Ecofeminist Theology of Interdependence. A Constructive Theological Approach to Contemporary Environmental (in)Justice and Vulnerability

This article addresses the issue of social and environmental (in)justice through the lens of Christian ecofeminism and its ethic of interconnectedness and ecological responsibility for all of creation. Because ecofeminism connects the exploitation of women with the exploitation of creation (nature), I use the central research methodology of Christian ecofeminist hermeneutics to formulate a central research question: first, an analysis of Christian ecofeminism’s position on social and ecological (in)justice, then an analysis of the positive implications for Christian theology and for the pursuit of social and ecological justice. Although climate change disproportionately impacts female populations, in particular the reproductive health of poorer women, women are often excluded from environmental decision-making processes. Women around the world are already more affected by polluted air, limited access to clean water, and increased exposure to toxic chemicals, and climate change exacerbates these threats. Sensitivity to the impacts of climate change also provides women with a unique experiential knowledge that they can use to make an important contribution to efforts to increase climate resilience and sustainability, as well as to improve awareness and attitudes toward environmental issues and nature in the world’s religions. For ecofeminists, the environmental crisis is a reality, a threat, and a warning to modern humanity. Climate change, global warming, loss of biodiversity and other processes that are supposedly the result of pollution and long-term overuse and exploitation of natural resources are certainly a reflection and consequence of man’s global consumer-imperialist attitude towards nature.

Wirtschaftswandel als Kulturwandel? Die Gemeinwohl-Ökonomie als möglicher Wegbereiter für eine Kultur wechselseitiger Verbundenheit

The article analyzes the development of new post-capitalist practices with their possible effects on the transformation of self-images and self-conceptions using the example of the economy for the common good. To this end, the connection between the current subject order, the present social crises and the complex entanglement of the prevailing mode of production and life is explained. A socio-ecological transformation would therefore also have to be linked to the emergence of an alternative subject culture which is oriented towards cooperation and community. The Association of Common Good Economy (Verein der Gemeinwohl-Oekonomie) and common good-oriented companies are used in this research as a space to observe social-cultural practices and new forms and conventions of cooperation in their acceptance and dissemination. On the one hand, it shows that these companies, with their values based on cooperation, social and global justice and ecological responsibility, and with their participatory organizational structures, offer opportunities for countercultural practices and make utopias tangible, so that social change and self-change are being made possible on a small scale. On the other hand, by means of detailed examples the inconsistencies of social-cultural practices and the hybrid mixture of subject forms become clear and comprehensible in their specific context.

Discourse and Practice of REDD+ in Ghana and the Expansion of State Power

Green market mechanisms, as part of the architecture of climate finance, have become key components of international environmental frameworks. One of the most widely known mechanisms for climate change mitigation has been the creation of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). The purpose of this paper is to trace global discourses and narratives throughout REDD+ official documents and compare them to the implementation on the ground to determine the extent that REDD+ meets its stated objectives in the Ghanaian context. Then, given the gaps in discourse and practice, this paper aims to define the inexplicit consequences, or rather instrumental effects, of REDD+. Discourse analysis of official REDD+ documents and land policies combined with qualitative interviews and focus groups to determine the linkages between discourse and practice of REDD+ and the impacts of these gaps. While critical civic environmentalism, highlighting environmental justice as a core principle, was somewhat incorporated into official discourse from the international to the national level, the depoliticization of the discourse and the apolitical nature of interventions make these justice concerns negligible and create gaps in discourse and practice. These gaps create disjointed, infeasible policies that establish REDD+ as a fad to bring in financial resources that expand state control of forest resources under the veil of social-ecological responsibility. As a result, state power expands into rural areas, allowing for greater control over land and forests at the expense of local communities.

PSYCHOLOGICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF JUNIOR SCHOOLCHILDREN’S ECOPSYCHOLOGICAL CULTURE DEVELOPMENT

The article considers the basic principles and methods of psychological support for the development of junior schoolchildren in the process of educating his ecological culture. The concept of ecological consciousness and ecological activity is revealed. The values of the development of eco- psychological culture of junior schoolchild are described. It is noted that one of the priority tasks of psychological support at the stage of development of eco- psychological culture of a schoolchild is process of identifying the values and ideas about nature and the environment and appropriate behavior and interaction with nature. It is the value system that determines the type of human relationship with nature. Theoretical aspects of the basic and specific methods of realization of psychological support of development of eco- psychological culture of a schoolchild are considered. Their content, meaning, types and forms of application are substantiated. It is established that to develop the effectiveness of the correct attitude of schoolchild to the environment, they should use various forms and methods of environmental education in class and extracurricular time, in classroom and extracurricular activities. It is in the period of primary school age that schoolchildren begin to quickly form their own conative or behavioral component of environmental consciousness. That is, there is a desire to grow crops, take care of pets, create comfort and coziness in everyday life. It is established that during the psychological support it is necessary to form the ecological responsibility of the junior schoolchild not only in the learning process, but also in the game and knowledge of the environment. This is a kind of psychological and pedagogical process aimed at forming a schoolchild’s knowledge of the basics of nature, gaining the necessary beliefs and practical skills, a certain orientation and active life position in the field of protection, conservation and increase of natural resources.

Hacia una correcta delimitación de las libertades negativas en el contexto neoliberal.

Towards a correct delimitation of negative freedoms in the neoliberal context In this work I propose to analyze what would be the correct limits of negative freedoms to reconstruct our civic culture based on respect, recognition, justice and ecological responsibility. Throughout history we had seen many dictatorial forms of government where there was no margin for freedom while we are currently seeing in the neoliberal context practically the opposite, the legitimation of unlimited negative freedoms, especially with regard to freedom of expression and private property, resulting in a rapacious individualism that underestimates respect, justice and rights of others. It is no small thing…

Technology of Formation of Future Skippers’ Readiness for Ecological Responsibility

The introduction to the article analyzes the problem of forming the readiness of future ship drivers. The main purpose of the study is the theoretical justification of the technology of formation of future skippers’ readiness for ecological responsibility. Methods. To achieve this goal, the analysis and synthesis of search results in information systems to determine the basic concepts of the study; methods of expert evaluation, testing, questionnaires, observation, modeling, forecasting have been used. The results. The article defines the essence of the concept of « ecological responsibility» as a moral quality of the future ship driver, formed in the process of professional training, which is manifested in the humane and rational attitude of the individual to the marine and river environment, and implemented in everyday professional activities. It is defined that the structure of ecological responsibility contains motivational, content-operational and evaluation-performance components. The specifics of formation of future skippers’ ecological responsibility in the process of their professional training are determined, on the basis of which the technology is developed as the one containing the following components: target (contains set of the purposes of forming ecological responsibility); semantic (based on humanization, fundamentalization, greening and interdisciplinary unity of natural sciences and humanities, it forms a modern picture of the world in the future skippers’ minds), operational (conditions, forms, methods, means of forming ecological responsibility); diagnostic (methods of determining the level of forming the future skippers’ ecological responsibility in the training process). The formation of future skippers’ ecological responsibility was tested at three levels (high, medium, low) and the following criteria: emotional value, informational, activity. Conclusions. The author concludes that the formation of future ship drivers’ ecological responsibility in the process of professional training is one of the most important components of skippers’ professional training.

Letters from a dying college: How the climate crisis demands a wilder pedagogy and wilder policies

This paper takes the academically unorthodox form of personal correspondence. This method, of letters between two educators writing to one another across the distance of two continents and different experiences, seeks to create an inclusive, confessional tone, one that invites the reader to get closer to the lived experience of those struggling within the educational and environmental crises. Critically, this correspondence also seeks to open discussion about the difficult demands of state secondary and tertiary education. The authors explore issues regarding their denuded experiences of working in formal education settings while bearing witness to environmental degradation and ecological collapse. In light of their exploration, the authors argue for an ‘agrios’, a wilder, more expansive polis, coupled with more ecologically-inclusive governance, to address the current potentially catastrophic political leadership that has seemingly turned away from ecological responsibility. This paper culminates in direct letters that focus on a series of practical proposals for action and on four premises for developing agriocy – the policy that supports the agrios/agriocity.

The 3Ps (Profit, Planet, and People) of Sustainability amidst Climate Change: A South African Grape and Wine Perspective

Conventional agriculture has made the search for sustainability urgent, more so with regards to climate change. This has extended to the grape and wine industry, an important industry in South Africa in terms of labor employment and foreign exchange. This paper aims to review the current state of knowledge with regards to the three pillars of sustainability and with regards to climate change. In order to understand sustainability in South Africa, a historical context is needed, because the welfare of farm workers still retains vestiges of past Apartheid. Ecological responsibility and higher profits are the main reasons for sustainable practices. Additionally, water use, chemical use, and soil erosion are important environmental sustainability concerns. With regards to climate change, in terms of economic sustainability, there will be winners and losers and social sustainability issues will intensify as changes occur in farms. Table grape producers are relatively more profitable than wine grape producers. Furthermore, pest, disease, irrigation pressure will worsen as the climate warms. However, there are long- and short-term adaptation strategies such as changes in viticulture practices and grape cultivars, respectively, to stem the effects of climate change, but this may be stymied by cost and farmers’ perceptions of climate change.

Environmental Responsibility In The Development Of Green Entrepreneurship

The purpose of this study is to determine the main directions of development of green entrepreneurship on the basis of environmental responsibility. The relevance of this study is due to the need to identify the main directions of green business development to solve environmental problems, based on the basic principles of environmental responsibility. It is believed that environmental responsibility is the basic basis for the formation of socially responsible green entrepreneurship, whose mission is environmental improvement on the basis of sustainable development. It is established thatit is expedient to consider ecological responsibility on levels (the state, the enterprises, the public).As the experience of successful companies shows, environmental responsibility can be integrated into the value and business of the company.The analysis revealed the main tools to stimulate green entrepreneurship: environmental taxes, "green" investments, instruments of stimulating influence on green entrepreneurship. It is established that in Ukraine the main responsibility for the implementation of sustainable development lies with the state and enterprises. The research revealed shortcomings in the organization of supervision measures and control over the targeted use of funds for the implementation of environmental programs. Also the imperfection of the regulatory framework, the inefficiency of the accounting, reporting and monitoring system, the ineffectiveness of measuresmonitoring the results of each project within a specific program to solve environmental problems. It is established that local governments and enterprises are two important participants in the environmental management system in Ukraine. Therefore, it is important to regulate environmental responsibility at the national, including regional, and corporate levels.