Richard
Kahn opens up with an engaging introduction by quoting Paulo Freire’s, the
founder of Ecopedagogy, statement on ethics. “It is urgent that we assume the
duty of fighting for the fundamental ethical principles, like respect for the
life of human beings, the life of other animals, the life of birds, the life of
rivers and forest.” Kahn then goes into how people of the 21st
century are in a great crisis due to multiple factors. The world today is suffering
from its history and the same traditions are continued throughout current
times. Recent advancements in industry and technology have left Earth with a
ruined atmosphere. The planet will be destroyed if these actions continue to
take place.
Technocapitalism,
the emergence of new technology, has become a threat to destroy organisms and
their habits Kahn states. In a way this is true, it seems to be all about the
money and not the conservation of the environment. In current times it’s easy
to tell that technology is the driving force behind the economy, and the lack
of care to nature is coming into effect. Humanity, other organisms and their
habitats are being destroyed for human production and consumption. People are
greedy and self-centered considering that they’re supposed to be sharing the
world. For example, Kahn talks about deforestation having gone up in the past
few years for the production of paper. Also how global fishing is causing the
disappearance of several species of fish. The selfish ways of humans is harming
other living organisms in an unethical manor. The soil and oceans are also
being polluted and becoming inhabitable. Things such as oil spills have killed
numerous amounts of marine animals and people are to blame for that. Land
animals are also killed in large quantities just so people can enjoy a burger
at a fast food joint. It seems completely wrong for people to kill animals and
consume them just for a quick bite to eat. There are foods put on this earth
for us to consume; not saying humans are not supposed to eat animals but the
manner in which it takes place is immoral.
Capitalism
is one of the main causes of the downfall of the humanities relationship with
Earth and its organisms. “New advances in capitalist lifestyle and practice are
then directly responsible for grave exacerbations of widespread poverty and
suffering, species genocide, and environmental destruction. Kahn seems to exert
socialist and liberal emotions through his writings. Social justice is what his
argument pushes for. People must be educated on the matter of this ongoing
issue. With people blind to the facts, it seems like the solutions will never
be found; knowing is half the problem. There’s a section in the writing the
shows how uninformed the public is of the surrounding environment.
The
mistreatment of nature is pushed throughout the writing and the point that
educating people about ecopedagogy is a necessity, but it can’t be confined
just to this. At this point in time, humanity and the ecosystems must work as
one and the actions of people must take on an ecopedagogy fashion. Several
movements and organizations have been started in hopes of spreading the word of
capturing an amazing relationship with Earth and all of its inhabitants in
order to save everyone. The viewpoints and solutions mentioned by Kahn are
somewhat radical, but in a catastrophic situation like the one at hand, why not
take that kind of approach? It’s all in hopes of a better tomorrow, not just
for humanity, but all living things and the supplier for all, Earth.
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