Enviormentalism

Question 1

What is the basic idea of enviormentalism?

Answer 1

It is a perspective based on the idea that humanity needs to change its relationship with nature to protect the environment and ensure it can sustain life

Question 2

What are the basic ideas behind enviormentalism?

Answer 2

• understanding our dependence on nature is necessary to live in harmony with it rather than viewing humanity as separate and with the right to control and dominate it

Question 3

Define anthropocentrism

Answer 3

• the focus on human well-being that is at the centre of most political thought
• not the focus of enviormentalism

Question 4

Define ecocentrism

Answer 4

the view that is advocated for by environmentalists and says that nature should not be valued only in terms of its usefulness to humans

Question 5

How do environmentalists view our attention on economic growth?

Answer 5

• environmentalism views our obsession with economic growth as an important cause of environmental problems
• they argue that there are limits to the capacity of Earth’s ecosystems to accommodate our high levels of consumption

Question 6

What is the basic goal of enviormentalism?

Answer 6

the development of a sustainable society in which the integrity of ecosystems is maintained by the proper use of renewable resources and ensuring we are not producing more pollutants than the Earth can handle

Question 7

What are some ways environmentalists argue a sustainable society can be acheived?

Answer 7

• adoption of a no-growth economy to live within Earth’s capacities
• integration of self-governing and self-sufficient communities as locally focused production is views as more natural than large corporations and nation-states

Question 8

Why are some of the proposed methods of attaining a sustainable society perhaps unrealistic?

Answer 8

self-sufficient local communities may be impossible in a world dominated by large cities and a population of over 7 billion

Question 9

What is a major problem for enviormentalism?

Answer 9

limiting economic growth on a global level could deprive residents of developing countries the opportunity of catching up to the living standards in richer countries

Question 10

What are the arguments against the problem with enviormentalism?

Answer 10

The objective of sustainability must be combined with social justice involving a more equitable distribution of the world’s wealth

Question 11

Define reform environmentalism

Answer 11

• a perspective that views the solution to environmental problems primarily in terms of better technology and environmental management
• does not view economic growth and environmental protection as incompatible

Question 12

Define free market enviormentalism

Answer 12

• the perspective that believes that guarantees of the rights of private property and free market economy are crucial to environmental protection

Question 13

What are the arguments of free market capitalism?

Answer 13

• private owners of farms, forests, or fisheries are more likely than governments to sustainably manage their resources
• the environmental costs of production should be included in the price of goods
• polluting industries should not receive tax breaks or government subsidies

Question 14

Define deep ecology

Answer 14

• an environmentalist perspective that views anthropocentrism as the fundamental cause of environmental damage
• advocates a sense of oneness with all life on Earth

Question 15

What are the arguments of deep ecology?

Answer 15

• humans have no right to reduce the richness of life forms except to satisfy vital needs
• advocates a decrease in the human population and the return of a simpler life style

Question 16

Define social ecology

Answer 16

• a perspective that views social, economic, and political relationships of hierarchy and domination as the cause of both human and environmental problems

Question 17

What are the arguments of social ecology?

Answer 17

• an egalitarian society is needed to end domination within human societies and the exploitation of nature
• favours a world in which political power lays in the hands of local communities

Question 18

Define ecofeminim

Answer 18

• a combination of environmentalism and feminism that views male dominance as the basic cause of environmental damage

Question 19

• What are the arguments for ecofeminism?

Answer 19

• environmental exploitation stems from male desires for control
• women are more in touch with nature, and making contraceptive information and abortion available to women would slow population growth and ease pressure on the enviornment