Glossary

A glossary is a way of coming to terms with the world, a collection of terms and definitions that make it easier to read books, and-in this case, we hope-to read the world. Lots of books in Environmental Studies have glossaries, but we're not planning to replicate them here. Instead, we're hoping to compile a list of words that help define our current ecological predicament, and point toward a more promising future.

We're just getting started with this page. Check back for more terms, and send us your suggestions at blackgoldgreen@stolaf.edu.

Dense facts (Gene Wise)

“Facts which both reveal deeper meanings inside themselves, and point outward to other facts, other ideas, other meanings.”

Designing minds (David Orr)

Minds designed to harmonize human designs with natural designs.

Ecology

The science of relationships.

Good life, The

Life in the affluent society. Goods for individuals and their families, but not so good for communities, human and natural.

Invisible complexity

The unseen scenes of environmental destruction and social inequality. See Sweatshopping.

Moral ecology of everyday life (Robert Bellah et. al.)

 

Practical idealism (Elise Braaten)

Applied idealism; realized idealism; the source of social and environmental change

Real world (Common usage)

The dog-eat-dog world of competitive individualism and commercial culture, invoked to marginalize other worlds of human satisfaction and environmental harmony.

Religion

The art of relationships. From the Latin “religare,” religion binds people to God, to each other, and to the planet.