The Deep Ecology Movement

What do Henry Thoreau, Aldo Leopard, and Paul Shepard have in common? They were all well known environmentalists that influenced the creation of the Deep Ecology movement as well as the Foundation for Deep Ecology. Deep Ecology is the belief that “the well-being and flourishing of human and nonhuman life on Earth have value in themselves [and those] values are independent of the usefulness of the nonhuman world for human purposes” (Foundation for Deep Ecology). Rachel Carson’s novel “Silent Spring” started the major wave of environmentalism in the 1960s by bringing to light the devastating effects modern industrial technology had on the environment. The term “Deep Ecology”, however, was first used in environmental literature in 1973 by Arne Naess. Naess believed two types of environmentalism existed: “long-range deep ecology movement” and “shallow ecology movement”(FDE). He believed that the shallow ecology movement stopped before reaching “the ultimate level of fundamental change” and advocated technological fixes such as recycling and improving car efficiency compared to the deep ecological movement which involved deep questioning of human value and redesigning society’s systems, values, and methods to that of which would retain “the ecological and cultural diversity of [earths] natural systems” (FDE). To accept the Deep Ecology movement
is to accept and respect the value, richness, and diversity of the entire biosphere. Naess believed that embracing the Deep Ecology movement would lead one to assess modern industrial culture and how it views the earth as simply materials to be used for human consumption and development. Douglas Tompkins, who was an experienced mountaineer, as well as a long time nature lover, founded the Foundation for Deep Ecology. His “ecological worldview” was expanded in the 1970s-1980s through the ecological literature of Arne Naess, Thoreau, and many other environmentalists (FDE). Tompkins had been a businessman until he realized that the “consumer culture he’d [been] help[ing] promote” was destroying the planet. In the late 1980s, he sold his stake at the fashion company he had cofounded and used the money to start “an environmental foundation with an activist orientation” (FDE). He then, along with activist Jerry Mander, cofounded the Foundation for Deep Ecology in 1990. The Foundation for Deep Ecology is a nongovernmental organization that “embodies the idea that strategic philanthropy can support innovative, biocentric activists tackling the root causes of ecological destruction” (FDE). FDE speaks of threats to the lives of all species of plants and animals inhabiting the entire ecosphere, including humans. No one human or species is more valuable than the other. To stop the global extinction crisis and reach true sustainability will require reshaping society’s values.

Deep ecologists believe that current dilemmas derive from a combination of the following: the assumption that humans are superior to all other life forms inhabiting the ecosystem and that mother nature is here to serve humans; the existing economic and developmental models of the world places importance on the marketplace, not nature; Industrialization of all aspects, as well as an emphasis on urbanization; the belief that technological development is unstoppable and demonstrates progress blinds people to the real issues that technology has brought onto the world; overpopulation, which places a restraint on the entire biosphere. Soon after the Foundation for Deep Ecology was founded, an in-house book publishing program was started to help educate and inspire people about ecological issues. All the books produced shared a common motif: that society’s current twisted viewpoints on social and economic systems are destroying our earth in unbelievable ways. FDE-sponsored gatherings of leading thinkers have led to the formation of many independent organizations such as the Wildlands project. Since 1990 over 1500 grants have been approved to nonprofit organizations. The three main areas that the grants go to are biodiversity and wilderness, ecological agriculture, and globalization and metatechnology.
Part 2: Taking Action Every single environmental issue traces back to the deep ecology movement because it involves the earth we occupy. I chose to sign a petition called “Congress, Don’t Abandon Mercury/Carbon Emission Controls Supported by Obama Administration”. When the Obama administration was in charge there was a decline in the mercury contamination found in blue fin tuna due to a decline in coal usage as well as strict emission standards but president-elect Donald Trump is hoping to start up coal production in the United States again. If coal production becomes reinstated there will be a decline in tuna and other fish populations as well as an increase in mercury contamination, which directly affects humans. Coal production would also cause pollution emissions to rise greatly. While a petition is a great way to get notice of issues, for an issue this big it would be better to write a letter to congress or even put together a protest.