Geog 2412: Fall 2011TH Aug 25Different Approaches to Knowing the EnvironmentThe News…In Yellowstone, Killing One Kind of Trout to Save Another, NYT:Aug 24Earthquake shuts down Virginia nuclear plant: CNN online• Nature‐Society Geography• The nature society divide• Different wa ys of seeing, knowing and understanding the environment & “nature”– Examples (lions, carbon)– Political EcologyKeywords: nature‐society geography, political ecology, reconciliation ecology, nature, carbon dioxide, green house gasesWhere does knowledge of nature come from?MEDIAAcademiaGovernmentBusinessNGOscommunity members? Indigenous peoples?So what about Geography?• Different kinds of knowledges produced• Physical, environmental, human• Material processes AND social/cultural processes• Material ‘nature’ AND knowledge of ‘nature’Geography• Physical– Biogeography, geomorphology, climatology, hydrology• Human– Cultural, economic, political, urban, development, feminist• Nature and society– Environmental geograph y, Political ecology, natural resource management, politics of conservation, sustainable development, hazards researchIntroduction to global environmental issuesFrom Nature-Society Geography PerspectivePhysical GeographyEnvironmental GeographyHuman GeographyN A T U R E - S O C I E T YGEOGRAPHYAn Environment‐ Society Geography perspective• Knowing nature in different contexts from different perspectives• The politics of knowledge regarding the environment• Science• Ethics• Politics• Culture• Power dynamics• Social and environmental as connectedForest or wasteland?• The Indian Forester: Return of forest– Imported trees, improved productivity, increased forest cover• The Indian Herder: Wasteland– Increased bush of useless trees, loss of grazing land, formation of a wastelandRobbins, P. 2006Fires: in the Amazon and in Florida, U.S.• A force of nature (drought from El Nino)?• Or a destructive human force (clearing land for farms in the amazon)• Destroying human property (victims) in FL• Destroying pristine rainforest (nature) in the Amazon (culprits)– Slater, C. “Fire in El Dorado, or Images of Tropical Nature and their Practical Effects” in In Search of the Rain Forest.Different Perspectives• Population and Scarcity (too many people, not enough resources)• Economics and Markets• Institutions and ‘the commons’• Ethics• Risks and Hazards• Political Economy• Social Construction of NatureUnpacking these pers pectives• What are the underlying Assumptions? Do they stand up to scrutiny?• What are the implications of this approach/theory for action? Are they possible? Equitable?• Respect for different knowledge, but interrogation of the science, knowledge, and potential behind theories.Lions:1. Population : to many people, taking too much land, threatening lion populations2. Ethics – lions should be protected for moral reasons3. Risks & Hazards: risk perception – lions are a threat to humans, humans a risk to lions3. Markets: Lion hunting or ecotourism is good because it makes lions valuable, so they will be protected.4. Political economy: Why do some people benefit from hunting lions and seeing lions on safari and others suffer from livestock predation?5. Institutional: are there social norms that mediate hunting practices?6. Social Construction: Lions are only beautiful to some, harmful to others, and always closely connected to people. Different Objects• Carbon Dioxide:– Naturally occurring– Unearthed from below ground and emitted into the atmosphere– Cars (more than its own weight in C02/yr, industry)– Warming the planet by increasing the greenhouse layer in the atmosphereSome Facts about Carbon• Carbon in a state of continuous motion• Carbon stored in the earth’s crust• Photosynthesis captures Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere• One of the green house gasses• Carbon Cycle dramatically altered by human activityGeographic Political Ecology• Combines ecology and political economy• To uncover the political forces at work in environmental access, management, and transformation.• Understanding Ecological change, and environmental processes as a combination of biophysical processes, and micro and macro‐politics• Acknowledging the ‘production’ of nature does not discard nature.• Recognizing the politics within scientific knowledge does not discard scienceReconciliation Ecology• Seeing humans as a part of nature• Hope in being able to reconcile conflicts and create healthy environments in humanized spaces• A science of inventing, establishing and maintaining new habitats to conser ve species diversity in places where people live, work or play.So?• Multiple ways of knowing the environment• Nature and society are mutually constituted• There are multiple perspectives on any environmental ‘problem’• Assumptions and outcomes associated with different theories• Political ecology and reconciliation ecology as str ategies to combine ecology and social science, to envision (and work towards) equitable and sustainable