Deep Ecology

When I came into this class and first heard the term, “deep ecology,” I thought that it was simply referring to being environmentally friendly, saving paper and the whole “going green” movement. However, I now know that what I was thinking of is considered “shallow ecology,” according to Arnie Naas. I wasn’t completely off in my thinking because shallow ecology is an aspect of deep ecology, however it is only a very thin layer. There is really no simple definition for deep ecology because it is such a vast idea. Nevertheless, there are several key features that give us a better understanding of what it is all about.
One of the first key features of deep ecology is deep questioning. With shallow ecology, many people have the mindset that we just need to recycle because it’s good. However, nobody really thinks about why it’s good or why they’re actually doing it. Deep ecology takes our thought process about the environment and our interactions to the next level. We can’t just accept what people tell us; we need to thoroughly examine it. If we believed everything that politicians or other people told us, it could lead to a lot of trouble. In the Deep Ecology Movement on page 5 it says, “This happens when attention is focused on pollution and resource depletion rather than other points, or when projects are implemented which reduce pollution but increase evils of other kinds.” We are so quick to just go along with the latest trends and not fully understand what the implications could be. Shallow ecology is focused on making things look like they are good and doing things only to rid of our guilty conscious. But by doing that we are really just creating “evils of other kinds.” Deep ecology focuses on looking at the big picture, the whole apron diagram. If we really want to sustain this planet, we need to understand how the big religions and philosophical ideas are connected to our decision making by the platform principles or the “belt” of the apron. It is important