The Attitudes of People Towards Nature

The Attitudes of People Towards Nature

Laura Baverman
Noah Applebaum
Michael Davis

Lab Proposal
Introduction
For our student-generated lab, we decided to evaluate the attitudes of people living in Oxford towards their natural environment. While a great deal of research has been done in this area, we would like to expand it into our environment here at Miami. We have decided to conduct a survey among students and Oxford residents observing their environmental values with respect to their background (location, family income, parent's environmental values, etc.) and level of education/knowledge of environmental issues. Our hypotheses include that people living nearer to the city will have a negative attitude towards nature and less of a personal relationship with it than those that live in outside of Oxford city limits. We also believe that peoples' environmental awareness comes from that of their parents and their upbringing. Therefore, those with more environmentally concerned parents will be more likely to have a positive attitude towards nature. This relates to the level of education with regards to nature. Those with more knowledge of nature will be more likely to feel positively towards it.
Dating back into ancient times, the environment and the extent to which it should be observed has been questionable. As Holmes Rolstan III says, "Can and ought we follow nature?" (Environmental Ethics Vol. 19, p.3) Today, views are very similar. Many people want to learn more about their environment and ways that it can be preserved but yet others still fail to believe in the importance of its' conservation. The more that is learned about nature is the more pain and concern that seems to be brought into the world.
Interfering with the environment consists of the smallest actions, like throwing a cigarette butt on the street or starting a car, to building an entire city. As Alastair S. Gunn proposes in his article "Rethinking Communities : Environmental Ethics in an Urbanized World", "¼city is culmination of natural triumphs" and "¼city opposes all environmental conservation." Another concept which goes hand in hand with our research survey (see materials and methods section) is the notion of Biophilia. A simple definition made by E.O. Wilson (courtesy of Environment and Social Theory by John Barry) has useful intrigue to keep in mind while reading the lab.
"Biophilia, if it exists, and I believe it exists, is the mandatory emotional affiliation of human beings and other living organisms." We will test this to the best of our ability, and find the level of biophilia connection for people living in different environments.

Materials and Methods
Survey
Sources

1.First of all, we will look at other studies done on our subject matter and come up with a survey to accurately examine the differences living area has on ones feelings towards the environment as a whole.
2. Distribute survey , asking random individuals living in the Oxford city limits, and outside the city limits questions dealing with their feelings and actions towards nature.
Prospective Survey
1. Do you recycle?

__________ yes __________ no

- to what extent?

______ extreme ______ moderate ______ not at all

2. When was the last you littered?

__________________________

3. Since you have lived in your home how many trees have you planted or uprooted?

_____ planted _____ uprooted

4. Do you chemically treat your lawn?

_________ yes ________ no

5. Do you have a compost pile at your home?

_________ yes ________ no

6. If you found a spider in your home, would you kill it or take it outside?

_______ outside _________ kill it

7. Do you prefer to spend your time outside in nature or inside?

_______ outside _______ inside

8. How many pets do you or your family own?

_________________

9. Do you live in a metropolitan, suburban, or rural area?

Thank You for your time and consideration, it is very much appreciated!!!!

3. Collect surveys and compare data from each person.
4. We will break the survey down into general categories (outside of city limits/ inside city limits). We will then break the survey down further into categories such as age and gender.
5. We will compare the data we collect with experiments, similar to ours, and compare the two. Our group will analyze the differences and either prove or disprove our hypothesis.
6. Write up conclusions and results in the final lab packet.

Results
We hope to get a basic understanding of what affect one's environment has on one's feeling about the nature and the things that inhabit nature. We also hope find some commonality between those who live in the city and those who live in the country, based upon gender and age. We expect to find that people who live in the city limits will have a lesser appreciation for nature than those who live outside of the city limits.

Literature Cited
1. "Rethinking Communities: Environmental Ethics in an Urbanized World", Environmental Ethics Vol. 20 #4 winter 1998.

2. Katz, Eric: Nature As Subject : Human Obligation and Natural Community, copyright 1997 by Rowman and Littlefield Publisher Inc.

3. Harper, Charles: Environment and Society: Human Perspectives on Environmental
Issues copyright 1996 by Prentice Hill Inc.

4. Barry, John: Environment and Social Theory copyright 1999 by Routledge

5. Kellert, Stephen R. and Wilson, Edward: The Biophilia Hypothesis copyright 1993 by
Island Press.

6. Kahn, Jr., Peter H.: The Human Relationship with Nature: Development and Culture copyright 1999 Massachusetts Institute of Technology

7.Viederman, Stephen "Key Issues Underlying Earth Summit II, Agenda 21, Globalization and Sustainable Development" , http://ecoethics.net/ops/

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