1/15/25 - GEOG 3070

Environment as a Resource

People and societies create resources → people change over time

Stone age → Flint, bronze, iron, steel cutting tools, animal skins

  • Just stuff that was used for tools for food or shelter were resources, which evolved over time

Fur Trade → Used to be a big resource, but was destroyed because people decided it wasn’t a resource anymore (didn’t like how fur was being harvested for fashion)

Resources have been classified on various basis

  1. On the basis of exhaustibility → Renewable vs non-renewable

    1. Fossil Fuels>Plants, Animals>etc.

  2. On the basis of origin → Biotic vs. Abiotic

  3. On the basis of ownership → Individual, Community,

Preservation vs. Conservation vs. Exploitation (you should already know this)

  • Wilderness, non-use → Preservation

  • National Parks, limited-use/wise-use(Pinchot) → Conservation

  • Clear-cutting, Carrier Pigeon, Max-use → Exploitation

Cultural Influences: Views of Nature

  1. Nature as Nurturer → “Mother Nature”

  2. Nature as usufruct (Commodity) → legal right to use, enjoy, and profit

  3. Nature as dangerous → Something to fear (dangerous animals/situations)

  4. Nature as chaotic → Disorganized → needs humans to organize it (i dont like this one =( )

    1. Wetlands: occupied with putrid and stinking plants that serve only to nourish venomous insects and harbor impure animals

  5. Nature as Ordered → Has purpose and organization

  6. Nature as Capricious → we’re at the mercy of nature

  7. Nature as Machine → The Clockwork Universe → Nature is governed by a set of laws, and if we comprehend those laws we can engineer nature

  8. Nature as Beautiful

    1. This one is pretty new

  9. Nature as Scenic Wonder → preserve scenic landscape for future generations

    1. This one is even more new, larger scale than beautiful

    2. Aesthetics, can change a person

    3. National Parks

  10. Nature as Necessity for Survival