Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 7.06 Environment and Ecology
Presentation #1 Title
Sustainability and Spirituality in Appalachia
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Sustainability and Spirituality in Appalachia We are winning the war on nature; unfortunately we are not a separate entity from that nature. It appears that in our post-modern world the environment has become the fall guy for growth, development and corporate profits. Our regulatory attempts, even as ineffectual as they seem, are being challenged as anti-growth, anti-development and an undue burden on profits. After a brief period of pollution abatement in the late 20th century, we see a renewed fervor in attacks on environmental protection. It is my belief that a major tool to defend the environment is education of the public. We have incorporated environmental education at some basic level in many educational programs. These fact- based programs unfortunately tend to anesthetize the student, bringing about hopelessness in the face of industrial- sized pollution problem. We quote the statistics and offer no real means of attacking the problem on a personal basis. I believe that a spiritual awaking could produce mechanisms to overcome our destructive impulses which are rooted in our post-modern economic system. The development of a spiritual awaking can be obtained by the study of aboriginal and subsistence cultures, whose practices are based in understanding the natural environment and living within its bounds. Appalachian culture was a subsistence culture in its early agrarian form. I believe within that culture lie the kernels of a sustainable economic system and through praxis the development of spiritual awakening.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Dr. Addington is an adjunct professor at Ohio University. His research interests are education, development, and sustainability in the Appalachian region.
Sustainability and Spirituality in Appalachia
Harris Hall 136
Sustainability and Spirituality in Appalachia We are winning the war on nature; unfortunately we are not a separate entity from that nature. It appears that in our post-modern world the environment has become the fall guy for growth, development and corporate profits. Our regulatory attempts, even as ineffectual as they seem, are being challenged as anti-growth, anti-development and an undue burden on profits. After a brief period of pollution abatement in the late 20th century, we see a renewed fervor in attacks on environmental protection. It is my belief that a major tool to defend the environment is education of the public. We have incorporated environmental education at some basic level in many educational programs. These fact- based programs unfortunately tend to anesthetize the student, bringing about hopelessness in the face of industrial- sized pollution problem. We quote the statistics and offer no real means of attacking the problem on a personal basis. I believe that a spiritual awaking could produce mechanisms to overcome our destructive impulses which are rooted in our post-modern economic system. The development of a spiritual awaking can be obtained by the study of aboriginal and subsistence cultures, whose practices are based in understanding the natural environment and living within its bounds. Appalachian culture was a subsistence culture in its early agrarian form. I believe within that culture lie the kernels of a sustainable economic system and through praxis the development of spiritual awakening.
