Journal 2

University Colloquium: A sustainable Future

Excerpt from Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect

Love It or Lose It: The Coming Biophilia Revolution

By David W. Orr

Have you ever heard of biophobia? Well, apparently it exists. Biophobia, in short, is being afraid of nature. Biophobcis are afraid of swimming in a lake or walking through a musky swamp simply because there are living things in them. They are afraid of the unknown. How can such quality come to form? These types of people are raised in the cities, with nothing but controlled environment surrounding them. They are submerged into this world that is unrealistic. A great contributor to this phobia is television.  Television has portrayed this world that has truly affected many into thinking everything out there is bad. Watching movies like Jaws and/or Survival Island are great examples of movies that trigger something into their brain that they can’t see past from what is fact and what is fiction. The point is movies were invented to shape your brain in a certain way.

On the other hand, “biophilia” as E.O. Wilson defined it as “the urge to affiliate with other forms of life”.  Erich Fromm once defined it more broadly as, “the passionate love of life and of all that is alive”. Both indicate that it is an instinctive bond between human beings and the other living systems on this planet.  For the Greeks Eros went beyond sensuous love to include creature needs for food, warmth, and shelter, as well as higher needs to understand, appreciate, and commune with nature (Bratton, 1992). I would call myself a biophiliac person. I love to recycle, save water, and take advantage of sunlight as much as possible. I love natural lighting. I ground myself to eliminate using florescent lighting during the day, even at night. During my field trip on campus, I realized how eco-friendly my university is. It really surprised me to know how far they go to keep our school clean and sustainable.  From solar compactors and recycling bins to ice-thermal storage plants, my school has their A-game right.  

All in all, biophobia can be replaced slowly by becoming biophiliac. The earth was given to us as a gift. A gift we need to cherish and love for eternity.  So instead of being afraid of it, go out on a bike ride through the park, go hiking up the Appalachian Trail, or take a camping trip up to Ginnie Springs and see the beauty that nature has to offer us. Take advantage of it before it’s too late!