The Historical Roots Of Our Ecologic Crisis Summary

In Roderick Nash’s article Island Civilization, Nash describes human impact on the environment and offers a solution to end our man-made plunder. The majority of this article is primarily, Nash stating his opinion in regards to civilization expanding beyond its environmentally sustainable limits. Nash believes that humans have failed our natural environment and are in the process of eliminating all traces of wildlife from our Earth. Nash points out facts that support his argument, and quotes multiple theologians on their similar views on our environmental issues.

Never in the history of the human species have we been in such a rapidly changing environment. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, we have been making social, economical, scientific, and environmental changes and advancements at an unprecedented rate. Societal advancements, while much appreciated by the average Joe, have been detrimental to our environment. Every days forests are cut, rivers polluted, and once ecologically important areas are cemented over to compensate for our rapidly growing population. As the status of our natural world becomes more critical by the year it is important that we look at the driving factors and reasons for this destruction of the natural world. While pollutants and globalization are the driving

Over the years, human existence has led to major environmental changes and global impacts. Recently, human activities have led to an increase in climatic changes threatening human life; such as, global warming, rising sea levels, increase in floods, and melting ice caps among other indicators (Klein, 2015). These environmental changes have been brought by rapid industrialization,

Has Earth entered into a new geologic epoch, characterized by human influences? A recent study, spear-headed by the British Geological Survey, has come to the conclusion that man’s global impact has become distinct enough to end the Holocene and effectively begin the Anthropocene. Published in Science, the study identifies how man’s impact on our oceans, resources, climate, and vegetation has altered the sedimentary makeup of the planet. Massive species invasions, increased rates of extinction, genetically modified plants, redistributed metals, sediment, hydrocarbons, fossils, increased levels of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus all combine to create signals that geologists interpret to denote a break in the Holocene

Laurance argues that human beings have the heaviest impact on nature. The author givessamples of each environment and how it has changed for the worst. There is fact provided witheach section giving examples of each and the measurements of what has changed. This sourceprovides information from scholarly, well known authors, and facts from many scientist aroundthe world. I can use this source to show how human beings have such a drastic effect on theirenvironments, proven with facts and statistics from all over the world.

McFague poses the question “Is the environment a religious issue?” Many Americans believe that our deteriorating planet can be solved by science and new technology. It isn’t that simple. The environmental crisis involves all people with all areas or expertise and religions. It is about applying “household rules” to keep the planet flourishing: take only your share, clean up after yourself, and keep the house in good repair for those to come. There are two worldviews, neoclassical economics and ecological economics. McFague presents reasons why ecological economics is more beneficial to flourishing the planet. Neoclassical economics sees humans on the planet as individuals drawn together to fully make use of natural resources. Ecological economics sees the planet as a community that survives only through the interdependence of all its parts, human and nonhuman. Ecological economics concerns the health of the whole planet. This view helps us to picture ourselves not as isolated individuals but as housemates. McFague response to the environmental crisis is in four steps. First, we should become conscious of neoclassical economics as a model of how to allocate scarce resources. Second, we need to suggest some visions of the good life that are not consumer-dominated, visions that are just and stainable. Third, we need to publicly advocate the ecological model as the more just and sustainable one for our society. Lastly, we should rethink what the ecological economic context would mean for the basic doctrines of Christianity. The planet will flourish with this ecological

Christianity did play a role in the ecological crisis because it gave an excusal for the use

Like other stuff in history, human impact on the environment has alternated through time. The changes are actually dire from the era of foragers to the modern age. Foragers made alone insufficient impact on the environment. They tried their finest not to revision the world. They had attained their shelter, food, and clothing, entirely from the environment. Each group of foragers desired an extensive chunk of land because they were peripatetic. They did not stay in a particular area for a lengthy time. If they didn’t stay in a particular place for long, they could’ve not done a lot of devastation to the environment (p.10). Also their living standards were a lot smaller than our living standards now. For one thing, they devour much less than

Humankind is drastically changing the face of the planet. Even climate change deniers cannot completely refute the basic idea—all one has to do is look out a window. From changing the course of rivers to clearing entire forests, one would be hard pressed to find a single area of the planet that does not bear the marks of our presence. In fact, so strong is our influence on the planet that scientists have for some time now been debating officially declaring a new geologic epoch.

“The Believers Church: A Natural Resource Worth Conserving” by Jason G. Duesing is an article about protection and preservation of the church doctrine. President Theodore Roosevelt’s words, not only addressed “Conservation as a National Day” , but he “was not concerned with any immediate threat to the existence of the growing nation, but rather the present population’s reckless indifference toward a vital problem that threatened its future existence”. Duesing states that culprit indifferences and climate of ecclesiological relativism is on the rise as “believers engaged in old wasteful methods with regards to natural resources of the doctrine of the church”. The doctrine of believer’s experiences indifferences while being intentionally

Religion and ecology are two concepts that rarely intersect in popular culture. Religious individuals are expressed as devout followers of strict doctrine where ecologists are often seen as free flowing lovers of peace. These polar opposite perceptions impact not only the cultural views of those practicing these beliefs, but they also influence the way each group is seen in the world. One religion that is commonly referenced in our society’s popular culture is Christianity. Due to its anthropocentric teachings, Christianity is often seen not just as the opposite of environmentalism, but also in many ways: the enemy. On the other hand, Christians are also viewed as individuals who contribute heavily to improving our world through many different positive campaigns focused around aiding both people and the world in which we live. So in this mix of many different reputations and ideas, where does Christianity truly stand? Does it help the environment or hurt it? Though the Christian faith has potential causes for ecological damage, its beliefs are largely misunderstood, and there are many more factors to explore in regards to the environmental crisis than one religious doctrine. Christianity is not solely responsible for the ecological crisis.

White’s thesis in The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis states that in order to confront the expanding environmental crises, humans must begin to analyze and alter their treatment and attitudes towards nature. The slow destruction of the environment derives from the Western scientific and technological advancements made since the Medieval time period. “What people do about their ecology depends on what they think about themselves in relation to things around them” (RON p.7). Technology and science alone will not be able to save humans until we adjust the way of thinking and suppress the old ideas of humans power above nature. Instead, we need to learn how to think of ourselves as being

It is said that Lynn White felt that “the worlds environmental problems,” were at their root caused by Christianity. When considering this opinion, many will turn to the beginning of Scripture, pondering the words of Genesis 1:26, “which gives humans dominion over the earth,” thus determining that God has given mankind permission to do as they desire with His creation, making it ethically acceptable to use nature in any way they so desire. It is this verse that remains at the center of the debate as to whether a Christian should be an environmentalist or not. Furthermore, it is also believed that “religious conservatives” are merely “awaiting the coming of a New Heaven and Earth,” thus, why would they feel a need to remain concerned about the one which mankind dwells upon now Consequently, those who believe that the verses of Genesis give them the right to do with the earth as the please, go about “treating our planet in an anti-human, god-forsaken manner.” Thus, human actions go on adding to the groanings of the earth, which it hath endured since the fall of Adam and Eve. Although some choose to proclaim that Genesis reveals their misuse of earth as morally sound, I do not agree, instead I feel that mankind is called to have “respect for God and God’s creation, therefore, man is not simply ruler, set apart from nature, but should instead be view “creation as a

During the time that humans have been living on earth the environment has evolved especially the way we have treated it. Now that we have found a large variation of energy sources we have effected it even more.

The environment is quickly becoming one of the greatest topics of debate in modern times as the impacts of climate change and deforestation become more and more apparent to the world, and is arguably man’s next greatest ethical concern. Regardless of one’s stance on ecological issues it is hard to argue that a change in our behaviour isn’t needed to prevent future devastation. The Catholic Church has always to some degree supported environmentalism, and that support is no doubt growing stronger rather than dwindling. To understand the significant extent to which adherents of Catholicism are participating in the ever increasing ethical concern of the environment, it is first important to explore Church teachings and their approach to ecology.