It was Fredrich Ratzel, who indeed looked at environment determinism in this way. Although still “convinced of the importance of the idea of evolution” (Wanklyn, 1961, p.19) Ratzel explored the ideas of how societies are dependent on the land and what it provides. Ratzel saw development of these societies as dependent on what the land provides, if the land for example contains valuable resources then, according to Ratzel, that society will develop. To some extent there are modern
In 1992, we are faced with defining and implementing this commitment to future generations in the context of environmentally sustainable development. Global environmental change affects our capacity to achieve sustainable development; it may help or hinder this process, although the focus is more on the latter. In turn, economic development causes global environmental changes. The implications of global environmental change are inherently long-term and require that we address equity issues that span two or more generations. We have developed economic instruments to try to satisfy the needs of the present generation efficiently, but these are not adequate for addressing equity issues with future generations.
Running head: Bronfenbrenner Analysis Andrea Miller Capella University Bronfenbrenner Analysis COUN5004 January 01, 2012 Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory of Development is an important aspect in being able to capture how certain people make sense of certain circumstances that arise. Bronfenbrenner does not want to simply focus on one thing. He wants to focus on the relationship between a person’s environment and the person as opposed to simply one or the other. He also does not want to concentrate on isolated variables that influence any particular decision he wants to focus more on the process of development that leads the person to that particular decision (Crandell, Crandell, and Zanden, 2009). Bronfenbrenner first introduced the ecological theory in a comprehensive statement in 1979.
That is to say that the more members we have in our community (people) the more complex our ethics and tools become as a way to cope with the increase in population in a way that keeps the individuals happy For instance; the golden rule or Democracy’s integration of social organization to the individual. The next process of evolution in ethics is to include the soil, water and animals of the planet. He explains the importance of this step by describing what the land does for us and what the land is and describes history as being shaped by the resources we seek on the land. There are many consequences to our actions and Leopold names a few as a catalyst for a land ethic as he describes it. For example, regions grazed by livestock causes plant recession, erosion, and further plant recession.
Nature vs Nurture Describe what the nature vs nurture debate is and say what you think has been the most important aspect for upbringing The term ‘Nature’ means what we genetically inherit for example eye colour, hair colour, skin colour etc. and the term ‘Nurture’ means how the environment influences us physically and mentally, for example, peer groups, media, education etc. However, there is a huge debate regarding both nature and nurture. Many people, especially scientists, suspected that nature influences our behaviour and lifestyle more than nurture. This is because there are many factors that are believed to be inherited by our parents such as intelligence and addictions.
Particularly prevalent in Western society, the Human/nature dualism is defined as “The perceived separation between humans and nature”. Often characterised by a sense of superiority over nature this mindset in its current form has contributed greatly to global warming and thus must be challenged if we are to change our behaviour. However dualisms are a socially constructed part of human nature and thus there a wide variety of factors to consider wether and to what extent the current “climate crisis” will challenge the human/nature dualism. As all cultural dualisms are essentially socially constructed paradigms, to properly answer this question we must first consider how this frame of mind became so widely accepted. Ancestrally, Human beings are pack animals.
Environmentalist believed that the world was in jeopardy whereas “anti-environmentalist believed that no matter the environmental effect, social and economic health and progress were necessary for people and civilization to prosper” (Botkin & Keller, 2011, Ch. 1). Ultimately, this movement helped make the environment just as important as social and political issues. It has also help open many eyes in regard to finding ways of addressing, solving, and managing the environment and its issues. 2.
We have forgotten “the hard-learned lesson that how you get someplace is as important as getting there” (Berkebile, McLennan, 1999). So, what needs to be done? Well, for one, there is a need to overhaul the entire environmental movement. “Environmentalist can turn things around if they can rethink their priorities and craft more coherent, consistent, morally compelling ways of addressing our environmental plight” (Freyfogle, 2005). Maybe this way more people can understand exactly what the world is facing and what needs to be done about it, to help people to get excited about doing what is morally right in regards to the environment.
Over time, the views that humans, as societies, have had of nature have dictated how they would make up their norms towards other people and the nature elements, and also how the attitudes taken by them would build their relationships with the environment, and consequently what would be the manner that they would reshape the planet. The view of Cronon (1996) adds to this fact; stating that wilderness would better not be comprehended as a series of physical features of the world which present some particular characteristics (one of them being uninhabited, for example), but as an human creation, and general conceptualization, being it modified during the historical context. And again, this notion of nature would also determine how men act towards the environment. Humans’ views of Nature and relationships with nature The Oxford Dictionary of English defines the term nature as “the phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations”. One way to interpret this definition consists of nature being the untouched environment, that is, a place where human has not transformed by their actions, actions these that would generate the “human creations”.
The importance of biodiversity is being more widely recognized as increasing numbers of species come under threat. What can be done to maintain biodiversity? My essay: In recent years there has been growing awareness of the importance of preserving the world’s biological diversity. As increasing numbers of unique, and potentially useful, plants and animals come under threat, people are beginning to ask whether more can be done to reserve this trend. One possible approach is to regulate agricultural and industrial activity so that pollution and disruption to natural habitats is kept to a minimum.