Mid-term Class Discussion Exam

Pope John Paul II says: “Modern society will find no solution to the ecological problem unless it takes a serious look at its lifestyle. In many parts of the world, society is given to instant gratification and consumerism while remaining indifferent to the damage which these cause… the seriousness of the ecological issue lays bare the depth of man’s moral crisis.”

How do Thoreau, Williams, Hegland, and Krakauer present different changes of “lifestyle” that may contribute to solving ecological problems? What evidence do you see in your own life (or in society in general) of a realization of these changes?