Summary of the Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis
Crown College
Ecology
SCI 205
Doctor Don Hardy
June 12, 2014
Summary of the Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis
In 1967 Lynn White wrote an article called “The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis” that was to explain how, through the teachings of the Bible, man has damaged the ecological system of the world and the historical markers of this damage. White begins his article stating that all forms of life modify their contexts and that ever since man became a numerous species he has affected his environment in many ways, some that have been negative impacts for the environment. White tells how science and technology used to be separate, with science being thought of as an intellectual concept, and technology being a creation of the lower class. He states his idea that our ecological crisis is due to an emerging democratic culture and says the issue is whether a democratized world can survive in its own implications and presumes that we can’t unless we rethink our inflections. White moves onto explain how our technology has taken in fundamentals from all over the world and how all western technology has been successful in history. White claims that the advancement in agriculture with the plow changed how the distribution of land was done between families. Land distribution went from being based on the needs of the family to the capacity of the machine to till the earth. White states that this altered mans relationship to the soil, changing his position from being a part of nature to being the master of nature. White moves forward with the article addressing Christianity and nature. He uses the principles of Christianity and the statements made in the Bible to clarify the ecological issues in today’s world. White talks about how within the boundaries of the Christian belief, God granted man dominion over nature, thus a majority of mankind today sees themselves as being completely...