Is The Deep Green Resistance?

Generally, Greenpeace International believes that the environment can be protected by changing the way people understand the world. “ It aims to influence public understanding of the negative environmental impact of much human behaviour. Expectedly, people will undertake actions that are more respectful to the ecological integrity of the planet” (Siti Rokhmawati Susanto, 2007: 186-205).

The concept of social justice, and the environment have always been under great threat. However is it possible to mend the two, combine them together, in order to create an equal atmosphere and a sustainable society? The majority of the population have always wanted to prevent the minority in gaining their rights in fear of losing their power, and the nature conquerors have disregarded the wilderness’ needs in fear of losing their profit. Environmental activists and advocates have sought to bridge the gap between the complicated and divisive relationship between the natural world and the advancing technological world. Rebecca Solnit, Wendell Berry, and John Muir all recognize the explicit relationship between social justice and the respect for the natural world.

In the reading “The Power and the Promise of Ecological Feminism”, the author, Karen J. Warren, explains her argument on the inevitable connection between the oppression of women and the oppression of nature. She further suggests that ecofeminism provides a framework to re envision feminism and create an environmental ethic which takes into account the connection between sexism and naturism.

In her essay “The Obligation to Endure”, Rachel Carson alerts the public to the dangers of modern industrial pollution. She writes about the harmful consequences of lethal materials being released into the environment. She uses horrifying evidence, a passionate tone, audience, and the overall structure of her essay to express to her readers that the pollution created by man wounds the earth. There are many different ways that pollution can harm the environment, from the nuclear explosions discharging toxic chemicals into the air, to the venomous pesticides sprayed on plants that kills vegetation and sickens cattle. The adjustments to these chemicals would take generations. Rachel

Encouraged by diverse foundations from across the globe, The Environmental Justice movement has become one of the most important topics in the media. Europeans have used Marxist philosophy on class laddering, while non-Western countries required its encouragement in the criticism of colonialism. In the United States, The Civil Rights Movement was its forerunner. The notion of “Environmental Justice”, nevertheless, has its genesis in the resistance of black culture and lower income-communities in opposition to uneven ecological trouble in the United States during the last few years of the 1970s and the early 1980s. In the framework of racial improvement and public activism, the phrase was

Their central argument is about civil disobedience and why it is necessary to promote it and how to follow through acting upon unrighteousness. In Henry David Thoreau’s writing, “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience”, he promotes his philosophy that “All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency are great and unendurable”(Thoreau 2). Thoreau believes that all men have to refuse to abide by the laws of the government when it restricts your rights. He promotes the idea of having your own conscience in order for yourself to consider if a treatment is just instead of being governed by a majority. This individualism follows through Martin Luther King Jr.’s writing in which he

Environmental justice links a number of social movements—anti-racism, Aboriginals rights, and the mainstream environmental movement—and addresses the problem of environmental racism (Gosine & Teelucksignh, 2008, p. 11). The concept of environmental justice in the U.S was associated with the struggles over toxic waste sites and the call for equal treatment of all communities, radicalized or not (p. 9). It was about looking at human health rather than preserving areas deemed as “playgrounds for the rich.”

As environmental and suitability movements continue to evolve and grow, the importance of bringing society from a state of awareness to one of consciousness is key to their long term success. Finding a way for people to have an emotional connection and reaction to the issues that face our world today as they relate to sustainability will likely be the turning point for more universal support and

As The World Burns: 50 Simple Things You Can Do To Stay In Denial, by Derrick Jensen and Stephanie McMillan, is a graphic novel about the state of our environment. They use cartoons and abundant sarcasm to convey the message that the attempts people are making to save the environment are not enough to do any real good. Their message challenges both those of Edward O. Wilson and the University of Connecticut in that Jensen and McMillan’s ideas are much more radical and suggest that the ideas posed by Wilson and UConn, such as the importance of recycling and sustainability efforts, are ineffective at saving the environment. We must resolve the challenges posed by Jensen and McMillan so that all of the ideas put forth in the sources may work together rather than against each other. In order to do this we must accept that some of the ideas given by Jensen and McMillan may be too extreme to do any real good and that the ideas suggested by Wilson and UConn, though slightly ineffective, are nonetheless important steps in saving the environment. Taken alone, none of their ideas will save the environment; instead it is necessary to combine the ideas of Wilson, UConn, and Jensen and McMillan in order to create a more realistic plan to save the planet.

“These are revolutionary times. All over the globe men are revolting against old systems of exploitation and oppression, and out of a frail world new systems of justice and equality are being born. The shirtless and barefoot people of the earth are rising up

Julia Sze, author of “Race and Power: An Introduction to Environmental Justice Energy Activism,” purposed her article was to show how and why environmental justice and energy policy are connected (102). Sze started off by explaining how Americans consume huge amounts of energy. The case study is focused on New York City’s Communities United for Responsible Energy (CURE), which is an organization that focused on environmental justice in the energy realm for low-income and minority populations. These populations are effected by energy pollutants; in the study, Sze gave multiple examples of how populations are effected by energy plants. For instance, Sze explained how nuclear power plants represented a tremendous environmental injustice for Native

Val Plumwood in her essay “Paths Beyond Human-Centeredness,” illustrates the impact that humans have on nature and non-animals when it comes to preserving environments. Understanding that nature has it’s living properties that let it thrive among its resources allows for people to grasp the complexities that come about when construction companies destroy the environment in which they work. Plumwood uses the term dualism to refer to the sharp distinction between two classes of individuals. There is the high class, which is considered as the “One.” In contrast, the other side of the division consists of individuals that are classified as lower and are subordinates to the “One” as “Others.” This account on dualism allows the reader to understand how humans can significantly alter the environment because of the way they perceive its resources and inhabitants. Plumwood defines five characteristics that illustrate the oppressive actions that change the connection between human relations and the relationship between humans and nature.

Guha describes that environmental movements in the poor countries of South America developed quite differently from those in the rich nations of North America and Western Europe. Southern movements began as a challenge to the "postmaterialist values" of the North, according to which the backward South was incapable of developing any serious environmental movement until it became fully developed like the North. On the contrary, Guha then descirbes the environmentalism of the poor South is steps ahead of the North. This is because the southern environmental movements simultaneously demand social justice. This relationship is divorced in the environmental movements of the developed North. Guha sites the examples of radical environmental movements

Environmental issues have been a cause of a lot of debate in the recent past. Governments and nongovernmental organizations have been in constant consultations on how to help protect the environment. Apparently, as a result of man’s many actions, the natural environment is getting torn apart so quickly that the coming generations will not enjoy this kind of environment, unless a

Over time Western culture has been obsessed with dominance. Humans over non-humans, masculinity over femininity, wealthy over poor, western over non-western cultures. Deep ecological consciousness allows us to see through the perception of this dangerous illusion. A dominant world view is centered around maximizing and using natural resources for our destructive consumerist habits. Deep ecology is about minimizing and finding harmony with nature.