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Factory Farms

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Intensive animal raising agricultural operations; attempt to maximize production by raising as many animals in as little space as possible (often resulting in significant air and water pollution)

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Animal liberation

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aims to free all animals from use by humans, whether those uses are for food, medical testing, industry, personal adornment, entertainment, or anything else

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anthropocentrism

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an ethical standpoint that views humans as the central factor in considerations of right and wrong action in and toward nature

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conservation

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the management of a resource or system to sustain its productivity over time, typically associated with scientific management of collective goods like fisheries or forests

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deep ecology

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distances itself from shallow or mainstream environmentalism by arguing for a deeper and supposedly more truly ecologically informed view of the world

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dominion thesis

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Book of Genesis humans are the pinnacle of creation humans are granted ethical free rein to use nature in any way deemed beneficial

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ecocentrism

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argues that ecological should, over and above human priorities, be central to decisions about right and wrong action

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ecology

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the scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and the habitat or ecosystem in which they live

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environmental justice

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stresses the need for equitable distribution of environmental goods and environmental bads between people unhealthful or dangerous conditions are disproportionately proximate to minority communities

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holism

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any theory that holds that a whole system is more than the sum of its parts

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intrinsic value

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value of a natural object in and for itself as an end rather than a means

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moral extensionism

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humans should extend their sphere of moral concern beyond the human realm intelligent or sentient animals are worthy ethical subjects

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naturalistic fallacy

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a philosophically invalid derivation of an ethical ought from a natural is

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preservation

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the management of a resource or environment for protection, typically for its own sake

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scientism

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usually deployed as a term of derision; refers to an uncritical reliance on the natural sciences as the basis for social decision making and ethical judgments

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social ecology

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Murray Bookchin environmental problems and crises are rooted in typical social structures and relationships since these thens to be hierarchal, state controlled, and predicated on domination of both people and nature

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stewardship

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"caring for creation" the moral responsibility to care for and protect the natural world

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utilitarian

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ethical theory that posits that the value of a good should be judged solely by its usefulness to society

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wilderness

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a natural parcel of land, more or less unaffected by human forces; increasingly viewed as a social construction

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utilitarian

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john locke

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animal liberation

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peter singer

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deep ecology

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intrinsic value of nature self realization ecocentrism

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affect

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emotions and unconscious responses to the world that influence decision making

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cultural theory

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Mary Douglas stresses the way individual perceptions are reinforced by group social dynamics, leading to a few paradigmatic, typical, and discrete ways of seeing and addressing problems

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externality

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the spillover of a cost or benefit, as where industrial activity at a plant leads to pollution off site that must be paid for by someone else

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hazard

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an object, condition, or process that threatens individuals and society in terms of production and reproduction

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risk

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the known or estimated probability that a hazard related decision will have a negative consequence

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risk perception

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the tendency of people to evaluate the hazardousness of a situation or decision in non rational terms depending on individual biases, culture, or human tendencies

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uncertainty

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the degree to which the outcomes of a decision or situation are unknown

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commodification

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transformation of an object or resource from something valued in and for itself, to something valued generically for exchange

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commodity

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an object of economic value that is valued generically, rather than as a specific object (ex.: pork as opposed to a pig) in political economy, an object made for exchange

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conditions of production

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the material or environmental conditions required for a specific economy to function may include things as varied as water for use in an industrial process to the health of workers to do the labor

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eco-femenism

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any of a number of theories critical of the role in patriarchal society for degrading both the natural environment and the social condition of women

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first contradiction of capitalism

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the tendency for capitalism to eventually undermine the economic conditions for its own perpetuation, through over production of commodities, reduction of wages for would-be consumers, etc. overaccumulation/concentration of wealth

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globalization

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an ongoing process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a globe spanning network of exchange

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means of production

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the infrastructure, equipment, machinery, etc. required to make things, goods, and commodities

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overaccumulation

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condition in the economy where capital becomes concentrated in very few hands or firms, causing economic slowdown and potential socioeconomic crises leads to crises caused by either overproduction or underconsumption

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primitive accumulation

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the direct appropriation by capitalists of natural resources or goods from communities that historically tend to hold the collectively

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production of nature

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the environment, if it ever did exist separate from people, is now a product of human industry or activity

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relations of production

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social relationships associated with, and necessary for, a specific economy (ex.: workers and owners in modern capitalism)

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second contradiction of capitalism

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tendency for capitalism to eventually undermine the environmental conditions for its own perpetuation, through degradation of resources or damage to the health of workers

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social reproduction

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the process of procuring basic needs required to keep people healthy and productive

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spatial fix

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solving economic and environmental crises by establishing new markets, new resources, and new sites of production in other places

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superfund

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the environmental program established to address abandoned hazardous waste sites in the US

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surplus value

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the value produced by underpaying labor or over extracting from the environment which is accumulated by owners and investors

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primitive accumulation

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enclosure laws in England

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concept

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a single idea, usually captured in a word or phrase examples: carrying capacity, market, risk, etc.

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constructivist

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emphasizing the significance of concepts, ideologies, and social practices to our understanding and making of the world

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co-production

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The inevitable and ongoing process whereby humans and non-humans produce and change one another though their interaction and interrelation

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discourse

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at root, written and spoken communication thicker deployments of the term acknowledge that statements and texts are not mere representations of a material world, but rater power embedded constructions that partially make up the world we live in

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ideologies

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normative, value laden worldview that spell out how the world is and how it ought to be

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narratives

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stories with a beginning and end aid our comprehension and construction of the world examples: biological evolution, the tragedy of the commons, etc.

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nature

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the natural world, everything that exists that is not a product of human activity; often put in quotes to designate that it is difficult if not impossible to divvy up the entire world into discreet natural and human concepts

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relativism

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The idea that truth is not absolute, but rather is subjective. It maintains that the basis for judgement depends on the events, people, or circumstances surrounding a given situation.

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signifying practices

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modes and methods of representation the techniques used to tell stories, introduce and define concepts, and communicate ideologies

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social construction

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any category, condition, or thing that exists or is understood to have certain characteristics because people socially agree that it does

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social context

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the ensemble of social relations in a particular place at a particular time includes belief systems, economic relations of production, and institutions of governance

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