MODULE 2: Back to nature

 AGENDA

1. Kevin DeLuca, "A Wilderness Manifesto"
2. Dale Jamieson, "The Heart of Environmentalism"
3. Review for midterm (can continue after debate Friday if necessary)

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Kevin DeLuca, "A Wilderness Manifesto"

Two types of environmentalism

"Social justice environmentalism" or EJM--focused on "our environment"
in the sense of the conditions in which we live

"Backpacker environmentalism"--focused on "the environment"
in the sense of nature, ecosystems, wilderness

His claims, shorter list (longer list in workbook)

1. Social justice environmentalism is taking over environmental organizations-- Sierra Club Greenpeace.  World Wildlife Fund
2. It's very successful in gaining governmental support--Justice 40
3. Social justice initiatives help people, not nature (Comment: but don't they often help both?)
4. Need to keep these two types of environmentalism separate, so each can thrive

DeLuca--separate environmental movements

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Jamieson--one environmental movement
with justice at its heart

Dale Jamieson, "Justice is the heart of environmentalism"

Jamieson makes an affirmative case for a contrasting view.  He does not offer rebuttals of specific arguments in DeLuca.  We're using the word "rebuttal" (in the debates) to talk about responding to someone else, argument-by-argument

 Questions Jamieson addresses

1. What is (environmental) justice? What does it comprise?
2. What is the rest of the body of environmentalism about?
3. Why is justice the heart?

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Question 1 What is justice? What does it comprise?  ("Dimensions of Environmental Justice")

Dimension 1: Distributive justice

• distribution of waste, pollution, clean air and water, green spaces
• "From this perspective environmental environmental resources are in principle no different from money, food, health care, or other distributive goods over which people have claims of justice." (p. 90)

Dimension 2: Participatory/Procedural justice

• is the decision making process just? are the right people represented?
• example (Bullard) : all-white Houston city council decided about landfill placement in 1979
• example of an initiative that advances both distributive and participatory justice: Justice 40 

Dimension 3: Corrective/Reparative justice 

• what should be done to make up for past wrongs?
• example: returning National Parks to Native Americans        
• climate justice might involve these concepts

Wilderness issues can be justice issues!

• he says this briefly on p. 93
• Taylor's approach to conflicting claims--priority principles including a principle of distributive justice and a principle of reparative justice

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Question 2: What is the rest of the body about?  ("Beyond Justice")

Nature is not just a resource for humans

• Nature as radically "other" and therefore NOT a resource 
• Nature as a community we're part of and therefore NOT a resource 

 Canyonlands National Park

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Question 3: Why is justice the heart?  (p.  98)

It's motivational!   More people care about it more.  But it can animate the rest of the movement.  (True?)

Then again, there can be conflicts--

Conflicts between the justice perspective and the nature perspective 

1. Off-road vehicles empower people with a variety of abilities (good from justice perspective)
2. But the roads diminish wilderness (bad from nature perspective)

Off-road vehicle route in
Canyonlands National Park

Walt Whitman, Song of Myself