The idea of creating value standards and mapping economic concerns onto nature is both practical and depressing. On one hand, nature does have value, and it’s important that we realize and protect that. I feel that finding balance between the movement to protect nature at all costs and the faction that wants to exploit nature for profit is the only way to come up with a reasonable, actionable environmental plan. Many people simply aren’t moved by arguments that nature is sacred and that we are one with the environment, so assigning value in terms of capital is a way to show this value more logically. However, the author’s point that there are some things that cannot only be assessed in monetary terms is very accurate. It’s sad that we have to resort to putting a monetary value on nature to fight for its conservation.
Pathologies of Power is more accessible, and thus far, more inciting. A few years ago, I read Bravo for the Marshallese, which details the impacts of nuclear weapons testing on the people of the Marshall Islands. I thought at the time that his was an extreme example of environmental injustice, but have since become aware of a number of other examples, such as those detailed in this book. Human rights violations often occur in the pursuit of the dominant group’s goals, and those who have been hurt are often left with very little recourse. It’s horrifying that the right to health, the keystone to quality of life, is so easily violated in the pursuit of power.
I really liked how you talked about how our society is driven by a value system. The structure is arbitrary, however, it effects each and every one of us. Who are we to say whether someone has too much cancer or not enough cancer? The pursuit to happiness and power forces us to disregard the "other", and they are left to suffer even more. Our country was supposedly founded on hard work, as well as people helping each other to survive. What happened to the benevolence that people once had? Is it masked by our fortunes and power? Is it barricaded from our exploitation of the weak? Or was there ever humanity at all?
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