Environmentalism is not my religion yet I am in favor of the proper care of our environment. The American Heritage dictionary* defines this topic as follows: en·vi·ron·men·tal·ism…
- Advocacy for or work toward protecting the natural environment from destruction or pollution.
- The theory that environment rather than heredity is the primary influence on intellectual growth and cultural development.
The etymology is from the French verb environner, to surround. Therefore I understand the environment to be any surrounding in which I find myself whether my physical body on a most personal level or planet earth on the macro scale. Based on this understanding I am indeed an environmentalist on a most intrinsic level since I am a living being and by nature must preserve my environment.
However, environmentalism is not my religion. I do not worship my environment. It is simply necessary to ensure preservation of my life, my being. This is according to my inborn nature. All living things by nature resist termination and seek preservation. Plants show evidence of scarring as wounds are healed. Humans self-heal leaving scar tissue which is even stronger than the original tissue that was replaced.
And in spite of our need to live, we are yet willing to sacrifice our own bodies – our very personal “environment” – for the sake of others. A parent would gladly sacrifice their own life for the sake of their children. Anyone would risk a hand, an eye, or a leg in order to save another’s life. This illustrates how life itself is superior to even the body that houses it regardless that the one cannot exist without the other. I maintain that the one is FOR the other and should not be reversed. The converse makes nature more sacred than the life it supports. The extreme of such a view was seen among the ancient Incas where 10,000 humans were sacrificed daily to ensure environmental sustainability.
With this being said, I want to comment on what I think is one crux of the debate between the NEP and the DWW. The adherents to the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) see anthropocentrism as the ‘enemy’ because the human species, when exalted above all, claims the right to alter its surroundings without regard for consequences as long as immediate goals are attained. Those of the Dominant Western Worldview (DWW) see the NEP (envirocentrics) as reducing humankind to the same level as any other species based on the fact we share the same biophysical environment.
Where I agree with the definitions of these two views as given in the course materials, I do believe there is a clear distinction between human kind and all other species whether plant or animal. This is because humans, having the highest intelligence, bear the greatest responsibility to maintain a proper stewardship over the environment.
REFERENCES
*http://www.answers.com/environmentalism?
