Where did you pick up pro-environmental values?

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[wiscidea]

If you're concerned about caring for the Earth's natural environment...

... where did you pick up such values?

I'll go first...

I think part of it is genetic; I feel quite relaxed surrounded by plant and animal life and, as far back as I can remember, I've felt appalled by cruelty to animals. A large part of it is "indoctrination"; we didn't spend much time hiking and such, but my parents provided me with A LOT of books about plants and animals, and I watched a lot of nature shows on TV. Somewhere between about 16 and 20 years old, I think, I realized how much our comfort and prosperity, as a species, depends on healthy ecosystems. This is where education took over. I learned that there are purely selfish reasons for caring for the Earth's natural environment; I also learned that entire webs of life can collapse when supposedly insignificant creatures go extinct. Jobs depend on supposedly insignificant creatures.

And now that I've learned more about the human species, where we came from, and how we were shaped by the natural environment, I actually feel obligated to do something to protect it purely out of respect and gratitude.

[costrel]

I think it has a lot to do with nurture and parental involvement. We lived in a tent along the river during the summers when I was a child (my earliest memories are of living in that tent), and had lots of experiences with animals and plants, including rattlesnakes and snapping turtles. My brother and I also read My Big Back-Yard, Ranger Rick, and Zoo Books. Nearly all of my toys until the age of 6 were animals: toy dinosaurs, toy snakes, toy farm animals, zoo animals, and my favorite -- the Woodsies! I was also introduced to Native American sacred ecology years before I was introduced to Christianity, and was spell-bound with the way in which a people would use every part of the buffalo for their daily needs. I was introduced to hunting and fishing at a young age, yet at the same time, I was taught to respect all life and not treat any living being cruelly -- one should only kill for food or for defense of self or others. Finally, I was always surrounded by pets, and was taught that before I feed myself, I must always feed and water the animals first.

[costrel]

Here are some of the Woodsies:

http://www.inthe80s.com/toys/image.php?image=http://www.inthe80s.com/toys/images/user-image-1176039222.jpg

[mintie]

I have to say it comes from my parents,

As a kid we would go on camping trips, REAL wild camping in the woods, not on a campground. We were lucky to live in the country where I spent my childhood playing in the woods, my dad teaching me how to find my way if I ever get lost. Being close to animals and respect all living things. How to read your surroundings to predict the weather (only works in the country ).

In the summer, mom would bring us with her on the job (she work in a Historic village where they ''lived'' in the 1800's) We would be dressed like them and my sister and I would follow the farmers and help them with the animals. So I grew up speaking with the horses, cows and sheeps.

In the last few months I've been thinking about switching to vegetarian diet because almost every time I eat meat, I feel guilty or sick. I've been incorporating more vegetarian dish every week to make the transition less stressful for my husband

[MaineCaptain]

I have no idea where I get it from, But I am grateful to whom or what ever helped me become the hopefully humane person I try to be.

My Mother I am certain was a great influence. She was a kind and considerate person. Loved animals particularly cats, but all animals in general.

But I gained as I grew up an appreciation for them, and the idea of an animal or any life suffering causes me distress,  that is hard to put into words.

I do my best to alleviate suffering and try not cause any as well.Which is why I eventually became a vegetarian. Ignorance is certainly bliss. Because if you care, and you become knowledgeable. You must act.

It can make life more difficult, but it does have its rewards.

I hope some of that made sense.

[Sakhaiva]

Like MC, I have no idea where my personal conviction comes from.  Certainly not my family - they are the most Republican votin, gun totin, trash throwin away, chemical usin, batteries thrown in the trash bunch of people one could ever meet.

I'm the 'camping clean' naturopathic black sheep.

.... to echo MC, if you care, and you become knowledgeable. You must act.  At some point along the way, I began to care. 

[LeahOne]

My parents grew up in the 'inner city' - they lived in brick 'town homes' which had no front yard and only a tiny ptch of yard in back, alongside the driveway ... I figured people were poor who lived without any grass between the house and the sidewalk.

My one grandmother turned that tiny patch into a flower garden.  My other gran used to grow herbs there:  she brewed her own root beer.

We grew up in a newer brick row home, with a small patch of front yard and  a tiny patch out back.  But most weekends, my folks would take us out to 'suburbia' and we'd 'day trip' in the country, have a picnic, and Sis and I would play in the creek....

I don't know if it was that - or if it was simply my religious belief.  Yes, that.  The rabbinic taching of 'tikkun olam', repairing the world, was a central theme in my religious education.   It covers everything from 'civil rights' through 'overpopulation' and all 'environmental' issues.  While I do not see the planet as a sentient being - I DO beleive we will have to answer for our treatment of it.

[Flitzerbiest]

I live in a state where the most common usage of the word "sportsman" is to designate someone who shoots, traps or otherwise kills animals for fun.  I remember being ~11 years old when my parents wanted to get together with old friends.  We kids were taken along, and I spent the afternoon tagging along with a slightly older boy from the other family, and watched as he shot anything that moved with a BB gun, including frogs from point blank range.  "We've been hunting" he cheerfully announced, to the congratulations of his parents.  Life gets more complicated over time, but prior to that day, I had never felt so completely rotten. 

I don't know why I love nature--whether genetics or indoctrination--I just do.

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