Values

The importance of values can not be overstated, they shape our intrinsic motivation (Kollmuss, &ump; Agyeman, 2002, p.251). The significance of looking at values allows us to see the inter-workings behind peoples actions. Too often society sees the natural environment as something available for our use, a set of resources to be consumed(Cohen, 2006, p.13). Our system of values causes great environmental destruction, only a change in the priority of our values will allow us to counter this trend. Our western values and American values in particular are very inward looking as a country and individually. People are naturally concerned with what is immediately in front of them. They put their family above their community, their community above the country. They only deal with problems once they are backed into a corner. Elke Weber's research of a “finite pool of worry” points to our shortsightedness in the long-term(Gertner, 2009, p.2). When issues like clean air or clean water are directly threatened we are able to act if we perceive the threat to be dangerous enough. We quickly move on to what we feel are other more pressing matters, like the economy. We can see the western society model being adopted by other countries or has a goal to aspire to(Cohen, 2006, p.132). The rise of developing countries to first world states coupled with finite resources means that our quality of life as we know it is unsustainable. Western society has a history of bending the environment to suit our will. The value of convenience and consumption can be best viewed in a city like Los Angeles. For all practical purposes the city of Los Angeles should not exist; there is not a supply of fresh water large enough to support it. The city is spread out forcing its residents to be entirely dependent on cars for transportation. It is entirely dependent on technology to survive. The effects of cheap oil and (relatively) cheap water allowed it to balloon to the sprawling metropolis it is today. This level of sprawl is unsustainable with out a shift in the order of our values. The value of convenience is linked to the value of mobility. Our society is built around the car and the ease in which it allows us to travel to where ever we want. The cost of that mobility, movement of people, and the mobility of goods (not using local agriculture, and production of products). Infrastructure around the car, roads, car manufacturing, parking lots. The prosperity we value is based on our economic need for consumer spending. The rise of modern consumerism after the industrial revolution not coincidentally followed a rise in environmental damage on a global scale. Consumerism acts as a self-perpetuating entity, without care for the larger world. Most people like to go about their day without thinking about the need for clean water or clean air. They just want it to be there, to exist without them having to work for it. They blind themselves to the realities of their lifestyle and the effect it has to the world. Much like how people don't want to see how sausage is made, they don't want to see where their trash goes. It gets picked up at the same time every week and then it's gone. They turn on the tap and clean water comes out. The waste water goes down the drain and that too vanishes. Behind all this is a system in place to allow these things to happen almost seamlessly. But the truth is it is all an artificial construct, these things don't disappear, it acts as a facade put up to blind us to what really happens with our air, water, etc. The NIMBY (Not in my backyard) effect can be seen to come about of a result of an increase of environmental awareness (Cohen, 2006, p.133). People perceive the effects of the dangers associated with waste to energy incineration plants, or opposition to landfill being created near a community are greater then they actually are; applying political pressure to block construction. It is also true with the construction of nuclear power plants and other activities the public feels threatened by. These actions maybe be perceived by those committing them as pro-environment but they can produces greater total environmental impact on other communities(Cohen, 2006, p.19). It could be stated that in this sense we are a victim of our own success in terms of environmental education. More education is needed to provide for a more holistic view of the environmental impact to the larger world. Part of NIMBY is a result of the value of individualism. People showing a lack of empathy for collective good. This can be best viewed with the “tragedy of the commons,” when people hold their own self interest above that of the collective interest of the group. In other contexts the “tragedy of the commons” leads to an over use or depletion of a given resource to the detriment of all. With careful managing of that resource its benefits can be sustained. This management is essential to prevent people from acting in their own self interest. Self interested ties into the free use of private property. Steven Cohen's case study of the Love Canal looks at the storage of toxic waste on private property. It is an issue of don't tell me what to do, I can do what I want on my property. The concept of private property, privacy, and individual freedom are deeply embedded in American culture (Cohen, 2006, p.83). Environmental damage on private property is rarely contained fully and often spreads to other areas. In many ways our environmental policy is reactionary, cleaning up rivers that are polluted, removal of toxic waste. Without focusing on investment in maintaining existing resources we expose ourselves to additional cost in their future repair. The proper disposal of toxic waste at Love Canal is a fraction of what the costs were to the health and property of those affected. The issue at its heart is public values vs private values (Schmidt, 2011). We must bridge the gap between our values. Too often we promote a short term gain at a long term loss. We must shift are values from private to public, from self interest to altruism. A shift is necessary for people to understand their power when they unite behind an issue. They may feel powerless has one person but many people coming together has a group have a greater impact. Cultural values shifts in priority is slowly taking place. This is best viewed in language, swamps are now more likely to be called wetlands, jungles now rainforests (Kempton, 1996, p.6). A large part of this can be traced to education, and awareness(Kollmuss, 2002, p.240). Changes such as this happen slowly and other changes will continue to take place. The difficulty in creating meaningful and impactful change and repriortizing of values is the problem of time and awareness. Until more people are affected or aware of problems they see no reason to change their behavior. The value of our health, and more importantly the health of our children will help be a guiding principle for our environmental values. The idea of protection of our children is a strong emotional idea that goes even deeper than values (Cohen, 2006, p.85); it is the main focus of humanity. The goal of survival is a deep seated primitive one that is at the core of our operations for everything. The value of sustainability can allow us to devise a better society. “development with sensitivity to environmental impacts” (Cohen, p14). Long term and short term planning should be thought of through the prism of sustainability. With proper management of the ecosystem will allow both ourselves and the environment to benefit; too often with the value of prosperity it is looked at a zero-sum game. In an economic sense would a business be designed to be dependent on a resource that will run out. It makes much more sense to conserve our resources in a more responsible way by relying on renewal resources. Using market system based incentives to promote environmental protection. Economic prosperity is linked to environmental quality (Cohen, 2006, p.24). The idea of cap and trade applies a market based method of controlling and limited pollution. It incorporates the value of the free market combined with pollution controls. A change in the priority of our values will allow us to fight environmental damage. Putting our health and our children's health above the false trade-off of economic well being.