PA 395 Day 2
Non-Profits and the Environment
Gary Flomenhoft
June 7, 2003
Eco-philosophy
A)
Indigenous: hunter/gatherer
B)
Early agriculturalist: pagan, goddess
C)
Religious: Christian, Buddhist, Taoist
D) Modern philosophical: utilitarian,
transcendental, natural law, deontological,
E) Radical Ecology: biophilia, bioregionalism,
bio-centrism/animal rights, deep ecology, ecofeminism, etc.
Eco-Philosophy: Western Philosophical
Theory
Tenet
Pro-con
Most
valued
Govt purpose
Egoist
Consequentialist
Self-interest
Atomistic
Self
Secure my needs
Natural law
Non-consequentialist
Creator structured
universe/live by divine plan
Wonder/order
Disbelievers are
wrong
Aspects mirroring
gods will
Establish human law to
follow gods will
Utilitarians/invisible-hand
Maximize happiness
Greatest good
Consider ones
fellows, self-sacrifice
Happiness
Maximize utility
Minimize harms
Discussion/engagement
Free to act. How we use
reason in judgement.
Principles evident to
rrational mind
Universal Law. Categorical
imperative=
universalizability
Dignity and value in
life. Tells you when
you are immmoral.
Better and not to do,
description is
everything
Autonomy.
Freedom to act (in
moral life
Autonomy preserved
Reason can be exercised
Encourage morality and
ethics
Socialist
Past dominates the present in
class
Community/fairness
Equity
Goods distriburted
widely
Libertarian
Protect rights
No community
Personal liberties
Retaliatory enforcement
rights
Communitarian
Civic engagement, citizens
confront each other to find
deeper commonalities
Human flourishing?
Too much work
Civic enagement
developing
citizens
Deliberate about civic
issues creating good
citizens
Consequentialist
Deontology/everyone
behaves morally
Non-consequentialist
Religious Environmentalism
The National Religious Partnership for the Environment is a
formal alliance of major faith groups and denominations across
the spectrum of Jewish and Christian communities and
organizations in the United States.
Its four founding partners include: The U.S. Catholic Conference,
the National Council of Churches of Christ, the Coalition on the
Environment and Jewish Life, and the Evangelical
Environmental Network.
The Partnership is integrating care for God's creation throughout
religious life: theology, worship, social teaching, education,
congregational life, and public policy initiative. And we seek to
provide inspiration, moral vision, and commitment to social
justice for all efforts to protect the natural world and human wellbeing within it.
http://www.nrpe.org/
Religious Environmentalism
In the United States, 3,500 Lutheran, Presbyterian, Unitarian, and
Quaker congregations have committed to purchasing fairlytraded, shade-grown, often organic coffee. Just five years old, the
Interfaith Coffee Program now supplies about one percent of the
country’s congregations and is the fastest-growing source of
revenue for the Equal Exchange Coffee Company, the program’s
sponsor.
In the 1990s, “environmentalist monks” in Thailand opposed
shrimp farming and dam and pipeline construction and protected
mangroves and bird populations. They even preserved trees by
“ordaining” them within sacred community forests.
"You might not think spirituality and environmentalism are
natural allies," says Gardner, "yet in a recent survey, 56 percent
of Americans said we should preserve the environment 'because
it is God's creation.' Religious motivations for environmentalism
lie just below the surface for many Americans. These sentiments
are blossoming in the U.S. worldwide, helping to renew the
environment."
Market Environmentalism-Principles
Private property rights encourage stewardship of resources.
Government subsidies often degrade the environment.
Market incentives spur individuals to conserve resources and
protect environmental quality.
Polluters should be liable for the harm they cause others.
What do free-market environmentalists believe?
Like all environmentalists, free-market environmentalists believe
that we face serious environmental problems, including pollution,
habitat destruction, toxics, and endangered species. Unlike some
environmentalists, free-market environmentalists believe that
decentralized tools such as user fees, incentives, and markets will
solve those problems better than centralized tools such as
subsidies, bureaucracy, and regulation.
Market Environmentalism-Members
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Political Economy Research Center
Heartland Institute
Cato Institute
Reason Magazine
Independent Institute
Laissez Faire Books
Institute for Humane Studies
* Other Groups and Individuals
Radical Ecology
Deep Ecology
Spiritual Ecology
Social Ecology
Green Politics
Eco-Feminism
Sustainable Development
Flo’s Paradigm Dialectic
Environmental history since 1945.
Triggering events
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
F)
G)
H)
I)
J)
K)
Echo Park dam
DDT/ Silent Spring
Santa Barbara oil spill/ Earth Day
Cayuhoga River
Lead in gasoline
Love Canal
3 mile island/ nuclear power
Bhopal
CFCs
Chernobyl
CO2/ climate change
Hydro-Illogical Cycle
Flo’s Eco-Illogical Cycle
Types of strategies/tactics: advocacy vs. service: Case Studies
1) Standard Tactics/ Gain access to Decision
making: Lobbying, electioneering, litigation,
coalition building, and public mobilization
2) Advocacy and Publicity-emotional appeals,
3) Scientific Research-Expertise
4) Direct Action
What do Nature Conservancy and Earth First
have in common?
Types of strategies/tactics: advocacy vs. service: Case Studies
A)
i)
ii)
iii)
Adversarial
Direct action
Legal
Boycotts
B)
i)
ii)
iii)
Transformational
Lobbying
Education
Legal
C)
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
Exemplary/Personal: individual vs collective action
Boycott/buycott
SR investing
Whistleblowing
Eco-villages
Policy Analysis
Normative analysis
Political analysis
Ecological-economics
Quantitative/statistical