Environment and Feminism - Ecofeminist Theory and Sustainable Developme

Ecofeminist Theory and Sustainable Development "People have to be able to work together if they are to realize the shared destiny and to preserve a habitable environment for generations to come." Albert Bandura, 1995 Bandura's words epitomize the spirit of environmental education and its challenges of community cooperation, trans-generational communication and sustainable development. The success of these challenges depends on the ability to pass on knowledge about the environment to future generations in order for them to better understand how to maintain a sustainable relationship with nature. In this era of globalization and neo-liberalist policies, maintaining a sustainable relationship with the environment needs to be examined not just from an ecological perspective, but also from political and social angles. Since environmental issues are often connected to social and political concerns, a theoretical framework that encompasses a wider ideology may facilitate an understanding of the interconnectedness of ecological issues. Deep ecology, institutional environmentalism, green political theory, and possibly other schools of thought forge connections between environmental, political and social concerns. Ecofeminism emerges as an alternative theory for framing the issues and answers of sustainable development. An ecofeminist perspective more fully describes the connections between environmental degradation and the social inequalities that plague the poverty-stricken victims of pollution, urbanization, deforestation, and other by-products of over-development. Finally, it is important to include ecofeminist theory in a discussion of sustainable development, because "in a patriarchal society, failure to recognize the int... ...w. Milbrath, Lester. (1989). Envisioning a Sustainable Society. Learning Our Way Out. Albany: SUNY Press. Pomeroy, Robert S. (1987). "The Role of Women and Children in Small Scale Fishing Households: A Case Study in Matalom, Leyte, Philippines." Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society. v.15, 1987, pp.353-360. Salleh, Ariel K. (1988). "Epistemology and the Metaphors of Production: An Ecofeminist Reading of Critical theory." Studies in the Humanities. 5(2), pp. 130-39. UN Chronicle. (1995). "Empowering Women: More Education, Better Health Care, Less Poverty." United Nations Chronicle. v.32 (June '95) p.46-47. New York: United Nations Department of Public Information. Warren, Karen. (1996). "Ecological Feminist Philosophies: An Overview of the Issues." In Karen Warren (Ed.), Ecological Feminist Philosophies. Bloomington, ID: Indiana University Press.