Andrey Sychev

Correlation of Global and Local in Environmental

Ethics

Prague 2010

Stages of environmental movement development

1. 1960s 2. 1970s 3. 1980s – present time

1960s

1960s

At the first stage of development of mass environmental movement the problems which were in the focus of concern, as well as the ways of their solving were interpreted as predominantly local. They were examined in isolation from each other or only in the most direct connections, but not as parts of big social and economic system.

1960s

1970s

Scientific-technical civilization has confronted all nations, races, and cultures, regardless of their group specific, culturally relative moral traditions, with a common ethical problem. For the first time in the history of human species human beings are faced with the task of accepting the collective responsibility for the consequences of their actions on a world-wide scale. Karl-Otto Apel

1970s

Thinking like earthlings is more important than acting as Americans, Brasilians or Germans. Holmes Rolston III

1970s

The leit-motif of the second stage of environmental movement development was the conviction that local actions are ineffective, so we can solve the problems only at the global level, provided that all nations start working together. These claimes were supported by the theory of environmental ethics, that examined the situation in a global context, from the bird’s-eye view.

1980

My generation is a generation of great talkers, overly fond on conferences. We have analyzed, debated, discussed, and negotiated these global issues almost endlessly. But on action, we have fallen far short James Gustave Speth

1980s

1980s – present time Solving environmental problems cannot be exclusively

local or exclusively global. We should not only negotiate global issues, but make concrete actions at the local level. While analyzing local actions we should think about their global consequences and vice versa – analyzing global principles we should think how they can be applied to the specific country, region, community, household. In other words, realistic solving of environmental problems depends on glocal coordination of actions at all levels – from individual to planetary.

Stages of environmental movement development

1. local 2. global 3. glocal

Forms of glocalization

adjustment of global practices and values to local conditions;

Intensifyication of the effect of local actions on global processes;

interrelations of micro- and macrolevel omitting mesolevel;

mutual coordination of global theories and local actions.

1. Adaptation of global practices and values to local conditions Each local authority should enter into a dialogue with its

citizens, local organizations and private enterprises and adopt “a local Agenda 21” Agenda 21

I define healthy glocalization as the ability of a culture, when it encounters other strong cultures, to absorb influences that naturally fit into and can enrich that culture, to resist those things that are truly alien and to compartmentalize those things that, while different, can nevertheless be enjoyed and celebrated as different. T.Friedman

2. Intensification of effects that local actions have on global processes

The problem is not in a human mistake, but in the systems that transform quite an explainable human mistake into an incomprehensible destructive force Ulrich Beck

The social capital that citizens can create by linking with each other, with non-governmental organizations, and with governmental actors at diverse levels is essential for effective feedback, learning, and crafting of new and better solutions E.Ostrom

3. Interrelations of micro- and macrolevel omitting mesolevel communication of local cultures, groups of

environmentalists at the international level without the mediation of the state

The conception of universal “atmosphere rights” is a good starting point but in fact it is too simple as it does not take into consideration many fundamental facts, concerning the contemporary position of the humankind and climate crisis deepening. If we take these facts into consideration, we will have to introduce a significant number of additional normative requirements. A.Prokofiev

4. Coordination of global theories and local actions.