Political Science 1020E Lecture Notes - Lecture 24: Anthropocentrism, Garrett Hardin
28 Feb 2015
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Document Summary
The twenty-fourth lecture investigates the environment and the idea of a green ideology. We begin with the story of thomas midgley, an ingenious and well-meaning american research chemist who came up with the idea of putting lead (a terrible pollutant) into gasoline and then invented freon, the first of the ozone-thinning cfcs. Midgley"s accidental death symbolizes the disastrous results that can follow from human ingenuity combined with bad luck and the failure to consider the long-term consequences of our actions. We identify several serious environmental problems the world faces today. Natural resources are disappearing, including natural habitats, wild food sources, and biodiversity. Other resources are dwindling, such as oil and freshwater. We generate harmful substances, like toxic chemicals and atmospheric gases. Population growth and economic development both increase the strain on the earth"s limited resources. We introduce ecology as an ideology that claims to be beyond left and right".
