GGRB21H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Political Ecology, Soil Fertility, Natural Capital
Document Summary
Everything on this lecture will be on the midterm. Know for exam: don"t just blame the poor and marginalized people for the environmental degradation- instead, study the context, the people outside the environment, and the factors that lead people to degrade the environment. It seeks to show environmental degradation in larger political and economic contexts. Political ecology is not a coherent theory but it draws from many theories to explain human-environment interactions and it contributes to the creation of other theories. Political ecology is not a method but it uses several methods to understand human-environment interactions. Political ecology is a lens- a way of looking at things or way of enhancing how we view things. Political ecology emphasizes critiquing everything and is skeptical and ambiguous. It forces us to seek more information and the source issue. Environmental problems must always be considered in the broader context. Pe as a critique exposes flaws in dominant approaches to the environment.
