University of Vermont Professor Joni Seager said in a speech yesterday that researchers should look beyond the simple causes of environmental damage like over-population, to the deeper root causes, such as religion and gender roles.
Seager, a professor of geography and women's studies, spoke yesterday afternoon to about 40 audience members in Hinman Forum in the Rockefeller Center.
Fundamental environmental problems like acid rain and ozone depletion are easy to address, she said. But people who do not look beyond the immediate causes miss answering important questions.
Environmental problems can be solved by addressing the underlying causes of the crises, Seager said. But the root causes can often be hard to define and even harder to solve, she said.
Seager stressed the importance of looking at environmental problems with a feminist perspective.
"Feminist analysis brings a new light to the problem," she said.
Seager said she thought male-dominated institutions such as the government, the military and multi-national corporations are linked to the basic causes of environmental problems.
She said it is wrong to "blame men as men," but said the way society raises men is at fault. "Nature-conquering is an important part of the male culture," she said.
In a question and answer session after the speech, Seager said the best way for Dartmouth women to become involved is to take their knowledge to the grass roots organizations that are being founded to fight environmental problems on a local level.
The title of Seager's speech was "Feminism and Global Environmental Crisis." The environmental studies program, the geography department and the woman studies program sponsored the lecture.
Seager received her Ph. D. from Clark University in geography and environmental studies. She is the author of the recently published "Earth Follies: Coming to Feminist Terms with the Global Environmental Crisis," and has written several other novels.
