David Orr & Jay McDaniel Readings
According to Spirituality and Sustainability, what are two out of the four values does the Earth Charter emphasize?
1) Respect and care for the community of life
2)Ecological integrity
3) Social and economic justice
4)Nonviolence, democracy, and peace.
What does “idiographic” mean in geography?
What event does Cronon focus on to show how history can be told in different ways?
The Dust Bowl.
What makes the Ganges problem unique?
It is both an environmental disaster and a significant holy site.
This group in southern India uses both cloud movements and animal behavior to forecast weather.
Who are the farmers in Raj’s case study?
What does Orr mean by “divergent problems”?
Problems that cannot be solved by logic or technical fixes alone, but require wisdom, compassion, and forgiveness.
What does “nomothetic” mean in geography?
Seeking general laws or patterns that apply across multiple cases.
What is a “narrative” in history?
A story that gives meaning to past events.f
What does William Oswald propose as a solution within the reading?
Sewage treated in natural algae ponds
According to Miller & Erickson, presenting science as a single “voice from nowhere” can silence these kinds of perspectives.
What are local or alternative knowledge systems?
Name two of the four main challenges Orr identifies for achieving sustainability.
1)Better models/metaphors
2) Improved citizenship/governance
3)Education reform
4)Spiritual renewal.
Which philosopher argued that geography studied unique objects in space, while history studied unique events in time?
Immanuel Kant
How does Walter Prescott Webb interpret the Dust Bowl?
It is evidence that the human failure frontier is closing in on land use.
What makes algae such an important resource for this project?
It is the most efficient oxygen producer on the planet.
Berkes and his co-authors explained that combining scientific and local knowledge is important not only for better information but also for building this feeling between communities and scientists.
What is Trust.
What does Orr argue is the most difficult challenge for sustainability?
Achieving spiritual renewal.
What is the problem with generalizations like “all swans are white”?
Induction is limited—new evidence, like discovering black swans, can falsify the rule.
How does Donald Worster interpret the Dust Bowl?
As a symptom of global capitalism and ecological limits
Why don’t Western-style water treatment plants work near the Ganges?
doesn’t have the same wastewater infrastructure as other countries and their access to electricity is unreliable.
Raj’s study showed that farmers don’t just listen to scientists—give an example of one type of traditional knowledge they rely on.
What are local signs like winds, clouds, and animal behavior?
Why does Orr claim that a “spiritually impoverished world is not sustainable”?
Because meaninglessness, despair, and lack of purpose undermine the desire to sustain life.
According to the chapter, what is the main challenge when moving from small-scale case studies to larger-scale generalizations?
Results don’t always hold across scales—upscaling and downscaling can distort findings.
What is Cronon’s main point about history and storytelling?
Stories are not neutral—they shape how we understand the past and what we do in the future.
How many bodies (between humans and domesticated animals) are put into the river each year?
Over 50,000
According to Miller & Erickson, global assessments work better when they include not just experts but also these kinds of people.
Who are citizens or local communities?