This unit introduces some of the critical voices and ideas surrounding Ecology of Place. The list of readings is, for the sake of brevity, limited: there are many, many significant voices writing and speaking about biodiversity and ecological issues. Readings presented here will spur students to explore, choose an individual topic and question at issue for a research-based argumentative essay, read and research about it, and limit the scope enough to be able to present an in-depth discussion of their chosen facet of the argument. Students are invited to browse through the categories and titles to see which ones pique their interest or bring up a question: Is there a topic here that relates to your major in some way? Have you touched on related ideas in another class that you would like to follow up on? Have you experienced a place that has a serious ecological problem? A great goal is to find a topic you can feel passionate about.
The unit includes a 12-category selection of Ecology of Place issues with links to corresponding articles and other media forms. Many texts overlap categories.
Key to Topic Category Abbreviations
ANI: animals; CLI: climate crisis; DEF: deforestation; EA: ecological attitudes; ECON: economics; ENJU: environmental justice; INDIG: indigenous peoples; KNOW: knowledge; LAND: land use; REG: regulations; RIGH: the rights of nature; URB: urban ecology.
CLI-DEF-EA-ECON-LAND-URB
Coady, Theresa. “Rebuilding Earth’s Forest Corridors: Renewing Connections Above and Below.” kosmosjournal.org, Excerpted from Rebuilding Earth: Designing Ecoconscious Habitats for Humans, North Atlantic Books, 2020.
CLI-ECON-REG
“Debunking Science Denialism.” Editorial, Nature Human Behavior, 3, 887. June 24, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-019-0746-8
EA-ECON
Elgin, Duane. “Great Transition Stories for Becoming a Global Eco-Civilization.” duaneelgin.com, Great Transition Stories, greattransitionstories.org, August 5, 2014.
EA-ECON-CLI-REG
Felber, Christian. “Economy for the Common Good.” RSA (Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commence). YouTube. Aug. 18, 2016. (27:03 minutes)
EA-INDIG-LAND-REG
Hardin, Garrett. “The Tragedy of the Commons.” AAAS Science, sciencemag.org, Pp. 1243-1248, Dec. 13, 1968.
EA-ECON-INDIG-REG-URB
Korten, David. “The New Economy: A Living Earth System Model.” davidkorten.org, The Next System Project, pp. 1-15.
CLI-EA-RIGH
Margil, Mari. “Advancing Change in a Time of Disruption: Forging a New Pathway for Nature.” Common Dreams commondreams.com April 1, 2020
CLI-EA-LAND-REG-URB
McDonough, William. “Cradle to Cradle Design.” TED, ted.com, Feb. 2005. (Video: 20:05 min)
CLI-ECON-REG-URB
Newburger, Emma. “Trump is Rolling Back over 80 Environmental Regulations. Here Are Five Big Changes You Might Have Missed in 2019.” CNBC, cnbc.com, 3 Jan. 2020.
CLI-EA-ECON-INDIG-KNOW
Norberg-Hodge, Helena. “What Indigenous Wisdom Can Teach Us about Economics: Strengthening Local Economies.” #CuraDa Terra essay series, Kosmos Journal, kosmosjournal.org, Fall 2020.
CLI-ECON-REG-LAND-URB
Omkuti, Jessica.. “Climate Adaptation Finance is Ineffective and must be More Transparent.” The Conversation, theconversation.com, 13 May 2021.
EA-LAND
Robbins, Jim. “Ecopsychology: How Immersion in Nature Benefits Your Health.” Yale University, yels.edu, 9 Jan. 2020.
CLI-ECON-REG
Rowland-Shea, Jenny and Mary Ellen Kustin. “A 13.5 Million Acre Lie.” Center for American Progress, 20 March 2019.
ECON-CLI-EA-REG
Sadasivam, Naveena. “Regulating While Sheltering.” Grist, grist.org, 14 Apr. 2020.
CLI-EA-ECON-LAND
Shiva, Vandana. “Big Data Doesn’t Add Up–Except to Disaster.” Resurgence & Ecologist, Issue 305: Light in the Dark Days, resurgence.org, November/December 2017.
ECON-EA-LAND-KNOW-INDIG
Todd, John. “The Ecological Design Revolution” Bioneers, bioneers.org, 12 19 2014. (Video: 23:24)
CLI-DEF-REG-EA
Carrington, Damian, Paul Torpey, and Paul Scruton. “The Climate Crisis Explained in 10 Charts.” 4 November, 2022.
CLI-DEF-REG
Ceslo H.L. Silva, Jr. et al. “The Brazilian Amazon Deforestation Rate in 2020 Is the Greatest of the Decade.” Nature: Correspondence. nature.org, 21 Dec 2020.
RIGH-DEF-LAND-ANI
Chapron, Guillaume, Yaffa Epstein and José Vicente López-Bao. “A Rights Revolution for Nature.” Science. 14 Mar 2019, vol 363, Issue 6434, pp. 1392-1393.
DEF-CLI-REG-LAND-EA
Dellasala, Dominick A. et al. “Letters: Post-Fire Logging Debate Ignores Many Issues.” Commentary: Science, Nov 2006, 314(5796):51-2.
CLI-ECON
Evich, Helena Bottemiller. “I’m Standing Right Here in the Middle of Climate Change: How the USDA is Failing Farmers.” Politico , 15 Oct. 2019.
EA-ENJU-RIGH-LAND
Galeano, Eduardo. “Nature is not Mute.” IPS News, ipsnews.net, April 2008.
DEF-CLI-REG-LAND-EA-URB
Gramling, Carolyn. “Why Planting Tons of Trees Isn’t Enough to Solve Climate Change.” Science News, 9 July 2021.
ANI-CLI-EA-ECON
Jenson, Derrick. “Beyond Civilization.” Orion Magazine, orionmagazine.org, 11 December 2019.
CLI-EA-ENJU-LAND
Kolbert, Elizabeth. Excerpt from Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change. Bloomsbury, USA, 2006.
CLI-REG
Herring, David. ““Isn’t There a Lot of Disagreement among Climate Scientists about Global Warming?” NOAA, 3 February 2020.
ANI-EA-ECON
Hall, Lee. “Hogwash! Or, How Animal Advocates Enable Corporate Spin.” Dissident Voice, dissidentvoice.org, 29 August 2007.
ANI-CLI-DEF-EA
Hilborn, Ray. “Keep Eating Fish: It’s the Best Way to Feed the World.” OUPblog. Oxford University Press’s Academic Insights for the Thinking World, blogoup.com, May 31 2019.
EA-REG-RIGH
Levang, Emily. Can We Protect Nature by Giving it Rights? University of Minnesota., Environmental Institute: Ensia. 4 Feb. 2020
EA-REG-RIGH
Margil, Mari. “Nature and the Law.” Democracy: A Journal of Ideas, democracyjournal.org, 20 Dec. 2016.
ANI-CLI-DEF
MacGowan, Brian. “Harvesting Our Forests – The Wildlife Debate.” Department of Forestry & Natural Resources, Purdue University, 31 Jan. 2018.
CLI-ANI-RIGH-EA-REG-ECON
Monbiot, George. “Stop Eating Fish. It’s the Only Way to Save the Life in Our Seas.” The Guardian, 9 May 2019.
ANI-RIGH-EA-REG
Nelson, Michael Paul, et al. “Emotions and the Ethics of Consequence in Conservation Decisions: Lessons from Cecil the Lion.” Conservation Letters. Society for Conservation Biology. Jan. 28 2016.
ANI-RIGH-EA-CLI
Reasor, Jamie K. “Ocean City.” 1997. (poem).
DEF-CLI-REG-LAND-EA
Robins, Becki. “To Save the Redwoods, Scientists Debate Burning and Logging.” Undark, 16 12 2019.
ANI-EA-RIGH
Safina, Carl. “What Animals Think and Feel.” Bioneers, 2014, Pp. 10-15.
ANI-CLI-EA
Shah, Sonia. “Think Exotic Animals Are to Blame for the Coronavirus? Think Again.” The Nation, 18 Feb. 2020.
CLI-EA-RIGH-REG-KNOW-ECON
Solnit, Rebecca. “If You Win the Popular Imagination, You Change the Game: Why We Need New Stories on Climate. The Guardian, 12, Jan 2023.
ANI-DEF-RIGH
Quammen, David. “Clone Your Troubles Away.” Harpers, February 2005.
ANI-EA
Regan, Tom. “The Case for Animal Rights.” Excerpt from “A Case for Animal Rights.” In M.W. Fox & L.D. Mickley (Eds.), Advances in Animal Welfare Science, 1986/87 (pp. 179-189). Washington, DC: The Humane Society of the United States. The Humane Society Institute for Science and Policy Animal Studies Repository, 1986.
CLI-DEF-REG
Weise, Mikaela and Elizabeth Dow Goldman. “We Lost a Football Pitch of Primary Rainforest every 6 Seconds in 2019.” World Resources Institute, wri.org, 2 June 2020.
ENJU-INDIG-KNOW-LAND-REG
Anderson, Terry L. “The Case for Transferring Federal Lands Back to Native Americans.” The Hill, 3 June 2020.
CLI-ENJU-LAND-INDIG
Baker, Janelle and Paulla Ebron, Rosa Ficek, Karen Ho, Renya Ramirez, Zoe Todd, Anna Tsing, Sarah E. Vaughn. “The Snarled Lines of Justice: Women Ecowarriors Map A New History Of The Anthropocene.” Orion Magazine, orionmagazine.org, 19 Nov. 2020.
ENJU-REG-LAND-URB
Beatley, Tim. “The Natureful City: Rediscovering Nature during a Pandemic.” Biophilic Cities Journal. Vol. 4 No.1, April 2021, Pp. 6-9.
ENJU-REG-URB
Berardelli, Jeff and Peggy Shepard. “Summer’s Social Unrest Highlights Environmental Racism in the U.S.” CBS News. July 17, 2020. (Video: 10:44 min.)
ENJU-REG-LAND-URB
Bhat, Meera. “Opinion: For People Working to Protect Nature, Cities Can No Longer be an Afterthought.” Ensia, ensia.com, 14 Sept. 2018.
EA-ENJU-INDIG-REG-URB
Buford, Talia. “A Brief History of Environmental Justice.” ProPublica, 4 August 2017. (Video: 3:35 min)
URB- LAND- REG- ENJU
Lieber, John. “Urban Ecology: A Bright Future for Sustainable Cities.” The Revelator. 14 Dec. 2018.
ECON-ENJU-INDIG-LAND-REG
Norberg-Hodge, Helena. “What Indigenous Wisdom Can Teach Us about Economics: Strengthening Local Economies.” #CuraDa Terra essay series, Kosmos Journal, kosmosjournal.org, Fall 2020.
CLI-ENJU-INDIG-LAND-REG-URB
Isaacson, Walter. “‘Pollution is Segregated’ Says the Father of Environmental Justice.” PBS, Amanpor and Company, Interview with Robert Bullard, 3 March 2020. (Video: 17:43 min.)
ENJU-INDIG-LAND-REG
Koza, Fiona and Naolo Charles, Jennifer Beeman, Ingrid Waldron, Dayna Scott, Kristian Ferreira and Peter Wood. “Canada’s Big Chances to Address Environmental Racism.” TheTyee.ca, 26 Nov 2020.
ENJU-KNOW-LAND-REG-URB
Lantham, Drew J. “Nine New Revelations for the Black American Bird-Watcher.” Vanity Fair, 27 May 2020.
ENJU-KNOW-LAND-REG-URB
Lantham, Drew J. “Nine Rules for the Woke Bird-Watcher.” Orion Magazine, 3 Dec. 2020.
ANI-CLI-EA-INDIG-KNOW-LAND
Nicholas, George. “Indigenous Intelligence: Diverse Solutions for the 21st Century, ‘When Scientists ‘Discover’ What Indigenous People Have Known For Centuries.” The Conversation, smithsonianmag.com, 21 February 2018.
CLI-EA-INDIG-KNOW-LAND-REG
Martinez, Dennis. “Indigenous Integrity.” Resurgence & Ecologist, resurgence.org, Issue 250, September/October 2008.
CLI-EA-ENJU-INDIG-KNOW-LAND-REG
“Indigenous People’s Collective Rights to Lands, Territories and Resources.” The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, un.org, 19 April 2018.
ENJU-EA-URB
Seamans, Georgia Silvera. “The Risks and Rewards of Being Black in Nature.” Medium. medium.com. August 21, 2020.
