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1.1 Environmental Value

Systems
The Development of the Environmental Movement
Environmental Movements are worldwide campaigns to raise awareness and
coordinate action, to tackle the negative effects that humans are having on the
planet
Environmental Disasters

 The Minimata Disaster - a new disease was found in Minamata City in

Japan 1956

It was linked to the release of methyl mercury into waste water by the
Chisso Corporation's chemical factory

fish and shellfish were contaminated and then eaten by the local
people, causing mercury poisoning

the disease led to birth defects and other neurological problems

 The Chernobyl Disaster - On April 26, 1986, a reactor at the Chernobyl

plant in Ukraine exploded

a lot of highly radioactive fallout was sent into the atmosphere and
badly contaminated large areas of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia

it increased chances of cancer in those areas

the incident raised issues concerning the safety of Soviet nuclear

power stations, and the gneral saftey of nuclear power

Environmental Literature

 Silent Spring - in 1962 biologist Rachel Carson published Silent Spring

she made a strong case against chemical pollution and the harmful
effects of pesticides along food chains to top predators

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 the book led to widespread concerns about the use of pesticides and
the pollution of the world

 Limits to Growth - in 1972, the Club of Rome (a global think tank of

environmentalists) published Limits to Growth

the report examined the consequences of a rapidly growing world

population on finite natural resources

it has become the best selling environmental book in history

Environmental Media

 An Inconvenient Truth - in 2006, this film examined the issues surrounding

climate change, and increased awareness of environmental concerns.

the film had a lot of publicity and was quickly spread across the
internet - meaning more people than ever heard about global warning

the film made the arguments about global warming very accessible to a
wider audience, and raised the profile of the environmental movement
worldwide.

 Greenpeace - one of the most influential environmentalist groups

founded in the 1970s and became well known with their anti-whaling
campaign

the campaign actively confronted Soviet whalers in the pacific

ocean

in the 1980s as well, they started an anti-nuclear testing campaign

 Earth Day - the day is marked each year on 22 April

it was founded in 1970 after Gaylord Nelson saw the effects of a

massive oil spill in Santa Barbara

it moved environmental protection into the political agenda

it is celebrated simultaneously around the world, encouraging people to

participate in both local and global environmental campaigns

International Agreements

 The Stockholm Declaration - in 1972, the United Nations held its first major
conference on international environmental issues to examine how human
activity was affecting the environment

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 it led to the Stockholm Declaration

this played a pivotal role in setting targets and shaping action

locally and internationally

 Our Common Future - in 1987, Our Common Future was published by UN

World Commission on Environment

it linked environmental concerns to development and sought to

promote sustainable development through international collaboration

 Agenda 21 - the publication of Our Common Future led to the UN's Earth
Summit in 1992

Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to achieve sustainable

development worldwide

It was adapted by more than 178 governments

it encouraged people to think of the indirect values of ecosystems

rather than only the economy

it also emphasized the relationship between human rights, population,

social development, women and human settlements and the need for
environmentally sustainable development

Technological Innovation

 Green Revolution - this was a time between the 1940s and the late 1960s
when developments in scientific research and technology in farming led to
increased agricultural productivity worldwide

The Club of Rome claimed that within a century, a mixture of human

made pollution and resource depletion would cause widespread
population decline

but the intervention of the Green Revolution meant that the

population was rather increasing

 Other technological innovations have created alternatives to fossil fuels

which drives the environmental movement further

such innovations include solar panels and wind turbines

Environmental Value Systems

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 An environmental value system
EVS is a worldview or a paradigm
that shapes the way an individual or
🌳 EVS Processes - accepting
or rejecting ideas; cost
benefit analysis; emotion;
group of people perceive and
evaluation; thinking
evaluate environmental issues

these have cultural, religious,

economic and socio-political
influences (inputs) 🌳 EVS Inputs - education;
cultural influences;
it involves a set of interrelated economic factors; socio-
premises, values and political factors (the
arguments that can generate interaction of social and
consistent decisions and political factors,
evaluations (outputs) communism, capitalism);
religious texts and doctrine;
the media.

🌳 EVS Outputs - perspectives; decisions on how to act regarding

environmental issues; courses of action.

Case Study: Buddhist Monks

Buddhist societies, for example, see the human being as an intrinsic part of
nature. A society’s EVS influences the actions taken by its citizens in response
to environmental issues. Buddhist monks in Thailand, for example, are part of a
growing environmental movement.

They are involved in ecological conservation projects, and teach ecologically

sound practices
among Thai farmers. Unsustainable development based on rapid economic
development is
seen to be one of the primary causes of Thailand’s environmental crisis. The
respect in which
Buddhist monks are held means that their views are listened to and can have a
profound effect

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 Main EVS Approaches

Approach Definition Details

nature centered, holistic

they propose self-reliance, self-
view in which
restraint and minimal disturbance of
Ecocentrism environmental, social, and
the natural process to achieve
spiritual aspects are
sustainability for the whole earth
integrated

a people centered
approach in which people
population control and resource
manage their environment
Anthropocentrism management are given equal
and themselves with the
importance
help of independent
regulatory authorities

the emphasis is on the use of scientific

belief that technology will analysis and prediction in order to
keep pace with and understand and control natural
Technocentrism
provide solutions to processes. science will find alternative
environmental problems. resources and the market economy can
continue unheeded

Extremes at the ends of the EVS Approaches Spectrum

Soft ecology: self-sufficiency in resource management. Ecological understand

a principle for all aspect of living. Shun large scale profit motives for action, for
small-scale community orientated schemes.
Deep ecology: a need for spiritual revolution to fix environmental problems is at
the core of all environmental issues. Nature is at the center, equal rights for
species. (nature before human)

Environmental managers: no radical political agenda but promote working to

create change within the existing social and political structures. Current
economic growth can be sustained if environmental issues are managed by
legal means or political agreement. (believe that the environment can be used
if manage properly)

Cornucopians: a perspective that doesn't really see environmental issues as

"problems" as humans have always found a way out of difficulties in the past.
New resources and technologies will solve any environmental problems as they
are encountered. There is no need for radical agendas, socio-economic or
political reform. (don't care for the environment; human come first)

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 Case Study: Native Americans and European Pioneers Contrasting EVS

Prior to the colonization of North America by Europeans from the late 16th
century onward, the
country was occupied solely by native American Indian tribes. Native
Americans, in general, saw
their environment as communal, and had a subsistence economy based on
barter. Their low-impact technologies meant that they lived in harmony with
the environment – something supported by their animistic religion where all
things have a soul – animals, plants, rocks, mountains, rivers, and stars.

The incoming European pioneers operated frontier economics, which involved

the exploitation of what they saw as seemingly unlimited resources. This
inevitably led to environmental degradation through over-population, lack of
connectivity with the environment, heavy and technologically advanced
industry, and unchecked exploitation of natural resources.

Decision Making and EVSs

 Environmental challenges posed by the extensive use of fossil fuels

Cornucopians, from a technocentric viewpoint, would take this

opportunity for resource replacement (in which an environmentally
damaging industry can be replaced with an alternative)

They would devote scientific efforts to removing carbon dioxide

from the atmosphere instead of curtailing economic growth

A technocentrist would predict that market pressure would eventually

result in the lowering of carbon dioxide emission levels.

An ecocentrist approach to the same problem would call for the

reduction of greenhouse gases through curtailing existing gas-emitting
industry, even if this restricts economic growth.

 Approaches of resource managers to increasing demand for water

resources

A technocentric approach to this problem would be removal of fresh

water from seawater (desalination) if they were near an ocean, iceberg
capture and transport, wastewater purification, synthetic water

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 production (water made through chemical reactions, or hydrogen fuel
cell technology), cloud seeding, and extracting water from deep
aquifers.

An ecocentric approach would be to encourage the conservation of

water and greater recycling

 Methods for reducing acid rain

The ecocentrics would call for a change in lifestyle that reduces the
need for either the energy produced by coal, or the products that are
made with that energy

Technocentrists would again argue for use of alternative technology

and encouraging continued economic growth irrespective of the effect
of greenhouse gas emissions because they see humanity as able to
control the problem as and when necessary.

Intrinsic Value

An intrinsic value is one that has an inherent worth, irrespective of economic

considerations

Intrinsic values include values based on cultural, aesthetic, and bequest

significance

Practice Questions

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.

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