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Environmentalism

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11 views10 pages

Environmentalism

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s26078.1256
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© © All Rights Reserved
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ENVIRONMENTALISM

 A global social and political movement that


advocates the preservation, sustainable
management, and restoration of the natural
environment, not just for the sake of fulfilling human
needs, but for the sake of the environment itself.
 Environmentalists usually call for social change,
public policy reforms and changes in the behavior of
governments, individuals, and organisations.
 A broad range of views: from Naess’ deep ecology
to the sustainable development goals of the UN.
 Is also a political ideology since it includes explicit
political implications.
 Since environmental issues are considered an outcome
of modernity, environmentalism often includes a critique
of modernity.
 The study of practical environmentalism is generally split
into two positions: the mainstream "anthropocentric" or
hierarchic, and the more radical "ecocentric" or
egalitarian.
 Associated with other modern terms such as "greening,"
"environmental management," "resource efficiency and
waste minimization," "environmental responsibility,"
and environmental ethics and justice.
 Also includes emerging issues such as global warming
and the development of renewable energy.
Significance

 A social movement concerned with the welfare of the


planet.
 Seeks to protect and conserve all elements of the
ecosystem, and is also concerned with issues such as
overpopulation, pollution, human health, poverty, etc.
 Concerned with how human activities have harmed the
planet; works to correct this damage and prevent further
destruction.
Conservation vs. Preservation

 The goal of conservation is sustainable use and


management of an economically important
natural resource so that people can continue
using the resource.
 The goal of preservation is to maintain areas of
the earth that are so far untouched by human
exploitation.
A Brief History of Environmentalism

 Long history of governments passing laws to safeguard human


health form environmental issues.
o 80 CE, the Roman Senate passed a legislation to protect the
city’s supply of clean water for drinking and bathing.
o Hunting of certain animals and cutting down of certain trees
have been regulated or banned altogether by different
monarchs in different regions.
o 14th century London prevented the burning of coal and
disposal of waste into waterways.
 Environmental consequences of the Industrial Revolution; the
gradual awareness that natural resources were being
depleted.
 In most recent history, the publication of the Silent Springs
in 1962 and the environmental movements of the late 20th
century.
 In the West, environmentalism became a prominent
political and intellectual movement in the 1960s.
 In 1971, two of the most important environmental pressure
groups was established: Friends of the Earth and Green
Peace (both were NGOs).
 The Chipko Movement in India in the 1970s.
 1979, James Lovelock, a former NASA scientist,
published Gaia: A new look at life on Earth, which put forth
the Gaia Hypothesis; it proposes that life on Earth can be
understood as a single organism.
 1972: the first Earth Summit  United Nations Conference
on the Human Environment, Stockholm.
 1992: Summit at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Rachel Carson, author of
Silent Spring

Women during the Chipko Movement


Anthropocentric vs. Biocentric
Philosophies

 Anthropocentric: “Shallow ecology”


o Approach to non-human nature in which individual creatures
and species have value because of their usefulness to
humans.
o Explores the negative effects that the environmental damages
have on human being, their health, recreation and quality of
life.

 Biocentric:
o Nature has an intrinsic moral worth that does not depend on
its usefulness to human beings.
o Humans are morally bound to protect nature for its own sake.
Criticisms

 Some environmentalist groups have been accused of


sensationalist tactics and misinforming the public instead
of deferring to scientific evidence.
 Sometimes accused of advocating anti-globalization and
anti-corporatization idealism, which some say is
detrimental to achieving environmental objectives.

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