Archives:
Listen now | 20 minutes, 14 seconds
This eco-thinking episode represents a slight departure from our usual format. Instead of tackling an issue like compost or meat, this is a conversation about environmental philosophy. The Eco-Chicks take a deeper look at the cultural and biological bond we share with other species. What do our pets get out of being part of our families? What role does anthropomorphism play in our treatment of the environment? Can pigeons help us heal?
Published on July 16, 2008 at noon, as part of the The Little Green People Show.
Links
- Stephen R. Kellert and Edward O. Wilson - The Biophilia Hypothesis: Its Nature and Culture
- David Quammen - Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature
- Peter H. Kahn - The Human Relationship with Nature: Development and Culture
- Jerry Sullivan - Hunting for Frogs on Elston and Other Tales from Field and Street
Z.B. commented, on July 28, 2008 at 11:12 a.m.:
I like some animals but not others. I feel a bond with some nature but not all. Where does that leave me?
laurene commented, on August 22, 2008 at 10:54 a.m.:
Hi Z.B. I think it makes you human. Really we can't love all animals. Fleas freak me out. And sadly most people are freaked by insects as you know from the show. After reading "Fast Food Nation" and Temple Grandin's "Animals in Translation," I have come to suspect that one of the coming changes in culture will be our relationship to animals - how we eat them, care for them, protect them, and let them be...Any comments on what that future looks like? Maybe for poeple like you it is expanding your realm of appreciation to just one more species or type of animal.
I visited an amazing place called Animal Acres in California
see http://www.animalacres.org Check them out. They are on the edge of a new way of thinking. I am sure there are more groups out there with different approaches.