Shallow Ecology vs Deep Ecology

Deep Ecology is best understood when compared to shallow ecology. Shallow ecology is the stuff you already know about. You see it on TV, kids learn it in school. Recycle, buy energy saving light bulbs, buy hybrid cars, don't use plastic bags, plant trees, the list goes on.

None of these programs questions the fundamental beliefs of our culture and how our society is operating. 

We have a cultural vision which puts man as a foe of the world, somebody who needs to conquer and master the environment. Shallow ecology participates in that myth. It says landfills are a problem, so lets recycle instead. Depending on oil is a problem so lets drive electric cars instead.

Shallow ecology wants to save the world, but only for us. It wants to preserve wilderness areas of the world so that they can be enjoyed by campers and backpackers. It wants us to preserve the rainforests so our children can enjoy them or because we need the oxygen from the trees. Save the ecosystems, but only if they are of value to us. Someday we might want or need them.

shallow ecology
image by lumaxart

Even at its most noble this view is completely self centered. If the natural environment is lost then it is lost to us. If it is lost then we cannot use it.

Shallow ecology cannot save the world. No amount of environmentalism can prevent destruction if a culture believes the world belongs to it by right. 

All "being green" can do is delay or mitigate the damage that our culture is wreaking on the planet.

What Is Deep Ecology?

Deep Ecology cuts straight to the heart of our culture. It examines our worldview and says, "how is the way we think about the world contributing to our environmental and social problems?"

It isn't about trivial eco-tips. It is a rigorous review of our mindset and the actions we take as a result of that mindset. There are human cultures who have existed and still do, that see themselves as part of the community of life. They don't destroy the planet. 

Deep Ecology is about changing minds.

The destroyer of the planet is not the human race. It is one single human culture that believes the Earth must be subdued and mastered that is destroying the planet.

Deep Ecology goes beyond mere ecology. It involves culture, human societies, mythology and anthropology. It looks to non-humans for advice on how to participate in an ecosystem without destroying it and seeks to implement that advice by the modification of culture.

Every action is the result of a prior thought. Deep Ecology is about changing minds. Change a mind, you change the outcome.

Shallow Ecology has to struggle and whine and try to force itself on people. Because it goes against the grain of our society. It doesn't offer anything for people, it even suggests that saving the world is a sacrifice. So all the advertising campaigns and all the efforts of the NGOs come to nothing because people are still more concerned with the bottom line.

However if we change minds rather than change actions then the world will transform. Give people an option to participate in a new cultural vision; something that will be directly beneficial to them. 

This isn't so much about saving the world as it is about getting something better for people. Because if people have something better to live for, a culture in which people are more important than profits, then we won't have to moan at each other to preserve the environment. Because we will by default not destroy it.


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