Response to Towards Ecopedagogy

           When you finish reading the well written and very persuasive Towards Ecopedagogy, you will react in one of two ways. You will either agree with his assertions that capitalism is evil, our environmental education is lacking, and our attempts at moving towards a sustainable lifestyle have failed. Or you will see the article as nothing more than Kahn’s own twisted opinion on what he believes to be wrong with our world, and how we should go about fixing it. After reading no more than the first few paragraphs, I had decided on the second option.

            The first problem Kahn brings to our attention is the apparent conflict between capitalism and the environment. He presents the idea that capitalism destroys the environment by promoting competition. While in some ways this may be true, I would like to see anyone suggest a more effective economic system. Without a doubt the United States is the most productive, and wealthy country in the world. The poor within the U.S. are much wealthier than the poor of any other country. A common argument is that it is not fair that the wealthy have so much, and the poor have so little. The sad fact of the matter is that life is not fair. The environment that Kahn loves so much is testament to that fact. If life was fair everyone would get cancer, nobody would die young during a natural disaster, and everyone would be of equal intelligence. It is unfortunate that the environment is being punished to support the human population, but it is something that can be aided through technology. The competition created by capitalism drives the advancement of technology. No other economic system has created so much in so little time. As you can see capitalism is not just the destroyer of the environment, but also its last hope.

            After attacking our economic system, Kahn moves on to our educational system. He begins by listing the percentage of Americans that support the idea of environmental education programs. Oddly enough, his next paragraph includes additional statistics showing how uneducated Americans are about the environment. It is a terrible idea to support your argument for educational reform with studies on American support, and then demonstrate the naivety of the people studied.  The Zoo School in Minnesota is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. Encouraging students to explore their impact on the world around them through their interaction with animals in a zoo is a wonderful way to encourage an environmentally friendly lifestyle. Kahn’s critique of the Zoo School is extreme. He believes it is a step in the right direction, but is far from where it needs to be. However, the school is already pioneering the way for other schools to follow. It is silly to expect a school to make a huge step in so little time, without alienating other school systems. Opening many schools with the same curriculum as the Zoo school would have a much larger impact than having just one school that does everything right.

            Another issue Kahn bring to our attention, is turning environmental education into sustainable development. He passes of global attempts at planning for sustainable development as a sham aimed at helping corporate and government relations. Sadly, creating a sustainable lifestyle is virtually impossible with today’s technology, and technology is the only way to obtain sustainability. Quite simply, people will not change for the good of the environment if it means giving up a more comfortable lifestyle. The human race is selfish and will always be selfish. Educating the public on environmental issues is simple in comparison to getting them to take action. Any sort of law passed by the government forcing the world to change, will only result in conflict and violence.

            The world is currently in a bad place. We consume our resources faster than they can be replenished while our population grows exponentially. The only way to relieve the strain we have placed on the environment and begin to repair the damage we have done, is through the advancement of technology. Fortunately competition created by capitalism pushes for the fastest technological advancement possible.