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Environmental Worldviews Case Studies

Last updated over 3 years ago
13 questions
1

What do you think are basic human needs? What should all people have access to?

1

What do you think are some qualitative needs? Meaning, what might not be essential for survival but will improve the quality of human life?

Mostly A: Planetary Management
  • Believe that humans are set apart from nature and can manage nature to meet our needs and wants
  • Believe that resources are not limited because we will develop and find new ones
  • Any economic growth is good and should not be restricted by worries about the environment
  • We are apart from the rest of nature and can manage nature to meet our increasing needs and wants
  • Because of our ingenuity and technology we will not run out of resources
  • The potential for economic growth is essentially unlimited
  • Our success depends on how well we manage the Earth’s life support system mostly for our benefit
Mostly B: Stewardship
  • Humans have an ethical responsibility to care for nature.
  • We will probably not run out of resources if we manage them properly.
  • Economic growth that is environmentally beneficial should be encouraged. If it is not, it should be discouraged.
  • We have an ethical responsibility to be caring managers, or stewards, of the Earth
  • We will probably not run out of resources but they should not be wasted
  • We should encourage environmentally friendly forms of economic growth and discourage environmentally harmful forms
  • Our success depends on how well we manage the Earth’s life support system for our benefit and the rest of nature
Mostly C: Environmental Wisdom
  • Nature exists for all species and we must consider all species in our actions.
  • All resources are limited and should not be wasted.
  • Economic growth that is environmentally beneficial should be encouraged. If it is not, it should be discouraged or prohibited.
  • We are a part of and totally dependent on nature and nature exists for all species
  • Resources are limited and should not be wasted
  • We should encourage earth sustaining forms of economic growth and discourage earth-degrading forms
  • Our success depends on learning how nature sustains itself and integrating such lessons from nature into the ways we think and act
1

Which statement fits you best?

1

Which statement fits you best?

1

Which statement fits you best?

1

Which statement fits you best?

1

Which one of the following would you be most likely to copy?

1

Which of the following statements is closest to your opinion?

Use these websites to answer the questions about the Sea Shepherd's Organization and the Biosphere 2 experiment

Sea Shepherd: https://seashepherd.org/who-we-are/our-mission-2/

Biosphere 2: https://biosphere2.org/about/about-biosphere-2
1

Which worldview do you think is represented by the members of the Biosphere 2 experiment? Explain using evidence from the video and the website.

1

Some analysts argue that the problems with Biosphere 2 resulted mostly from inadequate design, and that a better team of scientists and engineers could make it work. Explain why you agree or disagree with this view.

1

Which worldview do you think is represented by the members of the Sea Shepherd Organization? Explain using evidence from the video and the website.

1

Do you believe that we have an ethical responsibility to leave the earth’s natural systems in as good, or better, a condition as they are now? Explain. List three aspects of your lifestyle that hinder implementing this ideal and three aspects that promote this ideal.

1

In the past few days of class we have summarized several different environmental worldviews. Go through these worldviews and find the beliefs you agree with and then describe your own environmental worldview. Which of your beliefs were added or modified as a result of taking this course?