EPS 202 SOCIETY, TECHNOLOGY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT MIDTERM REVIEW KEY TERMS WORLDVIEWS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

1. Environmental Attitudes- Species moving through food chain. The perspective from which one interprets the environment. These attitudes are developed through commonly shared values, ideas and images concerning the nature of reality and the role of humanity within it. 2. Ecocentrism- nature centered ideology; all species modify their environment. Human behavior should occur within limits imposed by natural environment. Belief that some natural systems should be left alone and those that are managed should be done so with little disruption. Humans are part of the biosphere. 3. Technocentrism- natural resources are neutral and humans make value-free decisions based on scientific/technological management. Humans control the environments for gainful purposes by manipulating nature. Scientific method is the primary method for allocating resources for development and growth.

4. Land transformation- Terraforming: Manipulating the landscape for human benefit. Actually doing the act of Technocentrism. 5. Judeo-Christian ideas about environment- earth was created for man. Man overdid it because of this religious ideology. 6. Intrinsic value- Essential property of a system that belongs to itself. SQUIRLL has a value to the environment even though we don't know what it may be. WILDERNESS 1. Multiple Use- management of all various renewable surface resources of the national forests so that they are utilize in the combination that will best meet the needs of the American people. Technocentric conversationalist ideology. 2. Wilderness- unsettled, uncultivated region left in its natural condition. Where man is a visitor and does not remain. 3. Land Ethic- enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, water, plants, and animals or collectively the land. Stop viewing land as an economic resource and beyond mere conservation. Value land as living community. Stop viewing land economically and take heed of its priceless value. 4. Conservation- to utilize the natural resources provided for man in a way that is most efficient to serve the common needs and future generations must be able to reuse these resources 5. Preservation- to keep nature the way it is 6. Frontier line- technical definition (less than 2 people per square mile) but disappeared with the 1890 census. Profoundly impacted American psychology and gave rise to reflectiveness about the changing times and encouraged preservationalism. Line that divides the east and the west. As one would go towards the west, the population decreased more and more.

7. Hetch Hetchy Valley- spawned a huge philosophical battle on whether or not to construct a dam to supply San Francisco residents with water. This major controversy gave birth to the conservational and preservation ideologies that exist today 8. Ecology- study of interrelationships of organisms within their environment. Cannot be understood as isolated parts. Shifts focus from parts to the whole system 9. John Muir- ecocentric naturalist who set forth the preservational ideology, spent a large portion of his life alone in the wilderness. Defended hetch hetchy valley from being dammed. Muir + Roosevelt + Pinchot passed wilderness act of 1964 10. Aldo Leopold- introduced the principle of land ethic. Founded the wilderness society, died fighting a grass fire on the Wisconsin river. 11. Gifford Pinchot Technocentric who set forth the conservational ideology. Aristocratic background. Founded yale school of forestry. He essentially thought that civilization needs to fully utilized all of its resources with which we are blessed with. Responsible for damming hetch hetchy valley. ORIGINS OF ENVIRONMENTALISM 1. Dominant Social Paradigm (Human Exemptionalism Paradigm)- No environmental limits on human prospects. Humans are exceptional. Humans of mastery of nature. 2. Henry David Thoreau- Thoreau lived in the woods for a period of his life, separating himself from society for spiritual and economic reasons. At this time, he wrote the book Walden, where he talks about living the wild. 3. New Environmental Paradigm- The environment limits human prospects; humans need to exercise humility. Humans need to recognize that they are part of nature. 4. Post-materialism- As people become more post material, it is expected that environmental ideas will become more widespread. 5. Rachel Carson- Wrote the book Silent Spring, in which she talked about the hazards of pesticides such as DDT 6. Risk Society- Deals with the risks within the environment; humans are concerned about these risks (risk that a nuclear plant will explode). 7. Transcendentalism- belief that society and its institutions particularly organized religion and political parties ultimately corrupted the purity of the individual. They had faith that man is at his best when truly "self-reliant and independent. 8. Democracy and Environmentalism- Democracy promotes environmental responsibility.

LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS 1. Bioaccumulation- Uptake of pollutants into living organisms 2. Lois Gibbs- Housewife who was affected by the Love Canal incident. She became an activist for the Love Canal Homeowners association and spoke to the government about declaring Love Canal a disaster. 3. Love Canal - Canal where Oxidental Petrol dumped toxic waste and it became a hazard for the residents and the environment around. 4. Carcinogen- Cancer causing chemical 5. Non Point Source Pollution- can't identify source of the hazard. 6. Point Source Pollution - Something traceable back to the source (Love Canal). 7. Precautionary Principle- When one chooses to build anything, he/she has to prove that it will not harm others or the environment. 8. Superfund Law- Money given to clean up hazards 9. Environmental Impacts of Pollution- Toxicity: how dangerous it (chemicals) is for someone, Persistence: How long is it out there, Level of Concentration: amount/how much it is out there 10. Risk - probability that the frequency it'll occur 11. Natural Resources - renewable: solar energy, nonrenewable: oil BIODIVERSITY 1. Biological Wealth- The more the environment is biologically diverse, the better it will sustain itself. 2. Invasive Species- Introduced species that adversely affect the environment 3. Species Extinction- Animals dying due to habit loss, climate change, etc. 4. Biological Diversity- Diversity of specifies within an environment. 5. Millenium Ecosystem Assessment Scenarios- Test that determines the state of earth's ecosystems and proves summaries and guidelines. It concluded that human activity on the environment is having a great deal of impact reducing resilience and bio-capacity.

Origins of Environmentalism The first half of the nineteenth century in the US was a period of rapid economic, social, and technological change. It was a period of industrialization, rapid urbanization, extensive railroad construction, and extensive migration. In addition to some of these innovations, there were also millions of acres of forests that were completely cut down. Along with the mass killing of Native Americans these activities gave rise to a growing sense of unease as people saw their familiar lifestyles rapidly changing. One of the people that effectively captured this anxiety in writer form was Henry David Thoreau. Amongst the romanticists of his time, he was also part of a group of authors known as the transcendentalist. They harshly critiqued the inequities of increasing industrialization by exposing the fallacies of capitalism to essentially redirect the readers view point toward nature. In other words belief that society and its institutions particularly organized religion and political parties ultimately corrupted the purity of the individual and that man needs to recognize natures rhythms. Some underlying philosophical theories that arose to somehow explain the rise of environmentalism are the (1)decline in objective environmental conditions, (2)theory of post materialism, (3)theory of risk society, (4)paradigm shift, and (5)expansion of democracy. The decline in objective environmental conditions came into notice decades immediately following world war II which was marked by tremendous growth in chemical production, nuclear power, automobile ownership, and suburbanization. The publication of Silent Spring by Rachael Carson exposed the hazards of pesticide DDT. It was in essence an indictment against the chemical industry. This publication questioned societys faith in technological progress. In addition, some environmental catastrophes took place such as the Cuyahoga River Fire in Cleveland, the Santa Barbara, California Oil Spill, and the Love Canal incident. All these happenings set forth the upsurge in grassroots organizations and prompted the US to pass several pieces of unprecedented legislation. The theory of post materialism basically suggests that people born after WWII have different values from their grandparents. The newer generation was more concerned with self-expression, individual freedom and autonomy. The theory of risk society observes that people have become preoccupied with environmental and technological risks such as the possible explosion of a nuclear plant, climate change, contaminants in air and water. This theory contends that it is these concerns of risk have prompted the growth in environmentalism. Paradigm shift theory suggests that there are two primary worldviews to which people subscribe. The first is the dominants social paradigm (DSP)) which states that there are no environmental limits to humans, and that we are exempt from any major responsibility. The other is the New Environmental Paradigm(NEP) which suggests that the environment limits human prospects and that humans need to exercise humility because they are part of nature. Democracy promotes environmental responsibility. Worldviews and Environments. There are many factors that determine an individuals stance on worldviews and environments. We all have abiding interests that are grounded in the economic and social organization of society (e.g. social class, professional prestige). Our subscription to cultural orientations are deeply seeded in our ideologies about the world. The judeo-christian ideas about the Earth insist that earth was created for man to fully utilize it to his needs. According to Lynn White in The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis religion played a vital role in shaping our worldview because it eventually led to humans irrationally fulfilling their desires through mass consumption of the natural surroundings. This concept led to the merging of science and technology as one entity while they are essentially distinct. We essentially view the world through a filter based on the previously mentioned bias. The resultant theories derived from the above stated ideologies are technocentrism and ecocentrism . Technocentrism insists that natural resources are neutral and humans make value-free decisions based on scientific/technological management. In other words, humans control the environment for gainful purposes by manipulating nature. The Scientific method is the primary method for allocating resources for development and growth. Some examples of this are the Hoover Dam and the Panama Canal. On the other hand, ecocentrism enforces the respect for nature and other living things. It is the belief that some natural systems should be left alone and those that are managed should be done so with little disruption. We are essentially part of the biosphere because we exist within the environment. It suggest that man needs to behave within limits imposed by natural environment.