
has not woven a web of life. Ware
but on threat within it. Whatever
we do to the web, we do to
ourselves. All things are bound
together. all things connect.”
Aldo Leopold
(A Sand County Almanac)
“We abuse the 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.”
DEVELOPMENT OF THE
ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT
The environmental movement, public activism and grass-roots activism, as
we know it, originated most forcefully in the 1960s. But (some) humans have
always been concerned about our impact on the environment.
There has been, and will continue to be a divide in philosophy between:
 Those who see the reason for conserving nature as being to continue to
supply goods and services to humankind in a sustainable way
(environmental managers)
 Those who believe that we should conserve nature unconditionally, for its
spiritual value (deep and self-reliance ecologists).
Do we save it for OUR sake or ITS sake?
Are we APART from nature or PART of it?
Where do we belong?
What is our responsibility?
STAKEHOLDERS IN THE
ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT
These groups and individuals have influenced, over time, norms of behavior
and political choices.
1. Influential Individuals: Often use media publications to raise issues
and start the debate. Rachel Carson, Al Gore, etc.
2. Independent Pressure Groups (NGOs): Non-governmental
organizations like Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, WWF, use
awareness campaigns to influence public opinion.
3. Multi/Transnational Corporations: Supply consumer
demand/using resources/impacting the environment.
4. Intergovernmental Bodies (UN): The United Nations has been
influential in bringing together governments, NGOs, and
corporations in order to consider global environmental and world
development issues.
STAKEHOLDERS IN THE
ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT
5. Governments: Make policy decisions and apply
legislation (laws) to manage the country. Meet with
governments to consider international agreements.
It’s important to note that different countries are at
different stages of environmental awareness.
THE GROWTH OF THE MODERN
ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT
MAJOR LANDMARKS & CASE STUDIES
(SEE PAGES 4 AND 7 IN TEXTBOOK FOR MORE DETAIL)
Years
Events
10,000 BP
Neolithic Agricultural Revol.
Early 1800s
Industrial Revolution Europe
1914
Passenger Pigeon Extinct
1930s-1940s
Dust Bowl in North America
1940s
Green Revolution
1952
London Smog Event
1956-1968
Minamata Bay Disaster
1962
‘Silent Spring’ Published
1971
Greenpeace Founded
1972
First Earth Summit-UN
1976
Love Canal
Significance
Years
Events
Significance
1979
James Lovelock Publishes the Systems Approach to studying
book --‘Gaia Hypothesis’
the environment begins. Nature
seen as self-regulating.
1984
Bhopal Disaster (India)
Mid 80’s
British Scientific Team
discovers Ozone Hole
1986
Chernobyl Disaster
1987
Montreal Protocol
1989
Exxon Oil Valdez Spill
2005
Kyoto Protocol signed by 174
countries
2006
‘Inconvenient Truth’
2007
IPCC releases 4th Assessment
2010
Deepwater Horizon Spill
2011
Fukushima Daiichi Disaster
2012
Rio + 20
‘The Future We Want’ Published
. . . CASE STUDIES
From La Belle Dame Sans Merci
by John Keats
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring,
1982
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring,
1982
“And this is why I sojourn here,
Alone and palely loitering,
Through this sedge is wither’d
from the lake, And no birds
sing.”
“For the first time in the history
of the world, every human
being is now subjected to
contact with dangerous
chemicals from the moment of
conception until death.”
“Now I truly believe that we in
this generation must come to
terms with nature, and I think
we’re challenged, as mankind
has never been challenged
before, to prove our maturity
and our mastery, not of nature
but of ourselves.”
A BRIEF VISUAL HISTORY
ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHIES
A branch of philosophy concerned with the natural
environment and humans’ place within it.
“What do we mean when we talk about nature?”
What is the value of the natural, that is non-human
environment to us, or in itself?”
“How should we respond to environmental challenges
such as environmental degradation, pollution, and
climate change?”
“How can we best understand the relationship between
the natural world and human technology and
development?”
THE SPECTRUM OF ENVIRONMENTAL
VALUE SYSTEMS
• Different societies hold different environmental
philosophies and comparing these helps explain why
societies make different choices.
• The EVS we each hold is influenced by cultural,
religious, economic and socio-political events.
• The environment or any organism can have its own
intrinsic value regardless of its value to humans. How we
measure this value is a key to understanding the value
we place on our environment.
As it turns out, the human brain may not be such a great adaptation after all. Human
resources are limited, but humans tend to view nature as something to be conquered,
mastered and controlled.
ENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHIES
(AN OUTLINE)
CATEGORIES
1. ECOCENTRICS
A. Deep Ecologists
B. Self-Reliant Soft Ecologists
2. ANTHROPOCENTRICS
3. TECHNOCENTRICS
A. Environmental Managers
B. Cornucopians
ECOCENTRIC WORLDVIEW
Ecology and nature are central to humanity.
 A less materialistic approach to life with greater self-sufficiency of
societies.
 Is life/earth-centered—the rights of nature and the dependence
of humans on nature is emphasized (holistic view).
 The Earth is here for all species.
 Resources are limited. Endless economic growth is not possible.
 We need the Earth more than it needs us.
 We should manage growth in ways that are beneficial.
 We must work with the Earth, not against it.
 Our arrogance as a species leads us to believe that the Earth is far
less complex than it actually is. Our understanding of the Earth is
inadequate and simplistic.
A MATERIAL WORLD
A MATERIAL WORLD
ECOCENTRISM
(ECOCENTRISM IS BIO-CENTRIC OR LIFE-CENTERED)
All life has inherent value—value for its own sake, not just for
humans.
 The ecological integrity and complexity of ecosystems and habitats in
which species live should be protected.
 We have an ethic obligation to prevent premature extinctions, restore
degraded ecosystems, remove pollution, and deal with
environmental problems.
Deep ecologists are the most liberal of the ecocentrics. They
put more value on nature than humanity.
 They believe in bio-rights (universal rights where all species and
ecosystems have an inherent value. Humans have no right to
interfere.
 Believe policies should be enacted to reduce our impact on the
environment, decrease the human population, and reduce
consumption.
ANTHROPOCENTRIC WORLDVIEW
(HUMAN CENTERED, PRAGMATIC APPROACH)
Believe that humans must sustainably manage the global
system through taxes, environmental regulations, and
legislation.
Humans are not dependent on nature, but nature is
there to benefit humankind.
There will always be more resources to exploit.
We are the Earth’s most important species, we are in
charge.
We can solve any pollution problem that we cause.
Economic growth is a good thing and we can always
keep the economy growing.
We can solve any problem that we create.
TECHNOCENTRIC WORLDVIEW
(PLANETARY MANAGEMENT)
Believe that technological developments can provide solutions to
environmental problems.
See ‘summary’ on previous slide. Similar to anthropocentric views.
1.
Environmental Managers:
 The Earth is a garden that needs tending—we are stewards of the Earth.
 We have an ethical duty to protect and nurture the Earth.
 Governmental legislation/regulations/taxes can protect the environment and
resources from exploitation. Sustainable economies are the key.
 We must intervene when groups are harmed by environmental damage.
2.
Cornucopians:
 Technology and inventiveness will solve any environmental problem. We can always
improve our living standards.
 The world has infinite resources to benefit humanity.
 Unregulated (minimal government control), free-market capitalism is the best way to
mange markets, sustain growth, create wealth and manage the planet.
 If we can understand the machine (Earth), we can control it.
ENVIRONMENTAL
WORLDVIEWS
Islam:
 The Earth has been given to humans for their sustenance. Humans are
not given mastery or dominion over Earth, but granted as a gift. We are
caretakers. A notion of ‘dominion’ or mastery over the Earth.
 The animal world is a community equal to the human one.
 Greater emphasis on the trustee status of human beings and charity (3rd
Pillar).
Christianity:
 It’s complicated, but in the biblical book of Genesis, God commands
humans to ‘replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over
it’ (Genesis 1:28). This has been interpreted by some in a radically,
anthropocentric way. The passage is open to much interpretation.
ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS
(. . . HOW TO BE CALM)
Buddhism:
 Believe that all sentient beings share conditions of birth, old age,
suffering and death. Every living thing in the world is codependent.
Humans are not more important than other living things—loving
kindness and compassion extend to all living things/Earth.
Indigenous Cultures:
 Animals and plants as well as natural objects have a spirituality. Tend to
hold property in common, use a subsistence economy, barter for goods
rather than use money, and use low-impact technologies. Participatory
democracy.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
(ECOLOGY VS ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE)
Environmental Science is the study of the interactions
among the physical, chemical, and biological
components of the environment; with a focus on
pollution and degradation of the environment related
to human activity; and the impact on biodiversity and
sustainability from local and global development.
Ecology is a sub-discipline of biology studying the
relationships between organisms (biotic) and their
environment (abiotic).
INTRINSIC VALUE
(A NICE SUMMARY)