SUB-TOPIC 1.1 ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE SYSTEMS
SUB-TOPIC 1.2 SYSTEMS AND MODELS
1.1 Significant Ideas –


Historical events, among other influences, affect the development of
environmental value systems (EVSs) and environmental movements.
There is a wide spectrum of EVSs, each with its own premises and implications
Sub Topic 1.1 Applications and skills
1. Define environmental value system in a general application (not one specific system)
2. Discuss the view that environment can have its own intrinsic value
3. Evaluate the implications of two contrasting EVSs in the context of given environmental
issues
4. Justify, using examples and evidence, how historical influences have shaped the
development of the modern environmental movement
Take Note: What prior knowledge will help with this topic?
What questions do you have?
Text resource Chapter 1 and 2 pages 7 - 26
Environmental value systems
An environmental value system
is a particular worldview or set
of paradigms that shapes the
way an individual, or group of
people, perceive and evaluate
environmental issues.
WHAT ARE THE HISTORIC INFLUENCES?
 Literature
 The Media
 Major Environmental disasters
 International agreements
 Technological developments
SAND COUNTY
ALMANAC - 1949
 Book by Aldo Leopold
 USA
 described relationship between people and the land
 landmark in conservation movement
 inspired people to protect the natural resources for their
own sake (not just economic benefits)
MINIMATA - 1956
 Japan
 Disease caused by mercury
poisoning from factory
polluting the bay
 Bioaccumulation &
biomagnification
 Demonstrated link between
human health and pollution
SILENT
SPRING - 1962
 Book by Rachel Carson
 USA
 showed link between
pesticide use and
ecosystem health
 raised awareness of
Americans
 beginning of the end:
DDT
LOVE CANAL 1976-1978
 Niagara Falls, NY
 School built on former toxic waste dum
 Dangers denied for a long time
 Only came clear after grass-roots
activism
3-MILE ISLAND
 1979
 Pennsylvania, USA
 Near meltdown of nuclear power plant
 Decrease in belief of safety of nuclear energy industry
 Lead to heavy regulation of nuclear industry
BHOPAL 1984
 Union Carbide plant in India
 Gas leak at night killed
1,000’s of people
 Union Carbide escaped
criminal penalties
 brought about realization
that ‘ugly’ side of
industrialization happens in
impoverished areas
CHERNOBYL 1986
 Ukraine (USSR then)
 worst nuclear disaster
 complete meltdown released
radioactive waste over
Europe
 Resettlement of 300,000
 demonstrated that
environmental issues are not
national issues
SAVE
THE WHALES 1986
 Green Peace Campaign
 global, but Japan, Iceland, &
Norway are flash points
 commercial whaling ban to
reduce the number killed
annually
 showed international
cooperation can achieve
something
 still has weaknesses -
voluntary
LOCAL EXAMPLES
 Unsustainable Frontier Ethic
 Oil Field Development and Transportation (oil
trains vs pipeline)
 Salish Kootenai Ownership of Kerr Dam
 Other?
SYSTEMS AND MODELS 1.2
Sub-topic 1.2 – Systems and models
Significant Ideas –
•A systems approach can help in the study of complex environmental issues.
•The use of systems and models simplifies interactions but may provide a more
holistic view without reducing issues to single processes.
Sub Topic 1.2 - Applications and skills
1. Construct a system diagram or model from a given set of
information
1. Evaluate the use of models as a tool in a given situation, for
example, climate change predictions.
Pre
Post
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SYSTEMS AND MODELS 1.2
SYSTEMS APPROACH:
 A way of visualizing a complex set of interactions
which may be ecological or societal
 Many different scales (microscopic to planetary)
 Interactions produce the properties of the system
 An assemblage of parts, working together, forming a
functioning whole
ALL SYSTEMS HAVE…
All systems have…
Represented by…
STORAGES: stores of matter or energy
A box
FLOWS: into, through, and out of the system
Arrows
INPUTS
Arrows in
OUTPUTS
Arrows out
BOUNDARIES
Lines
PROCESSES: which transfer or transform
Equations or descriptions: ex.
Respiration, diffusion
energy or matter from storage to storage
EVS AS A SYSTEM
Historical moments in the environmental
movement (inputs)
1956
1962
1985
• Minimata disaster
– bioaccumulation
of mercury in
seafood
• Rachel Carson’s
book Silent Spring
documenting the
effects of
pesticides
• Bhopal disaster
killing up to 25,000
1970s
• Greenpeace
campaigns
- save the whale
- anti-nuclear
testing
Video 1
Video 2
1986
• Chernobyl
disaster causing
resettlement of
over 300,000
DECISIONS, RESPONSES, COURSE OF ACTION?
(OUTPUTS)
 These are dependent upon the EVS
 We know a wide variety exists
 Spectrum…. Where do you fall? Montana? USA?
EVS of various societies
First
Nation
Americans
vs
European
pioneers
ASSIGNMENT:
TWO CLASSROOM DAYS TO WORK DUE 9/15
 Create an essay, or presentation, or power point... the choice is yours.
 Requirements:
 Compare and Contrast the environmental value systems between two
societies.
 Examples:
 Buddhist and Christian societies
 Early Swahili and Early Colonial societies
 American Indians and European pioneers
 Hint: Start by thinking about very different societies. Then look at the similarities.
 We will access the documents for this assignment via Google Classroom
SOME GENERAL EXAMPLES.
 The following slides will give you an idea of what to look at, however, your
research should be focused more specifically…
 Instead of Buddhist vs. Judeo Christian
choose specific countries of groups that
primarily follow the tenets
 Consider specific Native American tribes (north or south America)
 Specific countries
 Also consider time period historic vs modern era
1. First nation Americans vs European pioneers
Environment communal
Subsistence economy based on barter
Low-impact technology
Animistic religion – animals, plants,
rocks etc all have soul
Exploitation of seemingly unlimited
resources
Environmental degradation
through over-population
Disconnected with environment
Heavy industry and advanced
technology
2. Communist vs Capitalist socieites
Equal distribution of resources with no
profit led to squandering of resources
destroying the environment
Government protected farmers
unintentionally benefiting parts of the
environment
Seen as more environmentally
friendly as resources are used
efficiently to maximize profit
Unions protected industry damaging
the environment
Civil liberties and democracy used in
protecting the environment
3. Buddhist vs Judaeo-Christian societies
Separation of body and soul, matter
and spirit
Genesis – domination or stewardship
or the Earth?
Ecofeminism – nurture rather than
conquer
World is all co-dependent
Birth, ageing, suffering, death all
conjoined
Humans not autonomous or more
important than the Earth
CONSIDER IMPACT ON SPECIFIC ISSUE
 How did/do these societies perceive and deal with:
 Air pollution from cars
 Water pollution from factories
 Deforestation
 Nuclear power
MLA WORK CITED
 Fountain, Henry. "Chernobyl: Capping a Catastrophe." The New York Times. The
New York Times, 27 Apr. 2014. Web. 7 Sept. 2015.
 Chang, Louis W. and Guo, Grace L. Minamata Disease: Congenital Methylmercury
Poisoning Elsevier
 "Minamata Disease." » Sustainability » Boston University. Boston Univeristy, 2010.
Web. 7 Sept. 2015.