scholarly journals Envisioning alternative relationships with the environment through computational design

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 34-37
Author(s):  
Malika Khurana
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Computational Design ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Alternative Relationships

Climate change is one symptom reflecting a larger problem of how we humans view ourselves as separate from the environment. How can computation and design help us expand our perception so we can better attend to the natural world?

Tending this Fragile Earth, Our Island Home: The Pope's Encyclical in Dialogue with Ecomimesis, a Design Model for Conservation Stewardship

2018 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 745-766
Author(s):  
Lillian C. Woo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Pollution ◽  
Anthropogenic Impact ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Design Solution ◽  
World Population ◽  
Natural Ecosystem ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The World

In the last fifty years, empirical evidence has shown that climate change and environmental degradation are largely the results of increased world population, economic development, and changes in cultural and social norms. Thus far we have been unable to slow or reverse the practices that continue to produce more air and water pollution, soil and ocean degradation, and ecosystem decline. This paper analyzes the negative anthropogenic impact on the ecosystem and proposes a new design solution: ecomimesis, which uses the natural ecosystem as its template to conserve, restore, and improve existing ecosystems. Through its nonintrusive strategies and designs, and its goal of preserving natural ecosystems and the earth, ecomimesis can become an integral part of stabilizing and rehabilitating our natural world at the same time that it addresses the needs of growing economies and populations around the world.

‘Civil skepticism’ and the social construction of knowledge: A case in dendroclimatology

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 821-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meritxell Ramírez-i-Ollé
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Sociological Theory ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Construction Of Knowledge ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Construction Of Knowledge ◽  
Blue Intensity

Early Science and Technology Studies (STS) scholars recognized that the social construction of knowledge depends on skepticism’s parasitic relationship to background expectations and trust. Subsequent generations have paid less empirical attention to skepticism in science and its relationship with trust. I seek to rehabilitate skepticism in STS – particularly, Merton’s view of skepticism as a scientific norm sustained by trust among status peers – with a study of what I call ‘civil skepticism’. The empirical grounding is a case in contemporary dendroclimatology and the development of a method (‘Blue Intensity’) for generating knowledge about climate change from trees. I present a sequence of four instances of civil skepticism involved in making Blue Intensity more resistant to critique, and hence credible (in laboratory experiments, workshops, conferences, and peer-review of articles). These skeptical interactions depended upon maintaining communal notions of civility among an increasingly extended network of mutually trusted peers through a variety of means: by making Blue Intensity complementary to existing methods used to study a diverse natural world (tree-ring patterns) and by contributing to a shared professional goal (the study of global climate change). I conclude with a sociological theory about the role of civil skepticism in constituting knowledge-claims of greater generality and relevance.

Health and natural landscapes: concepts and applications

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Traditional Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Natural Landscapes ◽  
The Many ◽  
Over Time

Abstract This book contains 8 chapters that discuss and explore these positive outcomes by delving into how humans perceive and respond to the natural world. It also looks at the different stages of human development and how societal perspectives regarding natural landscapes have changed over time. These perspectives influence our responses to current issues such as climate change and pandemics. Examining our worldviews is critical to developing a deeper understanding of human beliefs and relationships with natural landscapes. Moreover, empirically based theories and models can be useful in enhancing that understanding, but other realities are also important such as traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and a rekindling of a sense of connection with nature. Whether empirically derived in recent decades or handed down through the generations, this knowledge can be useful as we consider the many forms of human well-being, including physical, mental, spiritual, and social.

Roman Climate Awareness in Pliny the Elder’s Natural History

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-282
Author(s):  
Jane Millar
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Source Material ◽  
Agricultural Labor ◽  
Agricultural Communities ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Untapped Resource

This article examines the past and potential contributions of Pliny the Elder’s Natural History (NH) on the subject of Roman perceptions and experiences of environmental change. It asks in particular how classicists, archaeologists, and environmental historians can responsibly use the NH as a source on ancient climate. First, it briefly reviews relevant topics in the paleoclimatology of the Roman world, a rapidly advancing discipline enabling the identification of ancient climate changes with increasing precision and confidence (I). The article then turns to the reliability of Pliny as an authority on ancient climate by examining his accuracy, objectivity, and use of source material in literary and historical context, including his rhetorical goals, which have gone understudied until quite recently (II). A close reading of passages on environmental and climate change follows, highlighting areas in which Pliny’s observations are at odds with his source material. The examples discussed demonstrate the importance of phenology (III) and meteorology (IV) in Pliny’s encyclopedic account of the natural world, one characterized by anthropocentrism, pragmatism, and an emphasis on local knowledge. The evidence for ancient climate change is plentiful but not conclusive on the details and timing, and further studies will continue to refine local records. Rather than presenting a synthetic reconstruction based on Pliny’s observations, I argue that his encyclopedia offers an untapped resource on ancient climate and weather, not only by providing evidence of climate change, but also by recommending increased attention to seasonality, agricultural communities, and the lived experience of agricultural labor in order to better understand the effects of climate change on ancient populations.

Business education as if people and the planet really matter

2020 ◽  
pp. 147612702096763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Business Education ◽  
Business School ◽  
Business Groups ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Social World ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Government ◽  
As If

Mounting concern over capitalism’s inability to address systemic challenges in our natural world (i.e. climate change) and social world (i.e. income inequality) is prompting reexamination of capitalism within business groups. This article argues that a concurrent reexamination must also take place within the foundations and philosophy of business education. As such, this essay explores nine broad themes for such a transformational reexamination: (1) instill an ethos of management as a calling, (2) rebuild the business school on a system of aspirational principles, (3) de-emphasize the core, (4) move beyond simply monetary measures, (5) train stewards of the market, (6) reexamine the purpose of the corporation, (7) discard misguided metrics and models, (8) bring the government back in, and (9) pay proper attention to citizenship. The article also discusses obstacles to such a grand revisioning, and offers examples that change is underway.

Sprinter and Sprummer

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Entwisle
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Carnivorous Plants ◽  
Botanic Gardens ◽  
The World

Since 1788, Australia has carried the yoke of four European seasons that make no sense in most parts of the country. We may like them for historical or cultural reasons, or because they are the same throughout the world, but they tell us nothing of our natural environment. It's time to reject those seasons and to adopt a system that brings us more in tune with our plants and animals – a system that helps us to notice and respond to climate change. Using examples from his 25 years working in botanic gardens, author Timothy Entwisle illustrates how our natural world really responds to seasonal changes in temperature, rainfall and daylight, and why it would be better to divide up the year based on what Australian plants do rather than ancient rites of the Northern Hemisphere. Sprinter and Sprummer opens with the origins and theory of the traditional seasonal system, and goes on to review the Aboriginal seasonal classifications used across Australia. Entwisle then proposes a new five-season approach, explaining the characteristics of each season, along with the biological changes that define them. The book uses seasons to describe the fascinating triggers in the life of a plant (and plant-like creatures), using charismatic flora such as carnivorous plants, the Wollemi Pine and orchids, as well as often overlooked organisms such as fungi. The final chapter considers climate change and how the seasons are shifting whether we like it or not.

scholarly journals Gardening in Ashes: The Possibilities and Limitations of Gardening to Support Indigenous Health and Well-Being in the Context of Wildfires and Colonialism

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 3273
Author(s):  
Kelsey Timler ◽  
Dancing Water Sandy
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Food Sovereignty ◽  
Indigenous Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Climate Crisis ◽  
Health And Well Being

In this paper, we will discuss gardening as a relationship with nature and an ongoing process to support Indigenous health and well-being in the context of the climate crisis and increasingly widespread forest fires. We will explore the concept of gardening as both a Euro-Western agriculture practice and as a longstanding Indigenous practice—wherein naturally occurring gardens are tended in relationship and related to a wider engagement with the natural world — and the influences of colonialism and climate change on both. Drawing on our experiences as an Indigenous Knowledge Keeper (Dancing Water) and a non-Indigenous community-based researcher (Kelsey), our dialogue will outline ways to support health and well-being through land-based activities that connect with Indigenous traditions in ways that draw on relationships to confront colonialism and the influences of climate change. This dialogue is founded on our experiences in the central interior of British Columbia, Canada, one of the areas hit hardest by the 2017 wildfires. We will explore the possibilities and limitations of gardening and the wider concept of reciprocity and relationship as a means to support food security, food sovereignty, and health for Indigenous Peoples.

In Search of a Sustainable Society in Africa: Christianity, Justice, and Sustainable Peace in a Changing Climate

2018 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-89
Author(s):  
Ben-Willie Kwaku Golo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Justice ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Sustainable Society ◽  
African Society ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
Sustainable Peace ◽  
Just Society ◽  
Forms Of Violence

The violence which humankind has visited not only on the natural world but also on human populations has resulted in negative environmental change which in turn induces diverse forms of violence in Africa. This has been threatening a sustainable society and human flourishing in Africa. Invited as Christ’s witnesses, Christians need to offer qualitative resources to forestall the violence that threatens human flourishing. What opportunities do these challenges offer Christian theologians and ethicists to provide life-transforming alternatives that enhance a sustainable African society? In this paper, I argue that considering the linkage between climate change and violence, a crucial transforming alternative towards a sustainable society in Africa is the quest for sustainable peace, realisable only within the context of justice (a just society)—specifically, climate and/or environmental justice. I intend to explore the Christian virtue of justice and its promise for a sustainable society, peace, and human flourishing in Africa.

Assessing the Operationalization of Cultural Theory through Surveys Investigating the Social Aspects of Climate Change Policy Making

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 651-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Cambardella ◽  
Brian D. Fath ◽  
Andrea Werdenigg ◽  
Christian Gulas ◽  
Harald Katzmair
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Cultural Theory ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Policy Preferences ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
The Social

AbstractCultural theory (CT) provides a framework for understanding how social dimensions shape cultural bias and social relations of individuals, including values, view of the natural world, policy preferences, and risk perceptions. The five resulting cultural solidarities are each associated with a “myth of nature”—a concept of nature that aligns with the worldview of each solidarity. When applied to the problem of climate protection policy making, the relationships and beliefs outlined by CT can shed light on how members of the different cultural solidarities perceive their relationship to climate change and associated risk. This can be used to deduce what climate change management policies may be preferred or opposed by each group. The aim of this paper is to provide a review of how CT has been used in surveys of the social aspects of climate change policy making, to assess the construct validity of these studies, and to identify ways for climate change protection policies to leverage the views of each of the cultural solidarities to develop clumsy solutions: policies that incorporate strengths from each of the cultural solidarities’ perspectives. Surveys that include measures of at least fatalism, hierarchism, individualism, and egalitarianism and their associated myths of nature as well as measures of climate change risk perceptions and policy preferences have the highest translation and predictive validity. These studies will be useful in helping environmental managers find clumsy solutions and develop resilient policy according to C.S. Holling’s adaptive cycle.

The evolution of evolutionary ecology

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 172-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas J. Futuyma
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Life History ◽  
Community Ecology ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Evolutionary Ecology ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Anthropogenic Climate Change ◽  
Future Evolution ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Evolution Of Life

Appreciation of ecology as a setting or stage for evolution has a long history, but evolutionary ecology became an identifiable discipline in the 1960's, growing mostly out of efforts to understand the evolution of life history components and to formulate a theory of community ecology based on the evolution of species' niches. Since the 1960's, technological advances and conceptual developments, especially the use of null hypotheses and an appreciation of the effects of evolutionary history and Earth history on current patterns, have altered and expanded evolutionary ecology. Many challenging questions remain poorly answered, especially the pressing question of how successful ongoing and future evolution will be in rescuing species from anthropogenic climate change and other human assaults on the natural world.

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