How I rely on the physical environment....
The day is overcast and drizzling as I sit on a chair in my kitchen reading a university textbook. Because of the darkness, I rely on the assistance of a light. Everything around me is the product of a natural system in my physical environment. The air that I am breathing was first purified by trees and other autotrophic organism, for carbon dioxide was removed and oxygen released in its place. The light above me is powered by electricity. Electricity is generated through a hydroelectric dam. This involves the water cycles and the movement of electrons through an electrical power system. Since the temperature has dropped with the approach of winter, I also rely on the furnace to keep me warm. The heat produced from the furnace was created through the combustion of natural gas. Natural gas, before it could be used in the furnace, had to be mined and purified. It then had to be transported from the mining area to a location where it could be transferred through pipes to our homes. Also, the clothing that I am wearing offers up some warmth. My sweatshirt is a mixture of synthetic fabrics, hence also coming from mined gas and oil. Before reaching the store, however, it had to be manufactured and then transported. Manufacturing and transportation both require large amounts of energy. This energy also must come from the environment, either through electrical power or again, mined fossil fuels. Jeans and a cotton-blended t-shirt were most likely created in the United States, for cotton is a crop that they produce and harvest. Cotton plants not only provide the proteins that make up the fibres of the material for the shirt, but also assist in the purification of air.
Trees are also the providers of the paper in which a publisher wrote the text on for my book. Trees must be taken to the mill and processed before later being converted into paper and finally the textbook. Inks and glosses were created from vegetable based dies and clay respectively. Again, the completed product was then transported to its final destination, my kitchen table. In order to read for an extended period of time, I sat upon a chair. This chair was made from wood and plastic. It was held together with glue and bolts. Wood would come from trees once again, and plastic from mined fossil fuels. The glue would be a product of harvesting horse hooves, and the bolts would be made from metal extracts found in rock sediments, which were later refined and manufactured. Since I also happened to be drinking a glass of water, the glass would be from heated sand, and the water would be pumped from a water resource outside the city (Shoal Lake). This water was purified by the natural vegetation, microorganisms, and sediments of the lake before later being processed in a treatment facility. Therefore, everything that surrounds me, whether I realize it or not, was first part of a natural system that our society has manipulated to meet everyone’s personal needs.
Connect vs. Disconnect
People can participate in many activities that connect them to nature. Growing up in the city does not stop parents from experiencing the joys of going to the beach, on nature hikes, and camping in national and provincial parks with their children. Planting a garden or assisting in the restoring of wetlands, riparian areas, or just planting trees and flowers are excellent ways that people are able to connect to the systems that they depend on for their very survival. Nature provides adventures, discoveries, and breath-taking views that appeal to many people through rushing brooks, sharp ridges that hide a beautiful flower from the eyes not willing to explore to the very crevice of a mountain, and the overall picture of land meeting water and endless masses of air. Enjoying a sunrise, a sunset, or the fog rising off a pond, one will know that forces that are not in man’s control have created such sights.
In contrast, it is easy for people to get disconnected from nature. We often argue that life gets in the way of fully enjoying what nature has to offer. Technology is often a shield, blocking natural forces from influencing the human beneath. IPods block the sounds of birds chirping and squirrels chattering. Vehicles are equipped with barriers such as windshields and a metal frame to prevent the wind from caressing your skin. Instead of watching the sunset, people are often in front of a TV screen, laughing at a hilarious joke. When families travel to parks, they often bring the technologies from home. TV’s, IPods, and cell phones should not be necessities, especially when people go to parks and green areas to “get away” from the city or town.
Therefore, society needs to break down the shield of technology so that they can enjoy what nature has to offer and appreciate its beauty and systems that make our existence possible.
What is the Purpose of this Connection?
Recognizing that we influence the natural systems and environment around us is the first step in connecting with nature. Humans and nature are interconnected, even though many people believe the two to be separate entities. Furthermore, we must also recognize how we influence nature. When people are connected to nature, they begin to consider their impacts that their actions have on natural systems around them. Everyone becomes more conscious of their surroundings as well as changes in their lives that could significantly alter nature. Instead of hopping in the car, people may instead decide to ride a bike or walk. Carpooling and public transportation may be other alternatives. Purchasing a more fuel efficient vehicle would reduce green house gases, thus reducing ecological footprints.
A connection to nature may also change a person’s values. Freshwater and clean air are provided through the purification in natural systems. Hence, valuing freshwater and clean air may lead people to conserve the water and reduce their emissions, such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. When we value friendship, honesty, and justice, we stand up for these beliefs and argue with anyone who feels differently. The same goes for environmental degradation. If a company is mining or logging in a park, and you happen to value the green space of the park and what it represents, then you would argue that such actions are unethical and shouldn’t be allowed to continue. Valuing freshwater would cause conflict between groups of people if one group was dumping toxic wastes into rivers and streams. How we value a resource is often depicted in the way we then manage that resource and protect it. Therefore, through connecting ourselves to nature, we begin to value the services and resources that it has to offer.
Where do your Environmental Ethics Lie?
While I value the various life forms around me, I also value the overall system and how it functions to keep everything alive. Therefore, I could say that I am between the biocentric and ecocentric viewpoints. In terms of the biocentric, I believe that every species has the right to live where it chooses and that we must not prevent its survival. However, I also believe that some management of certain species may be required should human actions remove population barriers that used to control that species’ numbers.
Biodiversity is important because each species fills a certain function, or niche, in its ecosystem. It therefore assists in the running of that system. However, in some cases there are more than one species that can fulfill a niche in an ecosystem. The biocentric would argue that both species must be preserved, and the ecocentric would argue that as long as the system continues to work, either species can be protected. In this case, I agree with the biocentric, saying that both species should be preserved, but I also agree with the ecocentric saying that overall, we need the system to continue working properly.
People are top predators in every ecosystem, for we have adapted to almost every part of the planet. Though we have conquered most of the planet, this does not give us the right to exploit the resources so fully that other species cannot also share in their benefit. In the definition of sustainable development, it says “the ability to meet humanity’s current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”(World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). This implies not only the human generations, but the generations of important species that we directly and indirectly rely on to run these ecological systems.
World Commission on Environment and Development. Our common future, chapter 2: towards sustainable development. [Online]. Avail from: http://www.un-documents.net/k-001303.htm [1987 June]
