Environmental Worldviews, Ethics, and Sustainability

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Environmental Worldviews, Ethics, and
Sustainability
G. Tyler Millers Living in the
Environment MATES Chapter 28
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Key Concepts

• Human-centered worldview

• Life-centered worldviews

• Earth-centered worldviews

• Ethical guidelines to work with the Earth

• Living more sustainably

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Environmental Worldviews in Industrial Societies

• Environmental worldviews

• Individual-centered

• Earth-centered

• Human-centered

• Life-centered

• Ecosystem-centered

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Environmental Worldviews
Fig. 28-2 p. 742
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Values

• Instrumental (utilitarian) value

• Intrinsic (inherent) value

• Anthropocentric worldview

• Biocentric worldview

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Planetary Management Worldview

• Humans are the most important species

• There is always more

• All economic growth is good

• Human success depends on how humans manage things

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Variations on Planetary Management

• No-problem school

• Free-market school

• Responsible planetary management school

• Spaceship-Earth school

• Stewardship school

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Life-Centered Environmental Worldviews

• Humans should not cause the premature extinction
  of species

• Actively protect species endangered by human
  activities

• Some believe all animal species have a right to
  survive

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Earth-Centered Environmental Worldviews

• Ecocentric worldview

• Emphasis on preserving functioning ecosystems

• Humans are part of ecological processes

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Environmental Wisdom Worldview

• Humans are part of nature

• There is not always more

• Some types of technology and economic growth are
  good

• Human success depends on learning how Earth
  systems work and applying what we learn

• Deep ecology (See Spotlight p. 748)

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Solutions Living More Sustainably

• Biosphere and ecosystem responsibilities

• Species responsibilities

• Cultural responsibilities

• Individual responsibilities

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Environmental Education

• Where do things I consume come from?

• What do I know about the place where I live?

• How am I connected to the Earth and other living
  things?

• What are my purpose and responsibility as a human
  being?

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Major Components of the Environmental Revolution

• Efficiency revolution

• Pollution prevention revolution

• Sufficiency revolution

• Demographic revolution

• Economic revolution