Environmental value systems summary sheet
Ecocentric / deep / soft ecologists Anthropocentric
General  Role of personal (and society’s) behaviour
 Role of education
points for all  Less materialistic society
questions  Spirituality may mean values of environmental protection
embedded in society e.g. Bhutan
 Nature’s needs at highest priority
 Biorights
 Think about economic growth as continual need for use of
resources
Human  Probably sees human population growth as negative impact on
Earth
population  Promote education of women as a strategy to reduce human
growth population growth
 Would promote self-restraint in family size
 Would promote international collaboration to support countries in
meeting Millennium development goals to reduce population
growth
Global  will be opposed to human activity that leads to global warming;
 or may value national happiness over economic growth;
warming  may believe global warming stems from western capitalist greed;
e.g. perspective of Buddhist cultures/first generation Americans;
 Vegetarian diet to reduce greenhouse emissions
 stresses the minimum disturbance of natural processes so would
advise reducing greenhouse gas emissions so as not to unbalance
the natural greenhouse effect;
 ecocentrism stresses self-imposed restraint on resource use;
 e.g. reducing individuals’ carbon footprint by walking to work;
 constructing a low energy house
 changes in personal behaviour could include using public transport
/ buying local produce / eating less meat / investing in insulation
for home / flying less;
 education could be at a local, a national or international level and
funded on as mall or large scale;
 changes in personal behaviour can be easy for an individual to
make but only effective if many change their behaviour;
 education is effective in raising awareness but then depends on
individuals to change their behaviour / way of life;
 these approaches are sometimes not supported by people who do
not want to risk a lowering of their standard of living;
Fresh water  Insist on increase water efficiency / change human behaviour
 Importance of education
provision  E.g. fines for over-use /waste
Technocentric / cornucopian
 Sustainably manage the global system
 Use of taxes
 Use of regulation and legislation
 Debate encouraged to reach consensus
 Probably sees human population growth as a
problem
 Promotes international collaboration to reduce
population growth
 May impose national legislation to control
population growth
 E.g. China’s one child policy
 Many societies implement policies to encourage or
disincentivise pregnancies and children
 E.g. tax breaks for families
 Sees Global warming as a problem
 environmental managers would legislate to reduce
production of greenhouse gases;
 International collaboration e.g. Kyoto protocol and
subsequent updates) / carbon tax / carbon trading /
carbon emission targets; at an international level
these approaches have proved to be very difficult to
negotiate;
 Promoting conservation of carbon stores e.g. peat
bogs / rainforests
 Encouraging people to save energy
 Subsidies for ‘green’ energy e.g. solar panels
 environmental managers would call for
compensation to those who experience adverse
effects due to these changes
 help to encourage changes in business and
personal behaviour;
 carbon taxing and trading has had limited success
due to underpricing of carbon;
 as global warming is a global problem international
cooperation is essential as part of the solution;
 In democratic societies, political pressure from
population may result in regime change and
change in policies e.g. Delhi
 Technological developments can provide solutions
 Role of human ingenuity to improving the human lot
 Scientific research encouraged
 Emphasis on how systems can be controlled,
manipulated por exchanged to solve problems
 Pro-growth agenda deemed necessary for society’s
improvement
 Population growth may be seen as a way of supporting
economic growth
 If popn. Is deemed in need of controlling, technological
innovations may be promoted e.g. contraception
 Population growth seen as less of a problem as new tech
may support growing population
 Esther Boserup demonstrated in her work on agricultural
innovation in primitive societies with growing populations
 Promote scientific research to support growing popn.
 E.g. growing meat in petri dishes / vertical gardens /
farms
 Global warming is an inevitable effect of progress
 more pragmatic/consumer-oriented/pro-economic
development e.g. Western capitalism;
 so may be less concerned with global warming issues /
less willing to compromise lifestyles;
 Humans can develop technologies to remove the
greenhouse gases e.g. carbon capture and storage / pre-
combustion technology / post-combustion technology /
gasification / oxy-fuel combustion / carbon sequestration
by re=planting
 stresses that technology can provide solutions to
environmental problems;
 would support investing in alternative technologies;
 e.g. nuclear/solar/carbon capture and storage to reduce
atmospheric carbon;
 stresses the importance of market and economic growth;
 would support carbon trading/economic advantages of
trading in low carbon technologies;
 constructing a low energy house
 some large countries may try to solve this challenge of
regional physical
 scarcity with large infrastructure projects, eg China,
  Water should be available for all humans irrespective of where
they live
 No polluting substances should be allowed to be deposited in
water
Acid  will be opposed to human activity that leads to acid deposition;
 or may value national happiness over economic growth;
deposition/
 may believe acid deposition stems from western capitalist greed;
Photochemical e.g. perspective of Buddhist cultures/first generation Americans;
smog
 stresses the minimum disturbance of natural processes so
ecocentrics would advise reducing acidic gas emissions
 ecocentrism stresses self-imposed restraint on resource use;
 changes in personal behaviour could include using public transport
/ buying local produce / eating less meat / investing in insulation
for home / flying less;
Ozone  will be opposed to human activity that leads to ozone depletion
 may believe ozone depletion stems from western capitalist greed;
depletion e.g. perspective of Buddhist cultures/first generation Americans
 Cease all production AND use of CFCs and other ODSs
 Changing behaviour by not using aerosols that use ODSs
Loss of  Living organisms should not be used by humans if there is any
detrimental effect
biodiversity  Reference to biorights of all species
 Biodiversity should be considered more important than human
progress / lifestyle
 Reference to spirituality of nature to some cultures e.g. native
American Indians
 education is effective in raising awareness but then depends on
individuals to change their behaviour / way of life; E.g.
vegetarian/vegan diet / cease hunting / growing of monocultures at
expense of rainforest
 in areas of the world with shared freshwater
resources there may be potential for conflict over
inequitably but can be solved with discussion and
agreements e.g. Indus Water Agreement between
India and Pakistan
 regulation and laws can enforce water metering
and cap water use e.g. hosepipe bans
 Sees acid deposition as a problem
 environmental managers would legislate to reduce
production of acidic gases;
 International collaboration
 help to encourage changes in business and
personal behaviour;
 international cooperation is essential as part of the
solution;
 as ozone depletion is a global problem international
cooperation is essential as part of the solution;
 Reference to Montreal protocol
 Fines to companies that do not adhere to legislation
/ black market traders in CFCs
 agreement/cooperation/mutual consensus about
natural resource use;
 giving legal rights to local people would raise their
ecological awareness and urge them to actively
protect species
Spain
 countries can enhance water availability through the use
of technology, e.g.
 reservoirs, desalination, artificial recharge of aquifers
 eg variable flush toilets / aerated taps and shower heads
 low-technology solutions such as rainwater harvesting
schemes
 Acid gas production is an inevitable effect of progress
 Humans can develop technologies to remove the acidic
gases before emission
 stresses that technology can provide solutions to
environmental problems;
 would support investing in alternative technologies; ;
 stresses the importance of market and economic growth;
 technocentric responses played a key role in solving
ozone depletion;
 alternatives to gas-blown plastics/propellants/methyl
bromide enabled products to be produced without
releasing so many ozone-depleting substances;
 so technology enabled societies to continue lifestyles
they had become accustomed to;
 however, without the Montreal Protocol international
agreement to set limits,
 there would have been little likelihood of governments
taking the necessary steps to produce these alternatives;
 so a political solution was important as well as
technological
 technological solutions have played some role in the
response to the loss of biodiversity;
 web-based monitoring systems have helped to monitor
species numbers;
 satellite tracking of migrating organisms, e.g. whales /
sea birds;
 ICT systems have been important in enforcing
agreements such as CITES;
 sophisticated technological solutions like seedbanks
enable us to preserve DNA so that valuable genetic
diversity is not lost;
 however some might argue that technologies e.g. GM
crops are actually responsible for the loss of species
diversity;
 and many of the causes of species loss e.g. habitat
degradation are occurring in societies with little access to
technology and it cannot play a role in solving these
problems;
 technology is a tool which cannot on its own solve any
problem, there has to be political will to make changes

Exploitation  probably be opposed to the exploitation of oil reserves
 concerned that nature will be damaged, and that it is
of oil  more important than material gain for its own sake;
reserves  would favour the rights of species to remain unmolested over the
 rights of humans who wish to exploit resources for economic gain;
 distrust/lack faith in the modern large-scale technology;
 and its associated demands on elitist expertise (which would be
required for oil exploitation);
Sustainable  minimal disturbance of natural processes/resource use so minimal
impact of development;
development  takes a holistic approach towards sustainable development /
integrates spiritual, environmental and social aspects which should
minimise resource use;
 believes overconsumption of resources/materialism is wrong and
unsustainable;
 limits over-exploitation and environmental degradation;
 but the problem is that self imposed restraint on resource use
restricts development/economic growth;
Management  Ecocentrism would appropriately argue to reduce or stop fossil
fuel use because:
of fossil fuel  fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource and so cannot be
reserves exploited sustainably;
 their exploitation often leads to significant habitat destruction eg oil
spills/mining;
 …this environmental impact has aesthetic/moral/spiritual
implications addressed by ecocentrism;
 their use contributes to global warming – so further disturbance to
natural systems/species;
 their exploitation and use involves large scale technology;
 their use tends to be managed by central state authorities rather
than local communities;
 investing in fossil fuels hinders development/use of renewable
alternatives;
 dependence on fossil fuels can lead to international conflicts;
Large urban  Deep Ecologists would oppose the project because…
 …building an HEP would be an example of
projects e.g. materialism/unrestrained resource use that is against their beliefs;
 …a large dam will disturb natural processes/ecosystems which is
 agreement/cooperation/mutual consensus about
resource use;
 giving legal rights to local people would raise their
ecological awareness and urge them to actively
protect the environment
 agreement/cooperation/mutual consensus about
resource use;
 giving legal rights to local people would raise their
ecological awareness and urge them to actively
protect the environment / eg,
 local people gain income by adjacent National
Parks or peasants owning the land they cultivate;
 strong regulation of development/Governments
impose appropriate economic incentives or counter-
incentives towards sustainable goals;
 eg the various permit trading schemes like
Australia’s carbon pricing scheme or Acid Rain
Program of USA / or the various green/carbon
taxes/fees;
 Offer compensation offered (by governments or
NGOs) to people afflicted by pro-sustainability
regulation / eg, compensate shepherds for sheep
being eaten by wolves that were re-introduced in
the vicinity;
 Sees depletion and use of fossil fuels as a problem
 Promoting conservation of carbon stores e.g. peat
bogs / rainforests
 Encouraging people to save energy
 Subsidies for ‘green’ energy e.g. solar panels
 help to encourage changes in business and
personal behaviour;
 carbon taxing and trading has had limited success
due to underpricing of carbon;
 as global warming is a global problem international
cooperation is essential as part of the solution;
 Require an EIA to be carried out to determine the
impacts on existing ecosystem
 Dam planning and construction is notoriously
difficult. It is highly complex, involving a multitude of
and then technology can help to provide solutions;
 Cornucopians are likely to support it;
 feel that resources are there to be exploited/generate
income;
 and that with sufficient ingenuity/technical expertise,
potential environmental
 obstacles could be overcome/technocentric approach;
 technological solution to environmental
degradation/resource shortage through
substitution/pollution clean-up/non-polluting solutions;
 understanding the environment can enable humans to
manipulate it and still provide for future generation;
 transnational corporations will be able to provide
sustainable development with technology changes as
market forces drive economic growth; –
 Technocentrism would appropriately argue to maintain or
increase fossil fuel use because:
 fossil fuels are still abundantly available;
 the technology is already well-developed (and
developing) for their extraction;
 much of modern technology is geared toward/dependent
on their use;
 they can provide significant economic benefits to
countries owning the resources;
 technology is being developed for coping with
environmental disturbances/oil spills etc;
 oil extraction is one of the largest capital projects
providing mass employment globally;
 use of fossil fuels is essential in interim while renewable
technology is being developed;
 fossil fuels have been very effective in promoting
economic development;
 fossil fuels (esp natural gas) are very cost-effective
sources of energy

 Cornucopians would be in support of project because…
 the lake/reservoir would “improve” environment for
human use e.g. recreation/more reliable water supply;
 HEP would be an efficient power supply to increase
dam building unethical;
 …biorights of native species will be infringed through flooding
upstream/changing flow downstream;
 …local cultural values (e.g. river sanctity/”river festivals”) might be
offended by interfering with the river;
 …animal/human rights of free access to water would probably be
infringed by administration of HEP/reservoir;
 they would be against large-scale production plant/would propose
smaller unobtrusive renewable energy sources;
 they would be against centralized energy
social, environmental, economic and technological
questions that often become politicised in the
process;
 negative impacts are often concentrated on small,
vulnerable groups within society, while the benefits
are typically spread in a much more diffuse pattern;
 it requires changing riverine ecosystems, often
irreversibly so; and it takes a very long time, with
often harsh consequences if mistakes are made.
standard of living/further technological
growth/development;
 it would provide a technological solution to problems of
fossil fuel use;
 any ecological issues/disturbances from HEP could be
resolved through human ingenuity/further technology;
 possible ecological/cultural losses would be outweighed
by potential benefits to the community/society;
 with appropriate scientific design/development,
lake/reservoir could increase biodiversity (e.g. aquatic
species/migratory birds/new habitats);
 centralised management/regulation is more
efficient/reliable at regulating resource use/maintaining
sustainability;