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| Introduction: contextual introduction. Body: Write in brief about the environmental philosophy. Compare the approaches of deep ecologism and shallow ecologism. Conclusion: Give a way forward. |
Environmental issues are the harmful effects of human activities on the environment, which include pollution, climate change, global warming etc. Various environment protection programs are being practiced at the national and international levels to establish a balance between man and environment.
Arne Naess is considered the founder of environmental philosophy. In the 1970s, he differentiated between Shallow Ecology and Deep Ecology. These concepts look beyond the popular pollution and conservation movements and are more preoccupied with the role of the individual in nature. The comparisons between deep and shallow ecologism are:
| Deep ecologism | Shallow ecologism or weak ecologism | |
| 1. | It says the living environment as a whole has the same right as humans do to flourish. | Exponents of this philosophy prioritize humans over other forms of life. |
| 2. | Deep ecologism believes that humans should radically change their relationship with nature. | It primarily serves to maintain the lifestyle of those dwelling in developed countries. |
| 3. | It promotes “ecological wisdom” and environmental ethics. | It simply promotes conservations strategies against pollution and the depletion of resources. |
| 4. | Deep ecologism prioritises a ‘live and let live’ attitude over an ‘either you or me’ approach. | It relies on practicality and focuses on policy and technology in order to reduce anthropocentrism. |
| 5. | It pushes for a complete and immediate lifestyle change. | It suggests that humankind must first rebuild its unsafe relationship with nature before it can truly understand the environment. |
| 6. | e.g. a deep ecologist would clean up a pond because plants and animals deserve a pristine habitat. | A shallow ecologist would preserve the pond so his children have a place to swim and the watershed quality improves. |
The political potential of any ecological movement should be realised, and those in positions of power should be held accountable. The responsibility of solving the climate crisis falls on policy-makers as much as it does on scientists and ecologists.
