Environmental Systems and Societies 1.1 Review

Flashcards covering key concepts from Environmental Systems and Societies 1.1 lecture notes, presented in a fill-in-the-blank style.

A __ is how a particular situation is viewed and understood by an individual.

perspective

Personal assumptions, collective assumptions, values, and beliefs are factors that impact an individual’s __.

perspectives

An __ is a statement or statements made to support a personally held perspective or to counter a different one.

argument

__ are qualities or principles that people feel have worth and importance in life.

Values

__ are the lenses shared by groups of people through which they perceive, make sense of, and act within their environment.

Worldviews

Traditions, norms of consumption, and sacredness of nature are examples of how __ contexts influence a person's Environmental Value System (EVS).

cultural and religious

Environmental philosophies help explain why societies make different choices about environmental issues because they shape core values regarding humanity's relationship with the __.

natural world

A value someone holds is an ingrained, fundamental belief, while how someone values other things is their individual, often subjective, assessment of an item's __.

worth or significance

At an individual level, choices such as buying sustainable products or volunteering reflect personal __.

values

At a community level, group choices such as building parks or supporting local food banks reflect shared __.

priorities

At a national level, policies like universal healthcare systems or military spending reflect national __.

values

Individuals typically communicate values through personal actions, direct conversations, storytelling, and __.

personal relationships

Organizations like Greenpeace and UNICEF use formal documentation, leadership, external branding, and __ to communicate values.

training and programs

Communication of values can be misleading if personal actions do not genuinely reflect a stated value, or if direct conversations or storytelling involve __.

lying or false information

An Environmental Value System (EVS) functions as a model showing the inputs (like culture, religion, education) affecting our perspectives and the outputs resulting in __ and everyday life choices.

resulting behaviors

__ shapes how we relate to others, make decisions, and define success.

Culture

Philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre argue that individuals are responsible for giving their own lives meaning through __ and choices.

free will

Capitalism as an economic and social ideology promotes free markets, competition, and __.

private ownership

In Islam, humans are seen as __ (khalifah) of the Earth, responsible for protecting the environment.

stewards

The EU’s political commitment to climate action, through policies like the Green Deal, influences how member states approach __.

environmental management

__ perspectives put ecology and nature as central to humanity and emphasize a less materialistic approach to life.

Ecocentric

__ perspectives view humankind as being the central, most important element of existence.

Anthropocentric

__ perspectives believe that technological developments can provide solutions to environmental problems.

Technocentric

__ used his political platform to gather bipartisan support and mobilize resources for environmental concerns, influencing Earth Day.

Gaylord Nelson

The __ became the central agency enforcing environmental laws, like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, reflecting a governmental shift in environmental protection.

EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)

By connecting scientific research with public outreach, the __ helped Earth Day efforts and influenced attitudes toward science-based environmental policy.

Environmental Defense Fund

The __ used its membership base and public influence to push for stricter environmental laws and promote preserving nature as a moral duty.

Sierra Club

Governmental and non-governmental organizations changed American Values by raising mass awareness, shifting public priorities, impacting policy, and creating __.

cultural change

John Muir, Rachel Carson, and Gaylord Nelson are three individuals who influenced how Americans looked at how we used __.

natural resources

__ is one of three books that challenged how society viewed pollution, resource use, and population’s effects on those resources.

Silent Spring (or Population Bomb or Limits to Growth)

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Chernobyl Nuclear Explosion, and Bhopal India Disaster are examples of environmental __ that captured attention.

disasters

The __ was a successful international agreement designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of ozone-depleting substances.

Montreal Protocol

The __ Protocol aimed to combat global warming by requiring industrialized nations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, but was less successful.

Kyoto

The documentary __ substantially changed the public’s view of an environmental issue.

An Inconvenient Truth

America’s view of thrift and consumerism changed due to __ consumerism, which then influenced the modern Environmental Movement's focus on its impacts.

mass