by Tokie Laotan

Created on: September 02, 2008

The most practical problem posed by environmental issues for modern political ideas concerns our place in the wider natural world. Broadly speaking, modern political ideologies treat the rest of the natural world in an instrumental fashion, that is rationally, as a means to an end. Human development as well as the communities in which they reside are the bearers of interests, values and rights, but the rest of nature is valued and accorded an interest only in relation to human concerns. Not only do modern political ideologies treat the natural environment in a largely instrumental fashion, they also operate as if human development were not part of nature in itself. Overstepping the limits, causes nature to strike back at us in unforeseen ways. For example, The recent climate change in New Orleans, climate change is no longer simply a naturally driven phenomenon but is now influenced by the global warming resulting from green house gases produced by advancing our human development. Advancing human development, for the first time seems to show how this affects our environment. For instance human reproduction is now being dramatically transformed by the advent and development of new reproductive technologies and the science of genetic engineering.

If we can genetically re-engineer tomatoes and clone sheep, then what might we be able to do to the human species in the not too distant future? What would such changes do to our sense of self and our identity as a single species? The development of genetic engineering and biotechnology is also radically transforming the natural basis of agriculture, such as the reproduction of animals and plants while being industrialized via science in commercial agricultural agencies. Is the need to genetically modify our food, a new means of feeding an expanding world population or a long-term threat to human health?
Now the development of solar power seems to be in conflict with the economic fortunes of differing countries in a world where the access to and control of fossil fuels has been historically central to the development of industrial power.

Confronted with environmental problems, modern political ideologies have responded in different ways.Green thinking as a general perspective is rooted in developments of the natural world and how it affects the values of human nature. One very common response to the kinds of environmental problems generated by economic activity is to argue that they could be resolved if we took a more enlightened view of our interests. With this view , in order to address ecological concerns we have to recognize that not only are we a part of nature, but that the pursuit of our economic interests has environmental implications, and that we also have an interest in the maintenance of certain kinds of environmental issues for our own good.

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