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This thesis develops a multidisciplinarily grounded account of the cultural causes of environmental problems discussed as a question in philosophical and sociological theory of social action. The approach is articulated by an original reading of Ludwig Wittgenstein's later philosophy. Part 1 of the thesis critically discusses a prominent view of the cultural causes found in environmentalism and environmental history with significant popular appeal. In this view, labelled the ideological approach, the human nature relationship is characterised essentially by our culture's alleged disrespectful, manipulative and materialistic attitude to nature that is said to have been internalised by the modern human being and to fundamentally drive our ecologically consequential activities. An alternative organisatory approach is suggested based on the view that due to division of labour of culturally and geographically dispersed masses, as well as the everyday character of activities in terms of which we collectively cause environmental problems in global industrial market society, no general ideological source of social action can plausibly be posited. An organisatory approach to the human environmental burden as a function of the collective performance by masses of a shared organisation of activity on a recursive, everyday basis is a more realistic account of the intensity of human environmental impact. Part 2 argues that the ideological approach in environmentalism and beyond can be seen to imply a form of collectivism also found in many classics of Wittgensteinian philosophy and social theory, an important common denominator being their ontological focus on the mental source of social action in shared conceptual schemes, normative orientations and the like. By contrast, in the Wittgenstein reading developed in this thesis, his perspective was non-ontological, viewing social activity as developing processes not defined by their mental source in shared conceptions but by their organisation. Social life is viewed as being based on agreement in form of life, that is, in organisation of human activity. The thesis is a rare and original attempt to make philosophy relevant in the discussion of a pressing contemporary problem that also advances Wittgenstein-scholarship to a novel area.

Abstract We are facing a century of rapid change in climate, with significant challenges in managing the impact of changes in living conditions for plants and animals. We can already see the responses of species through changes in phenology and spatial distribution, which may change ecosystem structure and function, with subsequent effect on ecosystem services and biological diversity. In Sweden, between 2005 and 2010, the red-listed species has increased by 13 % and similar trends can be seen across the world, making it difficult to attain national and international environmental objectives of preserving biodiversity. One way to reduce the loss of biodiversity is to protect nature from exploitation by allocating valuable areas as nature reserves, but climate change affects protected areas just as much as other landscapes and therefore requires elaborate systems of protection to facilitate species' survival. The paper has examined  how the decisions and management plans for nature reserves in Sweden have been followed-up and whether they are climate adapted or not by examining 30 nature reserves, classified as newly formed (2012), recently revised (2009-2011) and older (1977-2007) reserves, and assessed what is in the decisions and management plans for follow-up, revision, long-term goals and documentation. Officials in ten county administrative boards in Sweden were interviewed about how they handle documentation and monitoring of management plans, and if they take into account climate change in the forming of new nature reserves and if they have begun to look at the climate adaptation of nature reserves. The results show that county administrative boards do not take account climate change in the handling of new nature reserves and they generally have not started looking at climate adaptation of the nature reserves. Documentation is supposed to be carried out according to most management plans (77%) and was in fact carried out in reality in 70% of the county administrative boards, although a new system is being introduced by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. Monitoring of management actions should be done according to most management plans, but in reality, monitoring of management plans is generally not performed (only 20% of the county administrative boards do). My results shows that nature reserves in Sweden are not climate adapted and have not taken into account climate change when formed and there is no continuous  follow-up done of decisions and management plans. There are many reasons for authorities to reconsider this, even if it requires a thorough review of current research. / Sammanfattning Vi står inför ett århundrade med snabba förändringar i klimatet och möter stora utmaningar i att hantera effekterna av ändrade levnadsförhållanden för växter och djur. Redan nu kan vi se responser från arter genom förändrad fenologi och geografisk utbredning vilket för med sig förändringar i ekosystemens struktur och funktion som i sin tur påverkar ekosystemtjänsterna och den biologiska diversiteten. I Sverige har mellan åren 2005 och 2010, de rödlistade arterna ökat med 13 % och liknande tendenser syns över hela världen vilket gör det svårt att nå nationella och internationella miljömål om att bevara biodiversiteten.  Ett sätt att minska förlusten av biodiversitet är att skydda naturen från exploatering genom att avsätta värdefulla områden som naturreservat men klimatförändringen påverkar de skyddade områdena lika mycket som övriga landskap och därför krävs genomtänkta system av skydd för att underlätta för arters överlevnad.  Uppsatsen har undersökt hur beslut och skötseldokument för naturreservat i Sverige följs upp samt undersökt om de är klimatanpassade genom en granskning av 30 naturreservat uppdelat på nybildade (2012), nyligen reviderade (2009-2011) samt äldre (1977-2007) reservat och bedömt vad som står i beslut och skötselplaner avseende uppföljning, revidering, långsiktiga mål och dokumentering. Personer på tio länsstyrelser i Sverige har intervjuats om hur de hanterar dokumentering och uppföljning av skötselplaner samt om de tar hänsyn till klimatförändringen vid avsättningen av nya naturreservat och om de har börjat titta på klimatanpassning av reservaten. Resultaten visar att länsstyrelser inte tar hänsyn till klimatförändringen i hanteringen av nya naturreservat och de har generellt inte börjat titta på klimatanpassning av naturreservat än, medan dokumentering ska utföras enl. skötselplanerna (77 %) och utförs i verkligheten hos 70 % av länsstyrelserna men ett nytt system är på väg att införas från Naturvårdsverket. Uppföljning av skötselåtgärder ska göras enligt de flesta skötselplanerna men i verkligheten utförs det inte generella uppföljningar av skötselplanerna (bara i 20 % av länsstyrelserna görs det).  Resultatet visar att naturreservat i Sverige inte är klimatanpassade och har inte avsatts eller avsätts inte med klimatförändringen i beaktande och deras beslut och skötselplaner följs inte upp kontinuerligt.  Det finns många skäl att tänka om för ansvariga myndigheter även om det kräver en grundlig genomgång av pågående forskning.

Traditional formalism of planting design within landscape architecture has two central faults; the objectification of plants and a focus on visual perception. This thesis proposes the correct appreciation of planting design is an aesthetic of engagement founded on interaction with the sublime in nature. Plants are the materiality of nature and design seeks to engender a phenomenological experience of landscape perceived through a series of events or encounters with the sublime. The aesthetic of engagement in planting design is articulated in four ways; direct engagement, indirect engagement, ethical engagement, and therapeutic engagement. Examples from contemporary projects verify an aesthetic of engagement for planting design. This thesis fills a gap in knowledge by providing a philosophical conceptualization of the aesthetics of planting design and a language through which to carry on dialogue over its presence. / The formalist tradition -- Sublime foundations of contemporary planting design -- The aesthetics of engagement -- A concluding example. / Department of Landscape Architecture

The creative project was a series of three, mixed media drawings created on multiple layers of transparent plexiglass. The artist designed a frame in which three sheets of plexiglass were contained. This unit portrayed a three-dimensional drawing. The artist then experimented with a variety of mediums to determine which material was best suited for successful rendering on plexiglass. The artist then did a number of sketches to determine what images would best convey the idea of humankind's close connection to the land, air, and sea.The primary accomplishments achieved in this project were the knowledge gained in the experimentation of materials and the ability to create a composition on multiple layers of plexiglass. Through these successes, the artist was able to effectively create a series of three three-dimensional mixed media drawings. / Department of Art

This study will examine the integral role of owls in Ainu spiritual belief systems through the means of Ainu oral literature and Ainu material arts. In the past, the indigenous people known as Ainu lived only in northern Japan, including Kurile Islands (“Kurile Ainu”), Sakhalin (“Sakhalin Ainu”), and Hokkaido (“Hokkaido Ainu”). Today, Ainu people live across Japan; however, Hokkaido is considered their spiritual homeland and the majority of the population lives in this northern prefecture. This paper will focus on the group of people called “Hokkaido Ainu”. Before a large number of Japanese migrated to Hokkaido during the Meiji era (1868-1912), Ainu people had lived close to nature through various activities such as fishing, hunting, and gathering. As a result of these daily activities involving nature, the Ainu developed their spiritual belief systems. For example, they believe that various spirits exist in natural phenomena such as plants, insects, and animals. Among these animals, the bear, killer whale and owl are considered in many Ainu societies as the highest-ranked animal kamuy, meaning gods or deities. The Owl God in particular, is believed to be the guardian of the village. In this project, the symbolic representation of the Owl God in four different Ainu traditional folklores and various forms of arts will be carefully examined. The goal of this study is to demonstrate that although the language and physical communities are under threat by Japanese migration and a modern industrial economy, the spiritual belief in the Owl God as the guardian of the village continues to exist in contemporary Ainu works of art. In addition, I will argue that the representation of the Owl God, Kotan-kor-kamuy, is an important symbolic expression of Ainu cultural identity. / Graduate

Deepwater Vee began as a meditation on the rivers I have worked on as a wilderness guide—the Nahanni, the Thelon, the Burnside, the Tatshenshini / Alsek, and others. The lyric poems take wobbly bearings and try to track the phenomenal world. This collection of nature poetry also considers two of Canada’s most threatened waterways—the Athabasca, which runs through the heart of the Alberta tar sands, and the North Saskatchewan, the river that ran by my home but which I had never paddled until recently, a river stressed by dams and upgraders, sewage and pesticides. These rivers push the poems into a contemplation of loss and into the terrain of Alexander MacKenzie’s dreams, a busker’s street riffs and the imagined wanderings of a grandmother who returns to inhabit the earth. / Graduate / 10000-01-01

This thesis investigates the ecological history of western oakwoods in the Loch Awe area,Argyll, Scotland. By combining historical evidence for human use of woodland resources with palaeoecological evidence for past ecological change the influence of man on the current condition of biologically important semi-natural woods is assessed. A chronology of human activities relevant to the woodland ecology of the study area is assembled from estate papers and other documentary sources. Vegetation change during the last c. 1000 years is elucidated by pollen analysis of radioisotope dated sediments from small hollows located within three areas of western oakwood believed to be ancient. The results are related to current condition and the hypothesis that the species composition of the woods exhibited temporal stability in the recent past is tested. Mechanisms of change culminating in the modem species compositions of the woods are suggested by synthesizing independent findings from historical and palaeoecological approaches. The documentary record indicates management in the 18th and 19th centuries to supply oak bark and coppice wood for commercial purposes. In the 20th century woodland use has been relatively minor except as a grazing resource. In the period before 1700 AD the woods were used for wood for local domestic needs and to shelter livestock. The palaeoecological record indicates a lack of stability in species composition during the last millennium. Relatively diverse woods still containing natural features such as old-growth were transformed in the medieval period into disturbed open stands depleted in natural features. Declining productivity was locally alleviated by the introduction of new modes of exploitation around or prior to 1700 AD. The current condition of the woods, rather than being the direct result of an economic design, is the consequence of post-disturbance biotic processes following the abandonment of management in the late 19th century. The findings are related to the conservation of the wider western oakwood resource.

The environmental crisis of the twentieth century challenges Christianity to articulate a theology adequate to support a viable environmental ethic. This dissertation finds such a theology in the thought of American Lutheran theologian, Joseph Sittler. Sittler characterizes his thought, not as a "theology of nature," but as an "incarnation theology applied to nature." Because of the christological and sacramental emphases in his theology, the dissertation demonstrates that the roots for Sittler's environmental concerns are to be found in the Christology and eucharistic theology of the sixteenth century reformer, Martin Luther. But in order to compensate for the emphasis in sixteenth century reformation theology on redemption as the salvation of the individual from sin, Sittler also retrieves the theology of the second century theologian, Irenaeus of Lyons. In his own fight against gnosticism, Irenaeus demonstrates continuity between Creation and redemption as acts of the same God. Thus Sittler develops a "theology for earth," emphasizing the continuity of nature and grace and, using concepts drawn from literature, music, architecture, painting, and modern physics, articulating an "ontology of communion" in which human beings recognize the presence of God in their own participation in the raw materials and processes of the world.

This art project examines aspects of New Zealand rural culture through the experience of a fictional performer, Mrs Gallagher. She questions the instrumental approach of agribusiness production, both as it enframes her domestic/farm helper role and the farming of animals. She uses the practices of everyday life, domestic crafts and appropriated materials of agribusiness to draw attention to the traditional ideological boundaries between the human/animal and assigned gender roles.Employing the tactics of 'making do', Mrs Gallagher uses inventive play to produce new forms that cross the domestic/agribusiness boundary. It is her aim that her acts of intervention and these hybrid forms will promote a more mindful use of technology and greater recognition of the continuity and difference that exists between humans and nature.All objects will be presented in site-orientated installation. Evidence of Mrs Gallagher's intervening acts is witnessed and documented using time-based media by a collaborative performer, the cultural theorist K. Joules Faraday.This thesis is constituted as 80% practice based work and 20% written exegesis.