Development Of Environmental Consciousness Research Articles

Determinants of Russian Attitudes Toward a Green Economy During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Background. The development of environmental consciousness is a necessary part of the full development of society. The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has increased attention to the problems of man’s relationship with nature, and the green behavior of both the consumer and the producer. Attitudes toward a green economy are especially important to study in countries rich in natural resources, as they have more opportunities to overcome the contradictions between economic growth and green innovation. Objective. The purpose of this study was to identify the determinants of Russian attitudes toward a green economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The main hypothesis was that demographic factors determine attitudes toward a green economy in different ways, including the willingness to take actions in support of it, and acknowledgement of the connection of the need for green transformations with the pandemic. Design. Subjects were given the questionnaire “Green Economy” which contains 19 statements with which they needed to express their degree of agreement on a 5-point Likert scale. Potential determinants of their attitudes toward a green economy were collected using an additional questionnaire, which included indicators of gender, age, family and professional status, religiosity, income level, education level, and place of residence (locality). The study involved 874 respondents from the Russian Federation (62.4% female; 37.6% male; the average age was 37.34 years). Results. The results of a regression analysis showed that women, people with increased religiosity (but not too religious), younger people, and students and employees of public organizations (as opposed to employees of state and commercial organizations), as well as people from small towns or rural areas, were more positive about the idea of transition to a green economy. Conclusion.The belief that the pandemic situation has reinforced the need for a transition to a green economy was influenced by gender, degree of religiosity, and place of residence. Women, to a greater extent than men, as well as people who were more religious and lived in small towns and rural areas, were more acutely aware of the impact of the pandemic on the actualization of environmental problems.

LOCAL COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE ON RESPONSIBLE TOURISM AND DESTINATION SUSTAINABILITY

The tourism industry has relied on long-term planning and is anticipating growing availability and demand for socially, ecologically, and economically responsible tourism. As a novel idea, responsible tourism practices may boost efforts for sustainable tourism development, improving the image and competitiveness of tourism destinations. The purpose of this research is to look at the link between responsible tourism and destination sustainability in Cameron Highlands communities. This study employed descriptive research and a cross-sectional design. In order to complete the study, questionnaires were handed to local communities in three (3) Cameron Highlands sub-districts: Ulu Telum, Tanah Rata, and Ringlet. According to correlation and regression tests, the study found a significant relationship between responsible tourism and destination sustainability. As a result, destination sustainability necessitates a greater emphasis on the development of environmental consciousness, sustainable livelihood, and community well-being. Because local communities are a component of the tourism experience, the study findings can help tourism stakeholders execute tourism development plans based on local community views and quality of life.

Synthesis and application of environment friendly membranes of chitosan and chitosan-PTA for removal of copper (II) from wastewater

ABSTRACT The development of environmental consciousness and practices is critically needed. Membranes have outperformed methods such as distillation and extraction in prominence. Technological development is essential for improving wastewater treatment methods. Renewable resources can be regarded as ideal materials for membrane production. It is critical to choose ecologically acceptable materials that are easy to use and have a high separation efficiency. This paper reports the preparation of adsorptive membranes of environmentally friendly chitosan and heteropolyacids. Membranes were prepared by a simple solvent evaporation technique and the effect of dodecatungstophosphoric acid on the composite membrane structure of chitosan were explored. The solution casting method was employed to prepare the membranes. The membrane films were characterised in terms of elemental composition, morphology, and structure using various analytical techniques like SEM-EDX, FTIR-ATR, TGA-DSC, and Universal Testing Machine. An aqueous solution of copper (C 0 = 100–2000 ppm) was adsorbed using these membranes. The effect of heteropolyacid on adsorption was studied. Adsorption above 90% was achieved and the adsorption followed pseudo 2nd order isotherm with R 2 > 0.99. The heteropolyacid acts as a dynamic ion exchanger in the process. The membranes were made from natural, non-toxic, cheap, and easily available materials and have a lot of potential.

Экологическая культура советского крестьянства: традиционные ценности и вызовы современности

The article analyzes the process of evolution of ethics and practices of social behavior that characterize reproduction of traditional values in the field of harmonization of man/nature relations in the 20th century. The thesis of specific formation of the source base has been substantiated: in the absence of a unified system of administrative regulations, most data becomes dispersed, mostly reflected in the testimonies of contemporaries and sources of mass origin (materials of Oral history). The key identifier of the concept of ecological culture is system of ideas, meanings and values, symbols and myths of the rural community, which falls within the subject field of everyday history. The article is to provide source analysis of the problem of studying ecological culture of the Russian peasantry in the post-reform and Soviet eras as a system of social ideas and behavioral strategies reflecting perception of factors and means of ensuring the vitality of the rural world, “saving one’s own place.” The research ascertains the localization structure of ecological consciousness manifestations: ecology of mankind, habitation, settlements, and economic activity. Several major factors transforming the content of ideas have been identified: the need to adapt to the environmental crisis (depletion of the main resource of the traditional economic system of the Russian peasantry); the regulatory activity of the state; public initiatives in the field of environmental education. A periodization of the process of evolution and replacement of traditional ethics and behaviors in the field of ecology is proposed: 1861 – late 1920s; 1929 – late 1940s; 1950–1960s; 1970s – early 1990s. Periods of the Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War in Russia, as well as the 1930–40s are considered in the context of extreme destruction of peasants’ ecological ideas. The division criteria are: change in technological patterns, formation of appropriate environmental strategies, formation and development of environmental education. Strategies of ecological behavior of peasantry in the field of health saving and land use are consistently considered. It is noted that the main trend in the development of environmental consciousness in the 20th century was a break in the historical continuity and desacralization of traditional values, which resulted in ecological absenteeism bordering on self-destruction of social identity.

THE EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AS A DRIVER FOR IMPROVING THE TECHNOLOGIES OF MANAGING THE USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Purpose of the study: The aim of the article is to develop proposals for improving environmental education management technology.
 Main Findings: Analysis of the approaches used in the theory and practice of environmental education management has shown that it is most appropriate to form the development, consistency, and self-organization principles, as well as data of modern natural science and individual areas of ecology, namely, general ecology, human ecology, global ecology, and social ecology. It is revealed that additional important sources of environmental education should include geological ecology, engineering ecology, agroecology, and some other environmental disciplines.
 Applications of this study: It is proved that the introduction of special courses at various levels of education, which integratively reflect the content of new environmental disciplines, becomes a mandatory requirement. In this context, distinguishing the key concepts, which reflect the invariant phenomena and processes in different areas of ecology, in environmental education is quite essential. This allows justifying the internal unity of environmental disciplines and determining the optimal form of presentation of educational information.
 Novelty/Originality of this study: It is revealed that environmental education should be aimed at the development of environmental consciousness and education of the individual with an environmental outlook. Accordingly, environmental education should be continuous, systematic, and interdisciplinary. It should be supplemented by various sources of up-to-date information.

Fires as a socio-environmental threat in the minds of students from southern Russia

The issues of understanding environmental pollution factors, their prevention and reduction of harmful consequences are relevant both for public discussions and for scientific analysis. This article focuses on the significant experience of scientific research of environmental problems, as there is a tendency to form the ecological consciousness of the world community. The main purpose of this article is to analyze fires as an environmental threat through sociological analysis. The authors explain the relevance of this issue of preventing and minimizing the consequences of fires, as well as improving the fire safety system, both from the point of view of Russia’ contemporary development and through the prism of the necessity for a sociological understanding of these processes and phenomena. The authors highlight the main directions of a sociological research of this phenomenon: formation and development of ecological consciousness; a systemic sociological analysis of specific situations; fire safety sociology through the prism of macro- (as a resource-saving system of society) and microsociology (the level of social groups, applied aspects of implementation and improvement of fire safety. The authors refer to the results of a specific sociological study (initiated by the Russian society of sociologists) conducted among students of Russian higher education institutions. Their responses are analyzed and compared with the all-Russian indicators, including the official statistics on the causes of fires, damage and destruction of forest areas, results of content analysis of the news feed, and official information about the area of forest areas. In conclusion, the authors highlight the importance of further studies of the anthropogenic factor in the framework of this environmental threat and the role of man in the fire safety system. This may help in understanding the process of formation and development of environmental consciousness.

THE REPRESENTATIONS OF MODERN ADOLESCENTS’ ATTITUDES TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD THROUGH THE PRISM OF ECOLOGICAL CONSCIOUSNESS

The proposed scientific work represents the main research results concerning the development of a person’s environmental consciousness at adolescence in the context of the studied system of adolescents’ attitudes to the World. Ecological consciousness is considered as a subjective reflection of the personal, social and natural environment, as a single indivisible human World, which manifests itself in ecologically directed (eco-centric) human behaviour. An individual’s attitudes are understood as active, conscious, integral, selective and based on experience relations of the individual with different aspects of reality, which exist in the form of a single system.The World basic elements are revealed through the development of environmental consciousness at the level of the personal, social and natural spheres of a personality and reflect the system of relations, respectively, to oneself, to others and to the nature. Moreover, the World itself is indivisible and united.Environmental consciousness is described as a complex system, having two subsystems: the structural components of ecological consciousness and an individual’s attitudes to the World. The main structural components of environmental consciousness are cognitive, emotive, value-semantic, consumer-motivational and conative. The elements of an adolescent’s single indivisible World are its personal, social and natural spheres. Within the framework of the personal world, environmental consciousness is determined as attitudes towards oneself, social consciousness means attitudes towards others, and natural consciousness means attitudes towards the nature.Adolescents’ personal sphere is determined by their attitudes to Self, to thoughts, emotions, values ​​and needs, formed in their families and internalized into their inner picture of the World. The development of the environmental consciousness components at the level of the personal sphere is based on the development of reflection, critical thinking, as well as a reassessment of values.Adolescents’ social sphere is expressed through a system of relations and interpersonal interactions. The development of the environmental consciousness components at the social level is based on the formation of their sense of maturity and self-affirmation in a group of peers. Adolescents’ natural sphere of the World is determined by the pragmatism of relations to the animate and inanimate nature, and the development of the environmental consciousness components is based on socially significant activities in relation to the nature.The empirical study of adolescents’ attitudes to people, the nature and themselves has revealed the declining hierarchical sequence of adolescents’ attitudes to the World. In particular, the social world — the world of others and interactions with them — is the most significant for adolescents. The least significant for adolescents is the nature. Adolescents’ attitudes to themselves – their personal world – create intermediate link of the significance hierarchy.

Investigation of Go: Cu nanoparticles produced by green synthesization method and fabrication of Au/Go:Cu/p-Si/al diode

With the development of environmental consciousness, the production of metallic and non-metallic nanoparticles has gained importance with the green synthesis methods. In this study, graphene oxide copper nanoparticles (GO:Cu-NPs) have been synthesized by using a special bacterium in the form of a solution and formed GO:Cu thin films on p-Si substrates (GO: Cu/p-Si). Then, their optical, structural, morphological, and chemical composition properties of these thin film samples have been determined by ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometer (UV-VIS), XRD, FE-SEM, and EDS methods, respectively. UV-VIS measurements have shown that GO:Cu thin films have indirect band gap, Eg, with 1.78 eV. XRD measurements have revealed that thin film samples have a polycrystalline structure. Au/GO:Cu/p-Si/Al diode has been fabricated forming Au rectifying contact on GO:Cu/p-Si thin film and Al ohmic contact on the surface and investigated its I–V characteristics. The ideality factor of the devise was found 1.72 which is comparable with some results obtained from similar studies in literature.

A Coevolutionary Model of Environmental Consciousness Development among School Children on the Basis of Sustainability Concepts

The article represents the author’s model of environmental consciousness development among school children. The model includes theoretical and methodological basis and pedagogical system which correspond to sustainable (balanced) development concepts. The pedagogical model of environmental consciousness development among school children is accompanied by programs, school books and methodological guides, work books published by central and regional publishing houses of Russia. The environmental consciousness development model has been tested for more than 10 years in Nizhny Novgorod region – one of the largest regions of Russia. The model’s implementation allows to significantly increase environmental consciousness, to help understand significance of environment, to develop environmental attitudes and mentality and environmentally oriented activities aimed at sustainable (balanced) development. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s2p315

Bringing the jellyfish home: environmental consciousness and ‘sense of wonder’ in young children’s encounters with natural landscapes and places

The over-arching aim of this study was to elucidate and interpret topics that are relevant to how we understand children’s experiences and creation of meaning in natural landscapes and places within these landscapes. Following two nature-kindergarten groups regularly over ten months, the data for this ethnographic study consist of constructed narratives and narrative maps. Key topics relate to children’s multi-sensory experiences and the development of environmental consciousness, and their ‘sense of wonder’ as a driving force for exploration, interpretation and creation of meaning. Implications of the study for discourses of environmental education in the early years and local practices of taking children into nature are also discussed.

ECOLOGICAL RISKS IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: STATISTICAL FIGURES IN LATVIA

A traditional tendency of modern society is a course towards sustainable development, raising of living standards, and technological progress; however, the quality of life should be improved while preserving the environment. To achieve this goal it is necessary to strike a balance between the activities of the industrial society and real environmental resources. As early as in the previous century it was considered that environmental issues meant only the lack of natural resources, i.e., it was merely a problem of economical nature requiring economical solution. Nowadays the lack of environmental resources has not lost its urgency. So far as environmental problems and their comprehension grew deeper, environmental protection became an instant part of political and social agenda. The objective, materials, and methods of the paper In the long view it can be said that the expansion of industrialization generates more and more serious risks or side effects to deal with. The Central Statistical Bureau of the Republic of Latvia (the CSB) investigates, registers, and summarizes various variables related to the environment. Evaluation of environmental figures over a period of several years provides an opportunity to apprehend the dynamics of ecological risks in the country. Positive dynamics shows the development of environmental consciousness of the Latvian people, which is an important condition for a sustainable development of the country. Within the framework of this article the analysis of the dynamics of environmental risks is performed on the basis of the data collected by the CSB regarding various environmental aspects during the period from 1996 to 2011. Results Characterizing the dynamics of environmental risks in Latvia over the last five years it should be concluded that the country has invested more and more funds in the field of environmental protection, thus achieving that in respect of several indices, e.g., the level of air pollution, Latvia today has less expressed risks that could endanger ecological situation in the country than other European countries. However, there are some figures, e.g., in the field of waste storage and treatment in Latvia, that are still at an unsatisfactory level, thus creating the possibility that the country risks in this field could be greater than in other countries of the European Union. Conclusions Considering the development of Latvia from the point of view of sustainable development on the basis of the dynamics of environmental figures it should be concluded that Latvia has all possibilities to become a developed European country, where people would be committed to environmental culture and be characterized by environmental consciousness and way of thinking. Such a developed society, in its turn, has always been a guarantor of future sustainable development for each country. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eis.0.7.4328

Virginia Lee Burton’s Little House in Popular Consciousness: Fuelling Postwar Environmentalism and Antiurbanism?

This article considers the significance of Victoria Lee Burton’s authorship, specifically The Little House, for lifestyle preferences and the development of environmental consciousness in the postwar period. The article argues that Burton deliberately designed her work to evoke country-friendly sensibilities and ambiences in her audience and portrayed the city in troublesome ways. The enduring success of The Little House for young audiences suggests that Burton struck a chord. Burton’s origins and upbringing probably also infused her depiction of a cosmopolitan rural idealism. Burton’s importance for modern environmentalism deserves greater recognition than it has received and may bear comparison to that of Rachel Carson.

From the picket line to the playground: labor, environmental activism, and the international paper strike in Jay, Maine

The 1987–88 strike at International Paper's Androscoggin Mill in Jay, Maine severed a longstanding ‘social contract’ where workers and community residents tolerated the mill's air and water pollution in return for good-paying jobs and a robust local economy. This article traces the development of environmental consciousness among union workers and community residents during the strike and their efforts to protect the environment from the pollution of the mill. The union publicized environmental problems at the mill and the state's failures to regulate pollution when the strike began. After a series of environmental accidents during the strike, including a massive chlorine dioxide gas leak that threatened the safety of the town, Jay residents formed a community environmental organization and pressured the company and the state to close the mill. The environment remained an important issue after the strike, as labor and environmental activists joined forces to uphold a municipal ordinance that allowed the town to enforce state and federal environmental laws. This article studies how labor and environmental politics converged on a local level and also explores the broader themes of the conflict between job prosperity and environmental protection in industrial communities, labor and environmental movement alliances, and the current issues surrounding the ‘green economy’.

Going green: Decisional factors in small hospitality operations

This paper reports on research into the factors that influence the adoption of environmental measures in small hospitality firms. The research found that the decision to become environmentally involved had been a value-driven journey, influenced primarily by the development of environmental consciousness. Personal, socio-cultural and situational factors were other significant influences. The paper argues the importance of appreciating the personal and contextual circumstances of individual business-owners to understand their decision-making and operational approach. Further, it points to the value in making operators aware that going green need not involve a major change or capital outlay but can grow in accordance with the business’ needs and priorities.

The origins of modern environmental thought

The Origins of Modern Environmental Thought provides readers with a concise and lively introduction to the seminal thinkers who created the modern environmental movement and inspired activism and policy change. Beginning with a brief overview of the works of Thoreau, Mill, Malthus, Leopold, and others, de Steiguer examines some of the earliest philosophies that underlie the field. He then describes major socioeconomic factors in post World War II America that created the milieu in which the modern environmental movement began, with the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. The following chapters offer summaries and critical reviews of landmark works by scholars who helped shape and define modern environmentalism. Among others, de Steiguer examines works by Barry Commoner, Paul Ehrlich, Kenneth Boulding, Garrett Hardin, Herman Daly, and Arne Naess. He describes the growth of the environmental movement from 1962 to 1973 and explains a number of factors that led to a decline in environmental interest during the mid-1970s. He then reveals changes in environmental awareness in the 1980s and concludes with commentary on the movement through 2004. Updated and revised from The Age of Environmentalism, this expanded edition includes three new chapters on Stewart Udall, Roderick Nash, and E. F. Schumacher, as well as a new concluding chapter, bibliography, and updated material throughout. This primer on the history and development of environmental consciousness and the many modern scholars who have shaped the movement will be useful to students in all branches of environmental studies and philosophy, as well as biology, economics, and physics.

The Development of Environmental Consciousness with Regard to the Use of Dyes and Pharmaceuticals in the Paper Pulp Industry

Although environmental problems have been a major concern for a number of years, it is only comparativelyrecently that many companies have deemed it a matter of course to make an appropriate responseto environmental problems.Since its foundation in 1916, Nippon Kayaku has enthusiastically promoted such causes throughoutits 80-year history, using as its basic philosophy the following dual concepts. The company believes increating products that will benefit mankind and contribute to an improvement in global living standards, paying particular attention to the effect on health. Secondly, the company promises to respectthe environment and to guarantee the quality as well as the safety of its products.The paper industry was particularly prompt in dealing with environmental issues. There has beena considerable expansion in the use of fluorescent whiteners as well as colorful dyestuffs in general. NipponKayaku has been able to supply such dyestuffs to meet the expectations of the paper industry andhas introduced a new recyclable series of dyestuffs with excellent decoloration properties. Additionally, a new series of liquid fluorescent whiteners requiring only water as their solvent has been put on themarket. It is also necessary to speak of the positive effect that removing the luminosity from bleached paper by means of fluorescence-removing agents has on the environment.

Economics and the Environment: A "Land Ethic" Critique of Economic Policy

This paper is a twenty-five year retrospective on the development of environmental consciousness in the US The Clean Air Act is taken as proxy for companion measures in water and other areas of the environment, and the emphasis on "efficiency" and "market compatibility" is noted with a mixture of caution and hope. The work of an eminent pragmatic ethicist, Ado Leopard, is re-visited. From the pages of A Sand County Almanac, his notion that right and wrong, good and bad, be assessed in terms of the tendency to produce or preserve "the integrity, beauty, and stability of the biotic community" is explicitly adopted. Leopold's ethical consciousness raises a question: what reasons do we have to believe that an efficient, booming economy can be made compatible with a finite natural system? Are there boundaries that the economy must respect, or can we "out run" those limits with our technology and expertise?