Conservation Culture: Shaping Your Feelings Towards Environmentalism?
What determines how people feel about important conservation issues such as the role and importance of wilderness areas, anthropogenic development, and the use of natural resources? According to conservationist Rebecca Hardin (University of Michigan School of Environment and Natural Resources), writing in Conservation Biology's recent 25th anniversary edition, it is the "conservation culture" to which we have been exposed, and to which we currently belong. She defines "conservation culture" as "a series of distinct aesthetic, technical, and ideological positions." Hardin argues that an awareness of the symbols and meanings in own conservation culture, as well as the others that surround us, is essential for developing practical conservation plans in the future. read more