Transcript topic7environvaluesystems-120209200024

DP Environmental systems
and societies
Topic 7
Environmental
value systems
EVS TOK PPT
Environmental value systems
An environmental value system
is a particular worldview or set
of paradigms that shapes the
way an individual, or group of
people, perceive and evaluate
environmental issues.
Historical moments in the environmental
movement (inputs)
1956
1962
• Minimata disaster
– bioaccumulation
of mercury in
seafood
• Rachel Carson’s
book Silent Spring
documenting the
effects of
pesticides
1985
• Bhopal disaster
killing up to
25,000
Video 1
Video 2
1970s
1986
• Greenpeace
campaigns
- save the whale
- anti-nuclear
testing
• Chernobyl
disaster causing
resettlement of
over 300,000
EVS of various societies
First
Nation
Americans
vs
European
pioneers
1. First nation Americans vs European pioneers
Environment communal
Subsistence economy based on
barter
Low-impact technology
Animistic religion – animals, plants,
rocks etc all have soul
Exploitation of seemingly
unlimited resources
Environmental degradation
through over-population
Disconnected with environment
Heavy industry and advanced
technology
2. Communist vs Capitalist socieites
Equal distribution of resources with
no profit led to squandering of
resources destroying the
environment
Government protected farmers
unintentionally benefiting parts of
the environment
Seen as more environmentally
friendly as resources are used
efficiently to maximize profit
Unions protected industry
damaging the environment
Civil liberties and democracy used
in protecting the environment
3. Buddhist vs Judaeo-Christian societies
Separation of body and soul, matter
and spirit
Genesis – domination or
stewardship or the Earth?
Ecofeminism – nurture rather than
conquer
World is all co-dependent
Birth, ageing, suffering, death
all conjoined
Humans not autonomous or
more important than the Earth
Your personal view
Personal
Characteristics
Social influences
Appraisals of
situation
Habit
Ability to act
Behaviour
Costbenefit
analysis
Emotions
Other issues to think about
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Greenwash
Emotionalism
Chernobyl videos
The Cove video
Case studies
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Cost benefit analysis
External costs
Land ethic
Unsustainable frontier ethic
Mine restoration