24th Annual Student Research Conference
The Family Unit as a Model for Human Actions Affecting the Environment
Rita M. Jokerst
Dr. Bonnie Mitchell, Faculty Mentor
Human beings make up one family across the globe, and this sense of relation guides successful cultural interactions. A family unit binds its members together through a combination of love, respect, and daily interactions and acknowledges the co-dependency of each member on the others. Additionally, family members defend each other in the face of attack or degradation. If a family can be made up of all connections individuals have with their environment and culture, a more positive pro-nature stance may emerge. Additionally, the family unit itself may prove to be beneficial to the green movement by serving as a source of education and environmental concern. Problems ranging from disease to social corruption have been attended to with the structure of a family group, and environmentalist effort could benefit from the adoption of a global, interspecies family.
Keywords: kinship, Mother Nature, Chief Seattle, plant interactions, family, green movement, socioemotional wealth
Topic(s):Environmental Studies
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 9-3
Location: VH 1228
Time: 8:30