April 2009 Environmental News

Editor - Jan Weaver
208 Tucker Hall, MU 65211

A Practical Environmental Paradigm by Jan Weaver

Paradigms are people's beliefs in a set of rules about how the world works. When confronted with a problem, people use their paradigms to interpret events, understand causes and then develop solutions. The value of a paradigm is that it speeds up the problem solving when you are in familiar territory - you don't have to start from scratch to come up with something that will work. However, if you get too attached to a paradigm, you may use it in situations where it makes things worse, applying the same solution over and over again in spite of all kinds of evidence that it is not working. That is why some people always - always - recommend tax cuts, and others always - always - recommend government interventions.

In the 1950's and 60's the rules of the "Dominant Social Paradigm" (DSP) were: humans could control nature through science; unlimited industrial growth led to a high standard of living; personal property rights were inviolate; and natural resources were limitless. These rules made sense to people who lived through the second world war and the rise of communism. However, they were increasingly violated in the 1970's by things like the development of pesicide resistance in insects, industrial toxins showing up in food, air and water, and shortages of critical natural resources. These experiences led to a "New Environmental Paradigm" (NEP)

The NEP rules were that resources and space on earth were limited and we were approaching that limit; that human actions abused the environment, disrupting a delicate natural balance; that these actions, if continued, would result in ecological catastrophe; and that humans were not privileged - plants and animals had as much right as humans to exist.
While I agree that resources are limited, that we are rapidly approaching these limits, and that our actions have had catastrophic effects on many species and on many human populations, the NEP rules are too simplistic, and more important, not helpful in interpreting, understanding and solving the problems we currently face. So I would like to propose a "Practical Environmental Paradigm" or PEP, ten rules for understanding environmental problems. I published a version of these in the March 2006 MU Environmental News. It seems like a good time to raise them again, slightly modified and differently framed.

Energy disperses - Heat always flows from hot to cold and every time one form of energy is converted into another, some of the original energy is given off as heat (too dispersed to do work, which is basically moving a thing from one place to another).
Matter cycles - Except for radionuclides, elements do not change. However, each element, including radionuclides, can combine with others into a large but limited set of molecules determined by their joint physical properties. This enables any given element or combination of elements to travel between and among air, water, soil, rock and living things.
Populations grow - All populations have an innate tendency to increase. As long as conditions permit, populations will increase in size until they are limited by competition for food, water, or shelter, and or by increased wastes, and increased exposure to predators and parasites; in sum, by the destruction of the natural processes that supported the population in the first place.
Life evolves - If a population varies in the traits needed to survive, and if this variability improves the chances of leaving offspring, and if this variability is inherited (speed, sense of smell, protective shell, iinsecticide resistance, etc.), then over time, a larger proportion of the offspring will possess the trait.
Classes stratify - Humans are good at categorizing things, including each other. Sometimes this is useful, but frequently we use categories to assign the costs and benefits of social policies to different groups of humans when there is no just and logical reason to do so. Usually the poor, minority and less educated segments of the population bear the costs.
Commons are abused - Individuals who own a resource in common with others will always seek their own advantage in using the resource because they understand that is what every one else will do. Eventually the common resource will be used up or become so degraded it is useless. Any attempt by a person or group at voluntary stewardship will be undercut by the behavior of others who do not share the same ethic. (i.e. any business that does the "right thing" on its own will be at a disadvantage)
The Devil is in the details - The name of a policy or law does not always tell you what it will do. You have to read the fine print. Unfortunately few of us have the time or expertise to do this, so we rely on our representatives to do this for us.
Perception is reality - What each of us believes to be "real" is a model of how the world works that springs from past experience and from the way our brains are wired. Our individual models vary tremendously in their alignment to the "real world" depending on how we define our self interest (usually material), the time frame we use for judging outcomes (usually short) and our basic understanding of how nature and people work (usually simplistic).
Follow the money - Every organism, including humans, seeks its own advantage. In human societies, advantage is defined in terms of economic power. So, to get at root causes of environmental problems it is extremely important to figure out who benefits from a particular policy. While this rule does not always apply to people, it always applies to publicly owned businesses. Always.
Meaning Matters -Life is not really about money, it is what money can do for us, or what we think money can do for us. Once we are confident of our physical security, what we care about are relationships, a sense of belonging and the sense that we have made a difference in the world.

How could the Practical Environmental Paradigm help understand a problem? Take nuclear power. It is currently presented as a solution to global warming because it does not produce CO2 while generating electricity. First, matter cycles applies because uranium leaves piles of radioactive tailings and wastewater in the mining and processing stages, and when it is no longer capable of producing sufficient energy, though still radioactive, it is stored indefinitely (possibly perrmanently) at the plant that used it. So we take a substance doing little harm where it currently is, dig it up, spread it around, use it for a couple of years to generate electricity, and then leave it and its hazardous waste products distributed throughout the country where chemical reactions will (over time) allow it to migrate into the water supply. Classes stratify applies because both the plants and the nuclear waste keep ending up in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. The devil is in the details applies because CO2 free electricity generation does not mean nuclear is a clean, green energy source. Mining and processing uranium are energy intensive and generate lots of CO2, not to mention the radioactive waste. Perception is reality applies because - still lingering from the DSP of the 50's and 60's - there is the belief that a single, large, highly capitalized project like a nuclear power plant is better able to produce jobs and economic growth than many small, cheap, distributed sources of power like solar and wind, in spite of growing evidence to the contrary. Which also brings in follow the money - because subsidies for nuclear power are ten to 100 times higher per MW of electrical power generation than current subsidies for solar and wind. Large concentrations of money do a wonderful job of concentrating the attention and influence of a relatively small number of powerful stakeholders who can lobby more effectively than many small, dispersed stakeholders.

Paradigms in and of themselves are not good or bad, but they clearly have consequences which follow from how we interpret the causes of problems and the solutions we propose for fixing them. The important thing is to recognize when our paradigms aren't doing the job anymore so we can look for more effective tools, While the Practical Environmental Paradigm may not be the final word in paradigms, it does provide a more effective set of tools for solving environmental problems

Weaver, J. 2006. Operating Rules for the Environment (a more complete version). MU Environmenal News http://web.missouri.edu/~umcsnresiwww/news/Mar2006news.html

Special Events and Activities
Through May 13 - Wildflower Walks - Wednesdays, 5:30 pm, Rock Bridge State Park, Devil's Icebox Parking Lot.
April 3 - Green Friday Film: "Contested Streets" - 7 pm, UU Church, 2615 Shepard Bvd
April 4 - Spring Round Up Community Day - 1-4 pm, Unity Center, 1600 West Broadway - Keynote: Kamyar Enshayan, Univ IA Center for Energy & Environ Ed; Chef Demo by Craig Cyr of Wine Cellar and Bistro, Food Pres, Urban Ag, Bees, Worm Bins, Organic Pest Control. Free http://www.columbiafarmersmarket.org/spring_roundup.shtml
April 4, 11-25, 20-22 - Confident City Cycling Classes - http://www.pednet.org/programs/confident-city-cycling.asp
April 4 - Chasing the Beautiful Butterfly - Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, 1 - 4 pm - http://www.mostateparks.com/rockbridge.htm, register at 573-449-7402
April 4, 18 - Household Hazardous Waste Collection - 1313 Lakeview Ave, 9 am to 1 pm - pw-volunteer@gocolumbiamo.com April 6 - Endandgered & Invasive Species in the Missouri River Region - 7 pm Columbia Public Library -http://www.moriver.org/
April 8 - Rag Tag Human Impacts Series: Nuclear Comeback - 6 pm Rag Tag, following discussion led by Steve Mahfood, former Director, MO DNR. http://www.ragtagfilm.com/impacts.htm
April 11 - Native Plant Sale - Bradford Farm - http://aes.missouri.edu/bradford/events/
April 11 - Treasure Hunting with a Twist (Letterboxing, Geocaching, Scavenger Hunts and Hidden in Plain Sight) - Rock Bridge Memorial State Park 12-4 pm - http://www.mostateparks.com/rockbridge.htm, register at 573-449-7402
April 14 - Missouri River Macroinvertebrates - Bryant Cabin, Overton Unit of the Big Muddy, Fish & Wildife Refuge 7 pm - http://www.riverrelief.org/updates/entry/big-muddy-presentations-missouri-river-macro-inve/
April 15 - Rag Tag Human Impacts Series: Garbage Warrior - 6 pm, Rag Tag - http://www.ragtagfilm.com/impacts.htm
April 15 - Osage Group Sierra Club Katy Trail Bike Ride - Coopers Landing - greg.leonard@ missouri.sierraclub.org
April 18 - Rocheport Bend Day of Caring - Rocheport Mo River and Katy Trail Clean up, tree planting and garli mustard removal - http://www.riverrelief.org/event/rocheport-bend-day-of-caring/
April 19 - Earth Day - noon to 7 pm, MU Peace Park and Downtown Columbia - http://www.columbiaearthday.org/
April 21 - International Night Sky (Lyrid Meteor Shower) - Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, 6:30 - 8:30 pm - http://www.mostateparks.com/rockbridge.htm, register at 573-449-7402
April 22 & 23 - Missouri Energy Summit - MU Campus - Keynote: T. Boone Pickens on Wednesday April 22, 11:45 in Jesse Hall, Keynote is Free and Open to the public, but you must register - http://www.umsystem.edu/summits/
April 25- Clean Up Columbia - http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Volunteer/Opportunities/clean-up_columbia.php
April 25 - Park Stewardship Day - 1-3 pm, Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, Devils Icebox Parking Lot - clean up hwy 163, remove old fencing, remove invasive plants - http://rockbridge.missouri.org/
April 25 - Where the Wildflowers Grow - Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, 1 - 4 pm - http://www.mostateparks.com/rockbridge.htm, register at 573-449-7402
April 25, 26, May 2,3, 9, 10, 16 - Devil's Icebox Wild Cave Tours - Rock Bridge Memorial State Park, day-long, adventure-style, strenuous, fees apply - http://www.mostateparks.com/rockbridge.htm, register at 573-449-7402
May 2-9 - Annual Mayor's Bike, Walk, Wheel Challenge - Columbia- http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Volunteer/Opportunities/#PW
May 4 - Missouri River Flood Plain Ecology - 7 pm, Columbia Public Library - http://www.moriver.org/
May 10 - North American Migration Count - 573-442-1481

Organization Meetings and Contact Information
AUDUBON SOCIETY: 874-3904 / columbia-audubon.missouri.org Meet 3rd Wed 7:30 pm, Unitarian Church, 2615 Shepard Blvd.
BOONE COUNTY SMART GROWTH COALITION: http://smartgrowth.missouri.org/, 1st Weds 7:15 Boone Co Govt Ctr.
CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVING: 875-0539 or http://www.midmopeaceworks.org/sustainableliving.php
CHOUTEAU GROTTO: http://chouteau.missouri.org/, Meet 1st Wed, 7 pm, The Casteel Building, 1518 Business Loop 70 East
COLUMBIA CLIMATE CHANGE COALITION: 573-529-9273, Meet 3rd Thu http://www.columbiaclimatechangecoalition.org/
COLUMBIA FOOD CIRCLE: 882-7463 or http://foodcircles.missouri.edu/sources.htm
COLUMBIA PUBLIC WORKS VOL. PROGRAMS: 874-6271 or http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Volunteer/Opportunities/#PW
COMMUNITY GARDEN COALITION: 875-5995 or cgardenc@yahoo.com or http://cgc.missouri.org 3rd Thursdays 7 pm Columbia Public Library
ENV EDUCATION WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES: http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/teacher/workshops/
FRIENDS OF BIG MUDDY: friends@friendsofbigmuddy.org or www.friendsofbigmuddy.org 2nd Tues, 7 pm, Bryant Cabin
FRIENDS OF ROCK BRIDGE M. S. P.: 815-9255 or http://rockbridge.missouri.org/ Outdoors Bldg, 200 Old 63 S.
GET ABOUT COLUMBIA: http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/GetAbout_Columbia/index.php
GREEKS GOING GREEN: new group for fraternities and sororities at MU sauzp5@mizzou.edu
GREEN SANCTUARY: 1st Fridays, 7:00 pm UU Church 2615 Shepard Blvd alternates green movies and discussions g_baka2002@yahoo.com
GREENBELT LAND TRUST OF MID-MISSOURI: 442-4789, greenbelt.land.trust @gmail.com or http://greenbelt.missouri.org
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY RESTORE: 815-9836, drop off/ buy 1906 Monroe St. Columbia Mon to Fri 8:30 to 3:30, Sat 8-1 1pm,
MISSOURI ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: www.meea.org
MO NATIVE PLANT SOC.: http://columbianativeplants.missouri.org/, 2nd Mon, odd months, 7 p.m., UU Church, 2615 Shepard
MISSOURI RIVER COMMUNITIES NETWORK: 573-256-2602 or www.moriver.org or moriver@coin.org
MISSOURIANS FOR SAFE ENERGY: http://www.mosafeenergy.org/Content/ first Tuesdays, 7:15, Peace Nook on Broadway
PEDNET COALITION: email: pednet@pednet.org or http://www.pednet.org
RIVER RELIEF: http://www.riverrelief.org/
ROCK BRIDGE MEMORIAL STATE PARK: 449-7402 or http://rockbridge.missouri.org
SHOW ME CLEAN STREAMS COALITION: (573) 751-4115 ext 3169 or www.mostreamteam.org
SIERRA CLUB: 875-2916, http://missouri.sierraclub.org/osage/index.htm 3rd Tuesdays 7:30 pm Hillel Found., 1107 University Ave
SUSTAIN MIZZOU: http://students.missouri.edu/~sustainmizzou/
WILD ONES: 573 882-9909, ext 3257 or email wildonesmo@yahoo.com, http://wildones.missouri.org Meetings 2nd Saturdays.

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