Environmental Values, the Coastal Context, and a Sense of Place

EnvironmentalValues, the Coastal Context,and a Senseof Place STEPHEN R. KELLERT The coastalvalues which derive from the biophiliahypothesis have inspiredall thecontributors to thisvolume. Sagoff particularly dealswith aestheticand humanisticvalues, while he shareswith Nelson a concernfor moralistic values.Ambrose and Taub are mostconcerned with ecologistic values, Thompson and Trisoglio withnegativistic ones, and Haufler with utilitarian values. None of thecontributing scientists or governance scholars writes in a value- freeworld. And we must clearly understand that all thesevalue di- mensionsneed to be consideredas motivations, that they are all es- sentialto our coastalpolicy decisions.The coast,ever a magnetto humankind,has experienced both ecological and economic deteri- orationin our lifetime,and this hasresulted in its impoverishment asa meaningfulplace to us all,This is whycoastal restoration, a topicfurther explored in the next two chapters, isan essential and growingcomponent of contemporary environmental science, ac- tivism,and policy. Themajority of theAmerican population resides near large bodiesof water,whether along rivers,lakes, bays, estuaries, en- closedseas, or theopen coast. This, in itself,suggests the extraordi- 47 48 ~ Part I: Valt<es,Placec, attd Xature nary valuepeople place on what is collectivelycalled the coastal contexr.If pressedto providean explanationfor thisdistribution patternof theAmerican population, many would suggest it simply reflectsthe inHuence of economichistory, rhe prevailing trans- portationand industrial patterns prior to rheage of the internal combustionengine, the availabilityof rich agriculturalland and freshwater resources. Without question,these and other material factorshave greatly influenced human behavior in relationto the coastalenvironment but, I contend,these materialistic explana- tionsprovide only a partialand incomplete understanding of why so manypeople have been drawn to this naturalcontext. TheAmerican coasts have also provided people with physical areashistorically rich in intellectual,emotional, aesthetic, and even spiritualopportunities for growthand development. It is theselat- ter attributes,as much as the moreobvious materialist values, that haveresulted in a deeplycompelling attraction to thecoastal environment.In otherwords, the coastal context has been a placeredo- lentwith promisefor seekingmeaningful and satisfying individual andcommunity lives. This combinationof commodityand non- comrnodityvalues has rendered the coasts a profoundlyattractive sitefor nourishinghuman identity and for seekinga sustainable andsecure sense of place. This notionof placeis similarto Mark SagofFsargument that the"concept of placecombines the meaning we associare with nature and the utility we associatewith environment.[It is a notion of] surroundingsthat arises from harmony, partnership, and inti- macy."'What has made the coastal context a remarkablyattractive sirefor humanhabitation is its specialblend of opportunitiesfor intimatehuman relationship with natureacross a widespectrum of utilitarian,ecological, aesthetic, psychological, intellectual, and ethical dimensions.In short, the coastalenvironment is viewed asa peculiarly capablecarrier of human valuestoward the natural world.It isthe contemporary erosion and degradation of these environmentalvalues which threatens the continuing capacity of the coastalcontext to functionas a satisfytngplace for humangrowth anddevelopment. Env>'ronn>e»>al~al»es ar>d a Senseof Place ~ 49 The writer SimoneWeil remarkedthat a senseof placemay be among"the most important and least recognized needs of thehu- mansoul." Weil suggested,in effect,that healthyand attractive placesprovide humans with a basisfor cultural meaning, a sense of community,and opportunities for achievingfamiliarity and pro- tectionin closeassociation with one another.A meaningfulsense of placealso reflects the human need for anintimate connection with theirnatural surroundings, particularly its varietyof life and thelifelike processes which support ecologically healthy and pro- ductive natural systems, Humansare, of course,not apartfrom naturebut an integral componentof it, havingevolved in closeand continuous associa- tionwith varying ecological forces, and most especially with other formsof life,Our species'ability to achievefeelings of well-being andmeaning depends on a highlyvaried, intricate, and subtle ma- trix of interactionswith the naturalworld, Fewenvironmental set- tingsprovide a >norediverse, textured, and multilayered opportu- nityfor this degree ofconnection between people and nature than the coastalcontext. This attribute hasbeen among the major at- tractionsof thecoast as a sitefor peopleto sinkdeep roots, build viablecommunities, and find an enduringand securesense of place. The erosionand degradationof theseconnections between peopleand nature lies at theheart of theenvironmental crisis alongAmerica's coasts, as much as the impact of pollutionand habitatdestruction does on variouseconomic and health related processes.Alan Grussow powerfully captured this profound and elusiveconsequence of environmental deterioration when he remarked:"It is not simplynostalgia for a romanncand rural past thatcauses us to grieveover the loss of naturalopen spaces, it is a concernover the lossof human values.For we are not distinct fromnature; we are part of it, andso far as our places are degrad- ed,we too will bedegraded."~ Henry Beston, following a yearof reflectionon coastalCape Cod, similarly noted that: "Whatever attitude to human existence[we] fashion for [ourselves],[we] knowthat it isvalid only if it bethe shadow of anattitude to na- 50 ~ Part I: Va4ec,P1aees, and Nature ture...The ancient values of dignity,beauty, and poetry which sus- tain [usI are of nature'sinspiration...Do not dishonorthe earth lestyou dishonorthe spirit of man." The lepidopteristRobert Pyle referred to the "extinctionof experience"to expressthis serious and often little recognizedaspect of theenvironmental crisis, particularly the loss of biologicaldiver- sity.~Pyle, a leadingconservation biologist and one of theauthors of theIUCN reddata book on endangeredinvertebrates,~ was cer- tainly cognizantof currentprojections of an estimated27,000 global extinctionsannually, particularly of invertebratesin the moist tropical forests.Yet Pyle recognizedthat, from an anthro- pocentricview, this erosion of life meant,first and foremost, a pro- foundloss of humanpsychological bearings, the phenomenologi- caldegradation of experience,asmuch as the diminution of future materialoptions and the lesseningof variousecological life support systems.He remarked:"The extinctionof experienceis not justabout losing personal benefits...lt also implies a cycleof disaf- fection...The extinction of experiencesucks the life fromthe land, the intimacyfrom the connections."s Grussow,Beston, Pyle and others all recognizedthat important habitatsfor humansettlement, such as the coasts,represent for peoplethe opportunity For achieving meaningful lives, a deeply feltsense of intimaterelationship with their natural surroundings, anda chancefor attractive and rewarding communities and places, Theyappreciated that Far more appeared to bear stakein theeco- logicaldegradation and impoverishment of places like thecoast thansimply the erosion of prettyneighborhoods or the risks to hu- manhealth from pollution. Theconcept of biophiliahas been suggested asan apt expression for describingthe Full valuational measure of the humancrav- ing for deepand intimate association with life andlifelike processes,which are at the coreof theconcept of placeasserted here.9 This hypothesispurports that the human needFor varied interac- tionwith the diversity of life is anevolutionary expression of our dependenceon nature not just for materialsustenance and survival but, also,for a widerrange of emotional,intellectual, aesthetic, EnvironmentalValues and a Serixeaf Place ~ 51 and ethicalneeds as well. The biophilia conceptis employedhere to describevarious ways the coastal environment has provided hu- manswith an unusuallyrich and variedhabitat For securinga meaningfulsense of place. BIOPHILIA AND THE COASTAL CONTEXT A rangeof values associated with thebiophilia hypothesis are iden- tified which delineate various human benefits derived from the coastalcontext.'" Brief definitions of thesecoastal values are indi- cated in Table 2.1. Table 2.1, Coastal values. AI:s1HI; I'IC: The importance of the coastal context as a sourceof beauty andphysical attraction. DoMIoNIsTIC:The opportunities provided by the coastal context for achievingmastery, prowess and control. ECOLO 'is'I'IC:Theopportunities offered by thecoastal context for understandingthesystematic functioning, and the structure of living resources and their habitats. HOMANISTIC;The importanceof thecoastal context for expressingstrong emotional attachments and bonds with nature, MQRALISTIc:Theopportunities provided by the coastal contex~ for attaininga strongsense of affinity,ethical concern, and spiritual reverence for nature. NATURALI&TI<.':Theopportunities provided by the coastal context for directexploration and contact with nature, UTILITARIAN:Thepractical material and commodity benefits derived from the coastal context. NEGATIVISTIC;The coastalcontext asa sourceof fear,risk, and aweof nature, 52 ~ Pari I: Valves,Places, and Kaivre Utilitarian Thisvalue of thecoastal environment isthe easiest torecognize, as it reflectsthe biasof our marketeconomy and materialistic cul- ture.The

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