GEO 103 - Exam 1 Study Guide PDF

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GEO 103 Exam 1 Study Guide What are Talking About When We Talk About ‘Nature’? Three ways we commonly use the concept of “nature,” Williams ○ The essential qualities of something ○ Inherent force which directs the world ○ Material world itself (with or without people) ● Nature as socially constructed, ontologically and epistemologically ○ Ontology – the fundamental properties of the way something is ○ Epistemology – forms of knowledge and about something ● Cronon: Nature always has a historical and cultural context, and the assumption that it doesn’t is called “Nature as naïve reality” (that assumption that nature is the same always and everywhere ● Nature as “Edenic narrative” – unspoiled, pure, and purifying ● Nature as artifice/artefact – constructed nature (parks, ecological restoration, etc) ● Nature as virtual reality – Nature and our knowledge of it as mediated by technology (computers, satellites, television, etc.) ● Nature as commodity – Natural resources or the marketing of the idea of “authentic” nature ● Nature as adversary and threat – natural disasters, wild animals, disease, etc. ● Nature as contested terrain – Our understandings and values regarding nature are often highly contested ● Nature as moral imperative – One can be accused of acting “against nature” or in an “unnatural way” Reading – Cronon, In Search of Nature - Taking a critical look at the Anthropocene is important in strengthening our understanding of environmentalism and analyzing our cultural assumptions can lead to a renewed mission of protecting the natural world - The environmentalist goal of wilderness preservation is conceptually and politically wrongheaded - Nature always has a historical and cultural context, and the assumption that it doesn’t is called “Nature as naïve reality” (that assumption that nature is the same always and everywhere ●

Wilderness and the Social Construction of Nature ●

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Nature is constructed in two ways: ○ Epistemologically (ideas, forms of knowledge) – our knowledge of the earth comes from social practice ○ Ontologically (materiality, essential properties of a thing) – what it is, not our ideas about it Scientific knowledge is socially constructed because it is a product of social relations, practices, and biases Our understandings of nature are shaped by cultural values, economics, and political views – so nature has a social context Environmental discourse ○ Discourse – patterns of patterns of (verbal or written) communication that form cognitive frameworks and influence understandings, values, ideologies

How we communicate about something shapes how we think about something shapes how we think about and act toward that thing ● Concepts associated with nature: Pristine, virgin, wild, authentic – these set up a separation between what is natural and what is cultural or social ● Nature as moral imperative – calling something “natural” assumes that it is absolute, immutable, God-given, and out of our control (ex. “human nature”); social relations and culturally-specific values are often naturalized in this way ● To say something is natural is often a statement not only about the way something is, but also about the way that thing should be (as with race, class, gender, sexuality, etc.) ● Trouble with “wilderness” ○ 19th century understanding: Romantic period – wilderness represented in art and literature as romanticized, Closing of the Frontier – wilderness valued as something to be protected ○ The wilderness is rooted in US history of conquest and culturally-specific understandings of masculinity, but wilderness as a concept is conceptualized as separate from humans (role of humans in nature is limited to tourist, observer, adventurer, researcher, but not as inhabitant or laborer – so the idea of wilderness is actually rooted in historically-specific social relations of class, race, and gender ● Cronon: the focus on wilderness excludes forms of nature where most people live, work and play, he refers to the idea/ideal of nature as “Nature as naïve reality” or nature without cultural or historical context, that assumes nature is the same always and everywhere Reading – Robbins, Social Construction of Nature - Many things or conditions we have thought of as normal or "natural" have later been shown to be social inventions or merely ideas (for example: race). - "Social constructions" typically take the form of taken-for-granted concepts or ideas that direct our thinking or action, often unbeknownst to us without critical examination. - This holds implications for many key concepts we use to think about society and environment, including ideas like "wilderness" or "desertification." - Environmental stories or narratives formed from constructions of this kind can hold enormous political and social implications by placing blame, directing policy, or developing solutions that may be inappropriate, undemocratic, or environmentally unsustainable. - By analyzing environmental discourses, stories, and narratives, we can learn where our taken-for-granted ideas come from and how they might be resisted or changed. - Critics suggest that taking this approach too far may lead to relativism or dismissal of science. - Reconciling the material reality of the environment with the powerful social constructions that influence our thinking is therefore a major challenge. ○

The Anthropocene ●

Geographical relationship between environment and society ○ Place – a concrete concept (ex. environmental impacts; relations between locations) ○ Space – an abstract concept (ex. spatial flows of resources and wastes) ○ Scale – a relational concept (ex. relationships between global, regional, and local processes)

The Anthropocene is a geological epoch in which humans are biogeophysical dominant, new era because Earth’s processes are shifted by human impacts ● Stages of Anthropocene according to Steffen et al. ○ Stage 1 – Industrial Revolution (1800-1945): the development of carbon-based industrialization (shift to coal and fossil fuels from previously used water, steam from burning wood, and muscle power) ○ Stage 2 – The “Great Acceleration” (1945-2015): the period of economic expansion/stability following World War II, there was the development of many new technological inventions dependent on fossil fuels, rapid growth and transformations in many of Earth’s surfaces ○ Stage 3 – Stewardship of Earth’s Systems (2015 to future): now that we are aware of our environmental impact this is the period where we decide whether to take action or not ● Evidence for the Anthropocene ○ Population Growth – dramatic increase in population in the 20th century ○ Urbanization – emergence of urban growth and rural decline worldwide, growth of megacities, becoming heavily urbanized around the world – consume and absorb a lot of Earth’s resources; mass quantities of materials being used (overuse creates waste streams) ○ Waste Streams – show our overuse of resources ○ Extractive industries – mining (extracting metal) and quarrying (extracting rock), oil fields; the movement of these materials ○ Human Appropriation of Net Primary Productivity (HANPP) accounts for 20% of total NPP ○ Nitrogen Cycling – nitrogen inputs from agriculture and industry exceed natural nitrogen fixation; too much nitrogen being input by fertilizers (nitrogen is a limiting factor for plant growth) ○ Water Withdrawals – taking water from its natural course for human use; about 60% is used for agriculture ○ Global Climate Change – increase of greenhouse gases causing a net warming effect on the planet; it’s an accentuation of the extremes so some areas have become very hot and others very cold – in the 21st century there has been twice as many record highs as record lows ○ Extreme Weather – caused by global climate change there has been increased frequency and intensity of weather events (ex. hurricanes, droughts, forest fires, etc.) ○ Biodiversity Loss – some believe we are experiencing the sixth mass extinction in Earth’s history, species populations are declining in populations and geographic range ● Attribution Science – used to find out if specific environmental phenomena are attributable to human activity; this requires looking at large data sets and determining statistical averages, frequencies, and odds Reading – Steffen et al., The Anthropocene - The term Anthropocene suggests that human activities have become so pervasive and profound that they rival the great forces of Nature, humans have come to dominate the geological, biological, and chemical makeup of the planet ●

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Human activities are indeed affecting the structure and functioning of the Earth System as a whole - Stage 1: The Industrial Era – beginning of the Anthropocene around 1800 with the rise of industrialization and the expansion on the use of fossil fuels - Start is marked by increasing levels of methane and carbon dioxide in polar ice - Before the industrial revolution human population and development was limited by available energy (wind and water power are limited by location); without energy from fossil fuels the population boom and industrialization could not have occurred - Stage is characterized by the advancements of the steam engine (coal), rise in deforestation for agriculture, and development of technology to input nitrogen in fertilizers - Significant increases in methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide - Stage 2: The Great Acceleration - Characterized by the doubling of human population in the first 50 years, a significant increase in the rate of species extinction, an increase in the rate of carbon dioxide accumulations, and changes to the landscape in the form of urbanization - Changes to chemical processes – more atmospheric nitrogen is being converted into reactive forms by fertilizer production and fossil fuel combustion than any natural processes put together - Rapid increase in damming of rivers, water-use, fertilizer consumption, urbanization, paper consumption, motor vehicle transport, and international tourism – all increasing abruptly around 1950 - Stage 3: Stewards of the Earth System? - The Great Acceleration occurred during a time when our understanding of Earth’s systems was still limited, and there was little political or cultural interest in environmental stewardship - In this stage the recognition that human activities are affecting the structure and functioning of the Earth system as a whole is filtering through to decision making at many levels - Marked by growing awareness of human influence, at a cross road for the future for the evolution of the Anthropocene Raloff, Extremely Bad Weather - Evaluates the effect of climate change on weather patterns and extreme weather, looking at record temperatures, heatwaves/drought, hurricanes, precipitation extremes, and tornadoes - Record highs and lows happened about equally in the 1950s, but from 2000-2009 there were twice as many record-high temperatures as record lows - “Attribution” studies are an approach to climate change which have helped show that humans are contributing to rising temperatures (changes partially explained by the effect of greenhouse gases) – now studies are looking at whether the warming climate is shifting the odds of extreme weather events (floods, droughts, heatwaves, etc.) - Researchers in some cases can calculate whether climate change upped the odds of a major weather event; can calculate how climate change affects the odds of a given event happening

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Scientists also quantify how much of the blame climate change deserves with regard to weather extremes – often difficult to prove because the natural variability in Earth’s climate makes some years warmer than others - As Earth’s atmosphere gets warmer the “wet years get wetter and the dry years get drier” - Increased variability in monsoons and other precipitation are a hybrid of natural variability and human-induced climate change – will only become more extreme - It is predicted that the total number of hurricanes will decrease dramatically with the warming atmosphere but the ones that do develop will increasingly be strong ones - The uptick in sea surface temperature along with increasing hurricane power over the last 30 years “is almost entirely due to greenhouse gases - Climate change has negligible effect on common small storms, but increases the intensity of large hurricanes, causing monster damage more frequent - The role of global warming in tornadoes is less certain due to variability in historical data Ceballos et al., Biological Annihilation - Argues that a focus on species extinction under-estimates the problem because the larger issue is that populations are declining in population and range – this is affecting 1/3 of all terrestrial vertebrate species - Study has found that the rate of population loss in terrestrial vertebrates is extremely high—even in “species of low concern.” - Vertebrate species populations are decreasing in population size and range - The data indicates that beyond global species extinctions, Earth is experiencing a huge episode of population declines and extirpations, which will have negative cascading consequences on ecosystem functioning and services vital to sustaining civilization – referred to as “biological annihilation” - Population extinctions are more frequent than species extinctions, but they lead to species extinctions - Population loss is damaging to the services ecosystems provide to civilization - The ultimate drivers of biotic destruction are human overpopulation and continued population growth, and overconsumption, especially by the rich

Environmental Ethics ● ●

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Ethics are normative values, beliefs about the way the world should be, and sense of right and wrong as regards behavior, actions, relationships Environmental Ethics – Normative beliefs regarding how our relationship with nature should be, the rights of non-human nature, and our obligations toward non-human nature ○ Ex: Ecuador in its Constitution includes “The Rights of Nature,” Bolivia has the Law of the Rights of Mother Earth – outline how they would like the relationship to be Environmental ethics is our sense of moral obligation to nature, question of whether non-human nature is entitled to moral standing Biblical Tradition created through the garden of Eden, fanciful nature ○ Dominionism – the notion that humans have dominion over the Earth, in Christian tradition God gave man the right to go out in nature (and do as they please with it); this idea has been extremely influential and has become embedded in Western thinking

Anthropocentrism – human-centered view in which humans have dominion, and are seen as the only species with moral standing; everything is out there for our use ○ Dominionism and Anthropocentrism have been very prevalent in Western thinking John Locke – “The Father of Modern Liberalism,” believed in liberal political economy which privileges individual rights/liberty, sanctity of individual property (at the time was only for land-owning white male, but is still influential today) John Locke’s ideas of Liberalism were influential when Thomas Jefferson was writing the Declaration of Independence – liberal notion of individual rights (anthropocentric) Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness is based in Natural Law as handed down by god and is linked to the natural order of things; individual liberty as the way things should be Jeremy Bentham – “It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong,” develops into the philosophy of Utilitarianism John Stuart Mill – Was very influential in taking the idea of liberalism and individual responsibility and mixing it with civil responsibility; utilitarianism Utilitarianism – the greatest good for the greatest number Pinchot – Interested in forestry, had a utilitarianism vision for resource management, developed the idea of sustainability, “greatest good for the greatest number over the long run” John Muir (wilderness ideal and preservation) – ecocentric vs. Gifford Pinchot (sustained yield and conservation) – anthropocentrism Eco-centrism – recognizes nature as central in importance (romanticism, deep ecology, animal liberation) Anthropocentrism – regards humankind as central in importance (utilitarianism, sustainable development); the environment is valuable only on account of its relation to humans Separation of the two ways of thought is visible in our laws and institutions – setting aside nature for itself vs. for its resources Aldo Leopold – “Moral extensionism” extends our moral views of the world to nature and nonhumans Rachel Carson – studies the effects of the pesticide DDT, caused a dramatic decline in the population of larger birds Edward Abbey – radical eco-centric views Arne Nass – “Deep Ecology,” a philosophical/ethic movement that promoted the inherent worth of non-human living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs Peter Singer – “Animal liberation,” that all beings are worthy of equal consideration, that animals are deserving of moral standing Murray Bookchin – “Social Ecology,” the belief that nearly all of our environmental problems are rooted in our social problems ○

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Environmental Justice ● ● ●

Justice and ethics both deal with normative beliefs Environmental Justice – fair treatment in access to environmental goods and exposure to environmental bads Forms of Justice: ○ Distributional – the distribution of goods and bads in society

Procedural – equality in terms of procedure; fairness of the process/treatment in the justice system ○ Recognition – the recognition of legitimacy; that a person’s rights, complaints, or claims are recognized as valid ● Environmental justice is a geographical issue because it applies to the relationship between places; the spatial patterns of environmental degradation affect different social groups in different ways ● Racial connection between where certain groups are living and the goods/bads of the environment (ex. correlation between nonwhite populations and areas of high pollution, or white populations and higher tree cover) ● The dumping of e-waste in less developed countries (China, India, Africa) ● The legal definition of environmental discrimination emphasizes individual intentionality; it’s hard to prove that someone was intentionally biased in their actions ● Individual intentionality – individual acts of exclusion, discrimination, or hostility ● Structural discrimination – social and geographic patterns of systematic exclusion, regardless of individual intent ● The outcome may not be intentional, but they are also not random – it systematically and predictably affects certain groups than others in the population ○ Ex: Hurricane Katrina – the poor in New Orleans, mostly African Americans, were hit the hardest because of their general location in the city and had limited options to avoid environmental hazards ○ Other examples: Lead contamination in Flint, Dakota Access Pipeline ● Socially produced vulnerability: differential spatial mobility led to flight of middle/upper classes (mostly whites), public housing projects are located in the least desirable areas – structural effects that were not intended but not random ● The climate justice movement recognizes the relationship between carbon emissions in the global North and vulnerability to climate change of the world’s poor, mostly in the global South Reading – Robbins, Environmental ethics - The competing ethical systems have influenced human treatment of non-human nature for thousands of years, including especially systems that are anthropocentric versus those that are ecocentric. - In the contemporary era, priorities of conservation have competed with those favoring preservation. - More recently, the land ethic has been forwarded as a way to value nature from an ecological standpoint without eliminating a role for humanity. - More radically, deep ecology represents an ethic that staunchly asserts the value of nature in, of, and for itself. - Other critical and pragmatic traditions have raised questions about the possibility of absolute, clear-cut, and universal ethical positions ...