Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
for the economistic and quantifying measurement of progress, development and
improved standards of living encapsulated in such indices as gross national product
In
State of the Future
, the necessity of cultural change is explicitly stated:
Although many people criticize globalization's potential cultural impacts, it is
increasingly clear that cultural change is necessary to address global challenges.
The development of genuine democracy requires cultural change, preventing
AIDS requires cultural change, sustainable development requires cultural change,
ending violence against women requires cultural change and ending ethnic violence
requires cultural change. The tools of globalization, such as the internet, global
trade, international trade treaties and international outsourcing, should be used
to help cultures adapt in a way that preserves their unique contributions to
humanity while improving the human condition.
(Glenn and Gordon, 2007: 5)
Without cultural change, without dialogue on sustainability and sustainable
development, values and policies, political decision-making is liable to remain
blinkered and uninformed. As Robinson notes, sustainability is a political act, but
what informs that act? The rest of this chapter explores various perspectives informing
this dialogue, but it should be remembered that only human action that is at once
political and ethical will ultimately fashion a more sustainable world.
Deep and shallow ecology
'Deep ecologists' have the principles of ecological limits and the need for human life
to harmonize with nature as their central tenet. In 1973 the Norwegian philosopher
Arne Naess published in
Inquiry
a short article titled 'The shallow and the deep',
which outlined the foundation of 'deep ecology', essentially an
ecocentric
value
position. He later elaborated these views in a number of papers, speeches and topics,
and the ideas soon took root among radical activists throughout the world, partic-
ularly in the US (Ingalsbee, 1996). In many ways, largely because of its strong moral
compass, deep ecology is the touchstone of the environmental movement and the
conscience of sustainable development practitioners. Importantly, Naess made the
distinction between
shallow
and
deep
ecology, clearly articulating the centrality of
system interactions and complexity to this worldview. He writes that the differences
between them can be seen by contrasting their approaches to the following (Naess,
1995: adapted from pp. 71-4).
Pollution
Shallow approach
: Technology seeks to purify the air and water and to spread
pollution more evenly. Laws limit permissible pollution.
Polluting industries are preferably exported to developing countries.
Deep approach
: Pollution is evaluated from a biospheric perspective, not
exclusively focusing on the effects on human health, but rather on life as a
whole, including the life conditions of every species and system.
