Chapter 2

There are several contemporary environmental ideologies focused in this chapter-from dominated anthropogenic to having an interdependent importance in an ecocentric ideology. From these two sides of the spectrum, several beliefs on how human denote the natural environment are compared to how likely their actions for protection are examined.  Preserving the natural environment can come from any type of moral ground-either through the belief centered around aesthetic value to a humanly beneficial cause in which everyday citizens tackle as well as how major environmental groups deal with conservation management.

Reflection-

I would like to think that conservation is more focused on the protection of wildlife for nature’s benefit than the underlying use for human consumption. The uses of the environmental world will always be dealt out by the humans that inhabit the land and which animals and landscapes provide the most economic viability of its ecological services. These places that provide the most efficient ecological services will also be higher on the list for protection than others due to its affable media use of people’s concern for diminishing natural resources.

-Hannah Spaulding

Communicating Nature-Chapter 2

-Britt Thornton

There is a large spectrum of environmental beliefs that range from anthropocentric to ecocentric. Antropocentric is the view that the natural world and its resources are subject to human consumption. An ecocentric ideology views humans as interconnected with the natural world and a part of it, but not at the top. A range of religions, environmental conservation ideologies, and cultures all
fall on this spectrum in relation to the individual.

Reflection:
After reading this, I realize how focused our culture is on ourselves in
relation to nature, and how different people and different perspectives manifest themselves into these ideologies. Everyone has an idea of how they should interact with the natural world. Culture and religion seems to have a big impact on individual ideologies; the Eastern and Western opinion on the hierarchical placement of humans is vastly different. Even animal rights were challenged by the claim that it disregards other aspects of nature, such as
plants. These environmental ideologies are sometimes conflicting, and resolution to environmental problems will require compromise.

Communication Nature ch 2 summary- Shannon Anderes

In the spectrum of environmental ideologies it explains that no matter where you stand, whether it be as seeing yourself as a part of the natural world or being superior to the natural world, you still are on the spectrum. Preservationists support “conserving resources for humans to use and enjoy in the present and future, but it also believes in preserving resources for reasons that go beyond their purely instrumental value—that is, the utilitarian and economic value they hold for humans.” (pg 35) This differs from conservationists who believe in the ideology that “recognizes that there should be some restraints on humans’ use of natural resources.”(pg 31) Another way to categorize yourself on the spectrum is whether you see yourself as anthropocentric or ecocentric. “Anthropocentric is human centered. Humans are superior to and dominate the rest of creation, and the natural world is ranked hierarchically with humans at the top.” (pg 27)  On the contrary, ecocentrism can be described in the sense that “no single species (like humans) rules—heterarchy as opposed to the hierarchy. I would categorize myself somewhere between anthropocentric and ecocentric. I believe that humans are superior to nature, however it is important to look out for the common good, in which nature should be preserved.

Haikus- Shannon Anderes

Snowy trees
melt come spring–
memories live for eternity.

Smokey hills
summer’s end–
soon will be forgotten.

Ice cold
water like glass–
not a worry in the world.

Communicating nature ch 1 summary- Shannon Anderes

Nature and the environment can be perceived in many different ways. As described in the introduction, Corbett asked a group of her students to draw a picture of nature and another group of her students to draw a picture of the environment. As it turned out, the group that was asked to draw the environment had incorporated humans, as the nature group had not.  There are several factors that go into how nature is perceived. One’s childhood plays a huge role in how one sees nature, based off of experience. As explained by Corbett, “there are many ways to experience nature. A direct experience involves actual physical contact with natural settings and nonhuman species, and activities associated with this type of experience are largely nonplanned and nondirect.” Childhood is the most prominent time when one spends the most time outside; whether it is exploring, climbing trees, building a fort, or simply just playing. With today’s society, children spend less time outside due to technological advances. In a study with kids ages 3-12, the amount of time spent outdoors has decreased from “eighty six minutes per day in 1981 to just forty-two minutes in 1997.” I can only imagine how much more it has declined in the last decade with all of the new video games and other technological advances that have skyrocketed. Another big factor that plays into how nature is seen is one’s profession. As illustrated in chapter one, if you take a developer, a farmer, and a hunter and have them all look at the same open field, they will all perceive it differently simply for the sake of themselves and their livelihood. Lastly, ones history and religion can play a role in the way nature is perceived. “The clash between Indians and settlers was also ideological in terms of relationship to the natural world. Until the age of Enlightenment and the scientific revolution, the earth was a living thing.” Religion also had a significant part in the sense that, “many settlers believed it was their Christian duty to impose control, civilize, tame, subdue, and in essence, denature nature.” All in all, everybody has a different outlook to nature based off of their own personal history.

Communicating Nature (26-56)-Fred Holwerda

The second chapter of Communicating Nature speaks to the ideologies of whether or not to protect nature. The lowest levels of protection include “Unrestrained Instrumentalism” which entails a “humans first” approach. On the other end of the spectrum is “Transformative Ideologies” which means “nature first”. The author also goes into how other cultures deal with the natural environment and what their ideologies consist of. The author derives his conclusions from his time with the Bureau of Land Management and concludes that this country treats nature with an anthropocentric view.

Reflection: I would agree with the author’s statement on the United States being more anthropocentric than the rest of the world. Americans as a whole chose to have life brought to them and if a forest gets cut down, well, these things happen. The culture we live in shows that we are making baby steps to achieve a better relationship with nature and that we are becoming more environmentally friendly. With the energy crisis bearing down on us, we will eventually be forced into a new ideology and it will most likely be more ecocentric than before.

Chapter 2 Summary and Reflection- Alex Singer

Chapter 2: Communicating Nature- Alex Singer

Summary:

The author talks about the different ideologies of nature and how humans view nature. There are two extreme ends of the scale of how humans view nature, anthropocentric and ecocentric. Anthropocentric is the ideology that humans are separate from nature and that humans are superior and dominate nature. Ecocentric believe that no single species, either human or non-human, rule nature. Between these two extremes are unrestrained instrumentalism, conservationism, preservationism, ethics and value-driven ideologies, and transformative ideologies. Unrestrained instrumentalism is the idea that humans are the most important, and natural resources only exist only for human use. Conservationism recognizes that there is a need to conserve natural resources, but only so those resources do not completely disappear. Preservationism supports preserving natural resources that will not only benefit human, but also benefit the nature around them. Ethics and value-driven ideologies ass a moral to human behavior because it believes that humans have duties to continue the existence of nature (animal rights and land-based ethics). Last but not least, transformative ideologies call for extensive social change. Transformative ideologies include: ecological sensibility, deep ecology, social ecology, ecofeminism, Native American ideologies, and Eastern traditions.

Reflection:

Before this class I never truly understood the extent of how people view nature. Being apart of the generation I am in, I understand the need to recycle and preserve water and nature. After reading this article I realize that I probably should do more than “just recycle” I never knew there were so many different categories and ideologies on nature. I thought it was interesting reading about how even different cultures have different ideologies on nature, and unlike myself they do not “just recycle.” Different cultures, like the Buddists, actually connect to nature and they are preserving nature for more than just themselves. It also turns my stomach that some people are so naive that they actually think the world revolves around them. I think it is extremely important to respect our nature and to view everyone in the same circle of life, not a hierarchy. As of today I would place myself as a conservationism ideologist because I understand that there is a need to conserve, but all I am doing is recycling my beer cans. It opens my eyes to realize that sometimes you need to do more. I want to benefit nature and I want to support a healthy ecosystem. I want to be more cautious of the world around me and think more like a preservationist would.