When thinking about environmental studies and the plethora of topics that fall under this interdisciplinary subject, it is all too easy to assume that there is a right and wrong answer, polar opposite opinions, and striking differences in how people choose to approach some of the discussions. This is sometimes the case, but it is also common for differing arguments to overlap in some areas or have similar goals or roots despite other differences. It is important to acknowledge these overlaps and examine their role in the discussions about what might be the best response to some environmental issues.
Acknowledgement of Existence of a Problem
In my first post, I noted that the environmental problems that we are facing currently are a global issue that require the attention of everybody across all communities and countries. I noticed that although many of the readings we have seen over the course of this class have expressed many different opinions and covered a wide range of thoughts, many of them would agree that environmental problems are concerning and deserving of our attention. Paul Steinberg, in his book Who Rules the Earth? says, “Environmental problems are literally unruly— they meander across political borders and agency jurisdictions, challenging our ability to launch a coordinated response.”(Steinberg 2015, 162) This connects directly to Why We Disagree about Climate Change; Mike Hulme literally labels climate change as a “wicked problem” (Hulme, 2015). In this way, it was comforting to hear that people are acknowledging the existence of a problem although there may be differences in opinion regarding how to directly address those problems.
Need for Action
While many of the authors may disagree over the best course of action in terms of addressing these issues, it is imperative to note that they are even acknowledging that actions should be taken at all; this is a very important connection that ties some of these authors together, especially since some people may argue that environmental problems are simply a byproduct of human existence. People who take this stance would argue that no action should be taken to address our contribution to a changing climate. Vaclav Smil, in Making the Modern World, says, “We must hope that human ingenuity and adaptability will, sooner rather than later, guide us along the right path- but even in that case that the transformation of humanity’s material uses will be a gradual and difficult process with an uncertain outcome.” (Smil 2014, 180) This connects to something the ideas that are posed in Who Rules the Earth? because both Steinberg and Smil delve into this idea that humans have an obligation to address problems that they themselves have created through ingenuity and innovation.
Connection Between Modernization and Environment
The final connection I will make between readings will be the shared belief that modernization should not be sacrificed in the name of preserving our environment, and that modernization can actually have a beneficial impact on our fight against environmental damage. Shellenberger explicitly states in Love Your Monsters that we must, “[replace] the antiquated notion that human development is antithetical to the preservation of nature with the view that modernization is the key to saving it.” (Shellenberger 2011, 215) This is very similar to the argument that Leigh Phillips makes in Austerity Ecology & The Collapse-Porn Addicts, who argues that anti-modernist views won’t do anything to help the planet, and that ultimately technology and innovation is important if we do have any hope to address human-made environmental damage and prevent it in the future. (Phillips, 2014)
Ultimately, each author I have read over the course of the semester has had vastly different approaches to looking at environmental thought and the problems we are facing today, but on certain subjects, it was interesting to see clearly visible links and connections between their beliefs and arguments.
Citations
Hulme, Mike. 2009. Why We Disagree about Climate Change: Understanding Controversy, Inaction and Opportunity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Smil, Vaclav. 2014. Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley.
Steinberg, Paul F. 2015. Who Rules the Earth?: How Social Rules Shape Our Planet and Our Lives. New York, NY: Oxford Univ. Press.
Phillips, Leigh. Austerity Ecology & The Collapse-Porn Addicts. United Kingdom: Zero Books, 2014.
Shellenberger, Michael, and Ted Nordhaus, eds. 2011. Love Your Monsters:Postenvironmentalism and the Anthropocene. Breakthrough Institute.