Environmental Science

Person concerned about the impact of people on environmental quality who believes that some human actions are degrading parts of the earth's life-support systems for humans and many other forms of life. Compare conservation biologist, conservationist, ecologist, environmental scientist, preservationist, restorationist.

Beliefs that (1) nature exists for all the earth's species, not just for us, and we are not in charge of the rest of nature; (2) there is not always more, and it is not all for us; (3) some forms of economic growth are beneficial and some are harmful, and our goals should be to design economic and political systems that encourage earthsustaining forms of growth and discourage or prohibit earth-degrading forms; and (4) our success depends on learning to cooperate with one another and with the rest of nature instead of trying to dominate and manage earth's life-support systems primarily for our

Cultural change involving halting population growth and altering lifestyles, political and economic systems, and the way we treat the environment so we can help sustain the earth for ourselves and other species. This involves working with the rest of nature by learning more about how nature sustains itself. See environmental wisdom worldview. Compare agricultural revolution, huntergatherers, industrial revolution, information and globalization revolution.

Efforts by citizens (mostly at the grassroots level) to demand that political leaders enact laws and develop policies to (1) curtail pollution, (2) clean up polluted environments, and (3) protect pristine areas and species from environmental degradation.

Our beliefs about what is right or wrong environmental behavior.