Can Culture Save The Environment?? 2021ISBN 978-976-96650-6-4

ABSTRACT

Hypothetically speaking sometimes the thought which pervades my mind is whether culture metaphorically can be characterized as a double-edged sword, that said it can also have negative effects as well as positive effects. My reasons for this ethos is because of a view espoused by Bartleby Research “When defining the word culture, a common definition is that culture is a way of life. The way of life, however, holds a very general and unspecific meaning, and thus it is only an accurate description to encompass the basic idea of culture in a worldwide sense. A culture is made up of the people within it, and their interactions with each other and the society around them. It is these interactions that resulted in ideas such as art, history, tradition, and science, along with a range of others. Contrasting Bartleby Research view against Timeline of history of environmentalism from the 7th century period thru to the 21century period suggest that culture can be a doubled edge sword and if this thinking is true as a conversation I have arrived at this question Can Culture Save The Environment?? 2021ISBN 978-976-96650-6-4. 

In trying to ascertain more detail about this nuance two Timeline of history of environmentalism events were randomly selected for analysis namely (a) 1466 in the city of Paris. Paris forces butchers to dispose of animal wastes outside the city (Ponting) and (b) King Edward I of England bans the burning of sea-coal by proclamation in London, after its smoke had become a problem.

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Of note in 1466 in the city of Paris. Paris forces butchers to dispose of animal wastes outside the city (Ponting). Likewise similar laws would be disputed in Philadelphia and New York nearly 400 years later. In a review by Dorothee Brantz As the title of her book suggest,” meat mattered” in eighteenth –century Paris, not only because Parisians generally consumed larger quantities of meat than their fellow countrymen, but also because meat production was closely associated with the larger political, economic, and cultural framework of Parisian society. In eight chapters, Watts analyzes the history of the Parisian butcher trade by moving “beyond the mechanics of production, distribution, and marketing of meat to include the social institutions such as the guild and family firm, the political environment, as well as popular attitudes towards flesh, blood and violence that shaped the role of butchers in Parisian life” (2) Watts argues that the politics of meat were driven by a notable discrepancy between the official rhetoric of subsistence, which guaranteed sufficient meat provisions for all Parisians, and the actual practice of meat consumption, which was often limited to the more affluent segments of society. Scholars have long held the belief that meat consumption was a matter of privilege. Further it should be noted that Watts has argued that we need to revise this image in two ways for one, we need to distinguish between urban and rural consumption patterns since, on the whole, Parisians ate larger quantities of meat than their rural counterparts. In addition , one needs to pay attention to the types of meat that were consumed. Whereas fresh beef might have been the exclusive domain of wealthy Parisians, there were many other, less expensive types of meat available to the population at large. As Watts documents, by the late eighteenth century meat was no longer considered a luxury but a basic. 

It is reported in the annals of history King Edward I of England bans the burning of sea-coal by proclamation in London, after its smoke had become a problem. No evidence exists of the product being of great importance in Britain before about AD 1000, the High Middle Ages. Coal came to be referred to as "seacoal" in the 13th century; the wharf where the material arrived in London was known as Seacoal Lane, so identified in a charter of King Henry III granted in 1253. Initially, the name was given because much coal was found on the shore, having fallen from the exposed coal seams on cliffs above or washed out of underwater coal outcrops,but by the time of Henry VIII, it was understood to derive from the way it was carried to London by sea. In 1257–1259, coal from Newcastle upon Tyne was shipped to London for the smiths and lime-burners building Westminster Abbey. Seacoal Lane and Newcastle Lane, where coal was unloaded at wharves along the River Fleet, still exist. These easily accessible sources had largely become exhausted (or could not meet the growing demand) by the 13th century, when underground extraction by shaft mining or adits was developed.The alternative name was "pitcoal", because it came from mines. The development of the Industrial Revolution led to the large-scale use of coal, as the steam engine took over from the water wheel. In 1700, five-sixths of the world's coal was mined in Britain. Britain would have run out of suitable sites for watermills by the 1830s if coal had not been available as a source of energy. In 1947 there were some 750,000 miners in Britain but the last deep coal mine in the UK closed in 2015.

These two Timeline of history of environmentalism events suggest that all of the activities which occurred within the precincts of this timeline implies a culture which is made up of the people within it, and their interactions with each other and the society around them. 

Historically, many enquiries concerning environmental history date back to antiquity, including Hippocrates, the father of medicine, who asserted that different cultures and human temperaments could be related to the surroundings in which peoples lived in Airs, Waters, Places.Scholars as varied as Ibn Khaldun and Montesquieu found climate to be a key determinant of human behaviour.During the Enlightenment, there was a rising awareness of the environment and scientists addressed themes of sustainability via natural history and medicine.However, the origins of the subject in its present form are generally traced to the 20th century. In 1929 a group of French historians founded the journal Annales, in many ways a forerunner of modern environmental history since it took as its subject matter the reciprocal global influences of the environment and human society. The idea of the impact of the physical environment on civilizations was espoused by this Annales School to describe the long term developments that shape human history by focusing away from political and intellectual history, toward agriculture, demography, and geography. Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, a pupil of the Annales School, was the first to really embrace, in the 1950s, environmental history in a more contemporary form. One of the most influential members of the Annales School was Lucien Febvre (1878–1956), whose 1922 book A Geographical Introduction to History is now a classic in the field. The most influential empirical and theoretical work in the subject has been done in the United States where teaching programs first emerged and a generation of trained environmental historians is now active.In the United States environmental history as an independent field of study emerged in the general cultural reassessment and reform of the 1960s and 1970s along with environmentalism, "conservation history", and a gathering awareness of the global scale of some environmental issues. This was in large part a reaction to the way nature was represented in history at the time, which “portrayed the advance of culture and technology as releasing humans from dependence on the natural world and providing them with the means to manage it [and] celebrated human mastery over other forms of life and the natural environment, and expected technological improvement and economic growth to accelerate”.Environmental historians intended to develop a post-colonial historiography that was "more inclusive in its narratives”

Anthropologist believes that Culture is the patterns of learned and shared behaviour and beliefs of a particular social, ethnic, or age group. It can also be described as the complex whole of collective human beliefs with a structured stage of civilisation that can be specific to a nation or time period. Sociologist understands culture as the languages, customs, beliefs, rules, arts, knowledge, and collective identities and memories developed by members of all social groups that make their social environments meaningful.

In the world of academia it is purported that Culture is considered a central concept in anthropology, encompassing the range of phenomena that are transmitted through social learning in human societies. Since this arguments have validity and appears to be plausibly sound. Then it is also logical therefore to infer that Cultural universals should be found in all human societies. For example, these include expressive forms like art, music, dance, ritual, religion, and technologies like tool usage, cooking, shelter, and clothing. However a word of caution though in all plausibility the concept of material culture covers the physical expressions of culture, such as technology, architecture and art, whereas the immaterial aspects of culture such as principles of social organization (including practices of political organization and social institutions), mythology, philosophy, literature (both written and oral), and science comprise the intangible cultural heritage of a society as well as creating a cultural environment. A cultural environment is a set of beliefs, practices, customs and behaviors that are found to be common to everyone that is living within a certain population. Cultural environments shape the way that every person develops, influencing ideologies and personalities.

Culture explained has to do with a culture is a way of life of a group of people--the behaviours, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next. Culture is symbolic communication Culture is viewed as an umbrella term which encompasses the social behaviour and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups. Humans acquire culture through the learning processes of enculturation and socialisation, which is shown by the diversity of cultures across societies. This definition is very applicable and explicit and therefore allows me to examine in context the aforesaid statements since they seem to imply culture as inclusive cultural environment. It should also be noted that the environment is an important issue even when society is faced with economic crises, wars, and unending social problems. It matters because Earth is the only home that humans have, and it provides air, food, and other needs. I must also add that inclusive in this space means accepting, values and views and difference including everything. Therefore an inclusive culture indicates a climate in which respect, equity, and positive recognition of differences which are all cultivated, while the social and institutional response to disability should pose no barrier embraces all global citizens. Cultural environments are a remarkable cultural, social and economic resource. They are important for the identities and well-being of people. Cultural environments and the features particular to them provide a unique edge to regions and places, serve as the foundation of the development of local communities and create business opportunities. Since this conversation is critical to protect the environment and to reduce the destruction of eco-systems caused by a myriad of anthropogenic activities creates an environment and platform in answering this question Can Culture Save The Environment?? 2021ISBN 978-976-96650-6-4 and perhaps through an interest in understanding human impacts on the environment.

Finally this posited question activated my cognition as an Author, Cinematographer, Media Arts Specialist, License Cultural Practitioner and Publisher  

Timeline of history of environmentalism from the 7th century period thru to the 21century period. These events are like a 'cultural footprint' since it includes both positive and negative effects, and is especially important in this context of interaction and inequality between cultures, including political and institutional, economic or social inequalities. and appears to have shaped humanity's perspective on the environment including human induced disasters, environmentalists that have had a positive influence, and environmental legislation . Although environmentalism is a part of culture yet culture is not static but evolving I also believe that cultures are socially constructed. I also understand that we global citizens metaphorically act as conduits especially when expressing culture .Therefore our actions especially practicing culture is a nuance and predicated on belief and behaviour which is belief which is mental acceptance of a claim as likely true while behaviour is (uncountable) human conduct relative to social norms. Without doubt our beliefs influence our behaviour. Since beliefs are not always based on facts, yet they are the hardest thing to change in a person perhaps this thinking maybe part of the reasoning for legislating laws to protect the environment. That said the thought- that become our belief- is repeated so often, it creates a specific “groove,” or pathway, in the brain. To call ourselves truly “free” – we need to be able to change the thinking patterns. Beliefs about the environment are the assumptions we hold to be true. As human beings, our values and beliefs about the environment affect the quality of our life, our work, and our relationships. Since what we believe is what we experience, we tend to think that our beliefs are founded on reality. In fact, however, it is our beliefs that govern our experiences It should be noted that Belief Is So Powerful that the power of belief resides in its ability to do four things: Belief creates vision; Belief creates strength of will; Belief creates resilience; and Belief ignites and activates. Although this conversation highlights the difference between Believe and Understand, at the end of the day Believe and Understand when used as verbs, believe means to accept as true, particularly without absolute certainty (i.e., as opposed to knowing), whereas understand means to be aware of the meaning of and a belief is an idea, or statement, that has one or more characteristics' values that match the values for what is represented and presented. Belief may thus be understood as a representation that is not necessarily fully justified and is not necessarily completely true, but must be true in part. 

I must confess that all things being considered throughout each century it appears that environmentalism and humankind are inextricably linked especially since global citizens may have been practicing culture as a mechanism to save the environment the said culture became a double-edged sword, it had negative effects as well as positive effects.

It appears that the culture practiced by some global citizens in that era invariably

-was a way of life of a group of people 

-their behaviours, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accepted, generally without thinking about them

The same are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next 

This culture seemingly was a conflict in culture because of the differences in values. 

In summary from 7th century to 21 century efforts were made to 

An established the system of forest law to protect trees.

Bring no harm to the trees, nor burn them with fire, especially those which are fruitful 

Slaying of any flock.  

Food protection 

Legislation for birds. 

Air pollution, water pollution, and soil contamination  

The municipal solid waste mishandling, and 

The environmental impact assessments of certain localities.  

Protect game animals and their forest habitat from destruction. 

Bans the burning of sea-coal. 

Efforts were also made to stop waste dumping and Butchers disposing of animal wastes outside the city and forbidding the throwing of filth and garbage into ditches, rivers and waters.  

Fishing and conservation and the Succession of Forest Trees," forest ecology and urges farmers to plant trees in natural patterns of succession.

The effects of unrestricted industrial expansion on both human beings and the natural world and the sustainability of coal energy. 

Carbonic Acid in the Air upon the Temperature of the Ground and  

leaded gasoline 

asbestos exposure. 

The potent carcinogens 

The first nuclear power plant. 

The Minamata disease, a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning 

Global warming.

Overall the Timeline of history of environmentalism is a road map and a 'cultural footprint' since it included both positive and negative effects, and was especially important in this context of interaction and inequality between cultures, including political and institutional, economic or social inequalities. and appears to have shaped humanity's perspective on the environment including human induced disasters, environmentalists that have had a positive influence, and environmental legislation which drew our urgent attention towards environmental events between the period 7th century to 21 century and also provided specifics and detail in answering the question Can Culture Save The Environment?? 2021ISBN 978-976-96650-6-4 was composed in 10 chapters and framed in ISBN 978-976-96650-6-4