apes ch 25
What is Gandhi's principle of enoughness?
"The earth provides enough to satisfy every person's need but not every person's greed... . When we take more than we need, we are simply taking from each other, borrowing from the future, or destroying the environment and other species."
What is a sense of place and why is it important?
"We will not fight to save what we do not love." When we become part of a place, it becomes a part of us. Then we are driven to defend it from harm and to help heal its wounds
List six major shifts that scientists say will be necessary to bring about a sustainability revolution.
(1)increase energy efficiency (2)shift to renewable energy resources (3)stabilize climate change by sharply reducing our greenhouse gas emissions (4)stop destroying forests (5) produce food more sustainably (6) reuse or recycle at least 80% of the solid wastes we produce (7) reconnect and work with the biosphere that sustains all life and all human economies.
25-2 List three ideas that form the foundation of environmental literacy.
*Natural capital matters* because it supports the earth's life and our economies. Our *ecological footprints are immense* and are expanding rapidly and degrading natural capital; in fact, they already exceed the earth's estimated ecological capacity (see Figure 1-13). In such degradation, we should not exceed planetary boundaries or ecological *tipping points* (see Figure 3-B, and Figure 19-21). Once we cross such a point, neither money nor technology can save us from the resulting consequences that could last for thousands of years.
Explain how exponential growth could apply to our shifting onto a path toward more sustainable societies.
-Exponential growth starts off slowly, but at some point, it increases at a very rapid rate. We can use the astonishing power of exponential growth, guided by the principles of sustainability, to promote more sustainable environmental, social, economic, and tech changes in a very short time
Summarize the debate over whether we can effectively manage the earth.
-Some people believe that any human-centered worldview will eventually fail because it wrongly assumes we now have or can gain enough knowledge to become effective managers or stewards of the earth. -According to some critics of human-centered worldviews, the unregulated global free-market approach will not work because it is based on continually increasing the use of the earth's natural capital, and it focuses on short-term economic benefits with little regard for the degradation and depletion of natural capital and the resulting long-term harmful environmental, health, and social consequences. -critics argue that thinking of the earth as a spaceship that we can manage is an oversimplified and misleading way to view an incredibly complex and ever-changing planet. -Critics of human-centered worldviews point out that we don't know SO much --human activities have degraded or overused about 60% of the earth's ecosystem services
Explain why Aldo Leopold is highly regarded and give some examples of the beliefs that made up his land ethic.
-book: A Sand County Almanac -teacher (U of Wisconsin) -leader of conservation/enviro movements -the role of the human species should be to protect nature, not to conquer it -"All ethics so far evolved rest upon a single premise: that the individual is a member of a community of interdependent parts." -"The land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it." -"We abuse 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."
Summarize the various beliefs about how far we should extend our concern for various forms of life fig 25-6
-eventually all species become extinct. However, most people with a life-centered worldview believe we have an ethical responsibility to avoid hastening the extinction of species through our activities, for two reasons. First, each species is a unique storehouse of genetic information that should be respected and protected simply because it exists. Second, every species has potential for providing economic benefits directly or indirectly through its participation in providing ecosystem services. -some people think we should go beyond focusing mostly on species. They believe we have an ethical responsibility to take a wider view and work to prevent degradation of the earth's ecosystems, its biodiversity of species and ecosystem services, and the biosphere -most ppl think about self first then fam, friends, nation, people, species, ecosystems, biodiversity, and finally the biosphere
Describe Lester R. Brown's contributions to helping us make the transition to a more economically and environmentally sustainable world.
-pres & founder of the Earth Policy Institute -research for sustainable future -founded Worldwatch Institute (reporting enviro issues & educating ppl) -"Top Global Thinker" -plan: (1)stabilize population growth (2)stabilize climate change (3)eradicate poverty (4)restore the earth's natural support systems. -author -prizes/awards -sees reasons for hope: social change can occur quickly, recent improvements in fuel-efficiency, & coal to solar E, growing public interest & understanding
Describe how the town of Greensburg, Kansas, went from being nearly ruined to getting on a path toward sustainability.
-tornado destruction (95% of buildings) -series of town mtgs w help of locals and fed gov -master plan for a green community -more LLED Platinum-certified new buildings than anywhere else in the US...sustainable in general
List two mental traps that can lead to denial, indifference, and inaction concerning environmental problems.
1) Gloom-and-doom pessimism (it is hopeless) 2) Blind technological optimism (science and technofixes will save us)
What are four major types of public lands in the United States?
1) national parks 2) national forests 3) national wildlife refugees 4) national preserves (most restricted public lands)
three variations of the planetary management worldview
1) the no-problem school: we can solve any enviro, pop, or resource prob w more economic growth & development, better management, and better tech 2) the free-market school: the best way to manage the planet for human benefit is through a free-market global econ w minimal gov interference/regulation....public property resources-->private...the marketplace (free-market) should decide basically everything 3) spaceship-earth school: earth is like a spaceship: a complex machine that we can understand, dominate, change, and manage, in order to provide a good life for everyone without overloading natural systems. (the idea developed after photos from space--earth looks like an island in space)
environmental wisdom worldview (4 points) -explain the thinking within this related to saving the earth
1) we are a part of and totally dependent on nature, and nature for all species 2) resources are limited and should not be wasted 3) we should encourage earth-sustaining forms of economic growth and discourage earth-degrading forms 4) our success depends on learning how nature sustains itself and integrating such lessons from nature inro the ways we think and act
planetary management worldview (4 points)
1) we are apart from the rest of nature and can manage nature to meet our increasing needs and wants 2) bc of our ingenuity and technology, we will not run out of resources 3) the potential for economic growth is essentially unlimited 4) our success depends on how well we manage the earth's life-support systems mostly for our benefit
stewardship worldview (4 points)
1) we have an ethical responsibility to be caring managers, or stewards, of the earth 2) we will prolly not run out of resources, but they shouldn't be wasted 3) we should encourage environmentally beneficial forms of economic growth & discourage environmentally harmful forms 4) our success depends on how well we manage the earth's life-support systems for our benefit and for the rest of nature *as we use the earth's natural capital, we are borrowing from the earth and from future generations.
25-3 List six ethical guidelines for developing more sustainable and compassionate societies.
Apply principles such as our six *principles of sustainability to mimic* the ways in which nature sustains itself and to consider the effects that any activity will have on all people and other life-forms, present and future. *Protect* the earth's natural capital and *repair ecological damage* caused by human activities. Use matter and energy *resources as efficiently* as possible. Protect *biodiversity*. Leave the earth in as good a condition as we found it, or better. *future gens* live more *simply* and sustainably--don't be so materialistic
List five steps that some psychologists have advised people to take to help them withdraw from an addiction to buying.
Avoid buying something j because a friend has bought it. *don't buy bc jealousy* Go on an *ad diet* by not watching or reading advertisements *no shopping for recreation* and buying on impulse Stop using credit and *buy only with cash* to avoid overspending *Borrow and share* things like books, tools, and other consumer goods
List eight ways in which people can choose to live more lightly on the earth.
FOOD 1) reduce meat consumption 2) buy/grow org food and locally grown food HOME E USE 3) insulate your house, plug air leaks, install E-efficient windows 4) use E-efficient heating and cooling systems, lights, appliances TRANSPORTATION 5) walk, bike, carpool, car-share, and use mass-transit more 6) E-efficient vehicles RESOURCE USE 7) refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, compost, share 8) use renewable E resources as much as possible
Explain the connections between Biosphere 2, the transition to more environmentally sustainable societies, and the scientific and social science principles of sustainability
For the energy to keep our lives and economies going, we will need to depend largely on a mix of direct and indirect forms of renewable solar energy. We will need to reuse and recycle as much of our material resources as we can, in keeping with nature's chemical cycling principle, and drastically cut our waste of matter and energy resources by using them more efficiently. We will benefit by preserving as much as we possibly can of the natural resources and ecosystem services that make up the earth's natural biodiversity. The solutions that work will also likely mimic nature's biodiversity by consisting of a variety of localized solutions. -solutions include full-cost pricing -solutions = win win (satisfying as many ppl as we can and minimizing enviro harms) -beneficial to us now and future generations
What are five questions that an environmentally literate person should be able to answer?
How does life on earth sustain itself? How am I connected to the earth and other living things? Where do the things I consume come from and where do they go after I use them? What is environmental wisdom? What is my environmental worldview? What is my environmental responsibility as a human being?
Summarize the controversy over how we should manage these lands.
Many federal lands contain valuable oil, natural gas, coal, geothermal, timber, and mineral resources. Since the 1800s, there has been intense controversy over how to use and manage the resources on these public lands. most conservation biologists and enviro economists...: 1. They should be used primarily for protecting biodiversity, wildlife habitats, and ecosystems. 2. No one should receive government subsidies or tax breaks for using or extracting resources on public lands. 3. The American people deserve fair compensation for the use of their property. 4. All users or extractors of resources on public lands should be fully responsible for any environmental damage they cause. ppl/developers who care more about short term economic growth than the enviro...: 1. Sell public lands or their resources to corporations or individuals, usually at proposed prices that are less than market value, or turn over their management to state and local governments. 2. Slash federal funding for the administration of regulations related to public lands. 3. Cut diverse old-growth forests in the national forests for timber and for making biofuels, and replace them with tree plantations to be harvested for the same purposes. 4. Open national parks, national wildlife refuges, and wilderness areas to oil and natural gas drilling, mining, off-road vehicles, and commercial development. 5. Eliminate or take regulatory control away from the National Park Service and launch a 20-year construction program in the parks to build new concessions and theme parks that would be run by private firms.
3 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, and what we can do to live more sustainably. Living more sustainably means learning from nature, living more lightly, and becoming active environmental citizens who leave small environmental footprints on the earth.
Explain how we can learn from direct experiences with nature.
They call for us to appreciate not only the economic value of nature, but also its ecological, aesthetic, and spiritual values. To these analysts, the problem is not just a lack of environmental literacy but also, for many people, a lack of *intimate contact with nature and a limited understanding of how nature works and sustains us*. This can reduce our ability to act more responsibly toward the earth and thus toward ourselves. -widespread *"nature-deficit disorder"* among children who play only or mostly indoors and at best view the natural world digitally—something new in the history of humankind.
Describe the Biosphere 2 project and summarize the major lessons learned from this project. (CCS)
a $200 million glass and steel enclosure designed to be a self-sustaining life-support system (Figure 25-1) that would increase our understanding of Biosphere 1: the earth's life-support system. arizona artificial ecosystems including a tropical rain forest, savanna, and desert, as well as lakes, streams, fresh-water and saltwater wetlands, and a mini-ocean with a coral reef. mimic nature's cycling lots of species....wastes recycled as fertilizers *the level of oxygen in the air declined with soil organisms converting it to carbon dioxide. Additional oxygen had to be pumped in from the outside to keep the Biospherians from suffocating. lots of extinctions...but waste and h20 were recylced...biospherians were able to produce lots of their food, but they suffered from hunger/weight loss *an expenditure of $200 million failed to maintain a life-support system for eight people for 2 years. *Biosphere 2 is an example of how we can view the earth's life-support system in different ways, based on our worldviews and ethical frameworks
Describe the lifestyle of voluntary simplicity now being adopted by some affluent people.
they seek to learn how to live with much fewer possessions than people in their position typically have. They are also looking for products and services that have a smaller environmental impact and would prefer to become part of a low-throughput economy. Many of these people view voluntary simplicity not as a sacrifice but as a way to have a more fulfilling and satisfying life. Instead of working longer to pay for bigger vehicles and houses, they are spending more time with their loved ones, friends, and neighbors.
How do some scientists and other thinkers urge us to apply biomimicry? -2 examples of gow this has been done
to study the earth's living systems to find out what works and what lasts and how we might copy such earth wisdom. -gecko lizards have pads on their feet that allow them to cling to rocks, glass, and other surfaces. Researchers are using this information to develop a new type of adhesive tape -creation of a best-selling carpet tile that mimics the diverse nature of the floor of a tropical rain forest. *create ecovillages adn sustainable communitites -solar cells (mimicking the sun)
25-1 environmental worldviews
ways of thinking about how the world works and beliefs that people hold about their roles in the natural world. --conflicts over enviro probs result (Another factor is the widespread lack of understanding of how the earth's life-support system works, keeps us alive, and supports our economies.)
environmental ethics
what one believes about what is right and what is wrong in our behavior toward the environment. --an enviro worldview is determined partly by this
