Maintaining the Nonhuman World Around Us — One Step at a Time
Regardless of how much or little one understands about the environment around them, every individual harbors a belief system that leads them to value every aspect of the world differently. This system is a product of one’s upbringing is shaped through multiple childhood and adult experiences with nature. As a child, I was frequently outside with my mother and followed by her side as she slowly began to create her own desert paradise filled with many vibrant flowers and quickly grew to find comfort in how the colors contrasted with our dull desert backyard. This comfort allowed me to develop a love for the landscape many other Las Vegas citizens wish to escape. This ties in with Julia Corbett’s belief that childhood experiences, a sense of place, and Historical and cultural contexts all influence the formation of one’s “Environmental Ideology”, which she describes as, “a way of thinking about the natural world that a person uses to justify actions toward it” (p.13).
Corbett goes on to describe various examples of Environmental Ideology being formed, whether it be through her escapades as a child around her rural midwestern neighborhood, her friend learning she was attached to a place by arriving in the town’s airport and feeling home and subsequently developing a sense of place, or “rich and often powerfully emotional sentiments that influence how people perceive, experience, and value the environment” (p.17), and how the cultural clash of the Native Americans and English settlers was representative of the shifting relationship humans had with the natural world, as we slowly started viewing the world as less of a living this needing to be nurtured and protected and more of a resource that could be harvested to make our lives increasingly easier. Despite that these factors all influence our ideologies, the cultural and historical aspect seems to carry much more weight nowadays, as both past and present individuals foolishly attempt to convince the masses that these resources are ours to harvest and the other living things inhabiting this planet are somehow below us in importance. However, the effect of the our childhood experiences and the development of a sense of place can’t be dismissed, as researched has shown that experiencing the undeveloped world around us as children and the guidance of adult figures both heavily shape our beliefs. The power of geography also has an interesting way of grabbing a person, whether it be its physical features or it’s sense of comfort and pleasure that lead a person to claim this land as their special space. These 3 elements combined carry a lot of power and are instrumental in molding our beliefs about the delicate world all around us.
While we all possess an Environmental Ideology, only a small fraction of today’s population would be considered adequately environmentally literate. It’d be wise to assume that this lack of knowledge would affect one’s behavior or attitude towards the environment, these factors aren’t tied together very strongly, as Corbett gives us the statistic that, “…the most environmentally knowledgeable group was from 8 to 25 percentage points more likely to engage in pro-environmental actions than the least knowledgeable group … 56 percent of Americans say they want to help the environment but don’t know how” (68). This shows that increased knowledge increases the likeliness one will exhibit helpful actions, yet a lack of knowledge won’t necessarily decrease this likeliness. The relationship between attitude and behavior is also similarly flawed, with an example of this being the overwhelming desire to improve our planet that counters our increasing energy usage, construction, and car emissions. Studies have shown that this can be contributed to the idea that attitudes aren’t the most accurate way to predict how a person will act. Behavior is similarly unpredictable, as one’s personal skills, beliefs, and other external factors will all influence this differently in every scenario. These “pieces to the puzzle” can be defined as attitudinal factors, personal factors, contextual factors, and one’s habit and routine.
As human beings, we are all incredibly diverse and unique. As cliche as it is to say, it’s undeniably true and is seen through our actions. In a world where the ways we can be influenced is limitless, whether it be through the internet, TV, our friends and family, or even something we saw happen out in front of our house 7 years ago, one specific thing cannot change someone and allow them to instantly become loyal defenders of the planet. With this being said, the most we can do is continuously promote environmentally-friendly ideas and actively raise awareness, as seen by GOOD Magazine’s promotional videos about our water usage and how to lower it, how to lower our use of plastics to protect our oceans and the life that inhabits them, and the global affects of our water shortage slowly decreasing every year. Again, one’s opinion and actions can’t be instantly swayed, yet videos like these inform, entertain, and introduce the knowledge some may be lacking in a respectful and neutral manner. Without awareness being spread, those who possess flawed ideologies will continue to waste water and carelessly lob plastic out into the world so it can sit and damage ecosystems. Small or not, any kind of influence to one’s environmental literacy and ideologies can go a long way, as an expanded focus on the natural world and more understanding about ways to protect the planet can create a promising movement for a intimidating goal of saving an already damaged planet.
The sources used for this article are listed below:
Corbett, J. (2006). Communicating nature. Island Press: Washington D.C.
GOODMagazine. “GOOD: Use Less Plastic.” YouTube, YouTube, 22 Apr. 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ71svh1RVo&t=48s.
GOODMagazine. “Water Conservation | GOOD.” YouTube, YouTube, 22 Oct. 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOLf2RbxmzE&t=18s.
GOODMagazine. “Water by the Numbers | GOOD.” YouTube, YouTube, 21 Mar. 2008, www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW5eBfZhE4M.
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