Earth Follies: Coming to Feminist Terms with the Global Environmental Crisis // Review

Abstract

Earth Follies: Coming to Feminist Terms with the Global Environmental CrisisJoni Seager New York: Routledge, 1993; 332 pp.Reviewed by Heather Eaton Toronto School of Theology University of Toronto Toronto, OntarioGiven the severity and complexity of our environmental problems, we can't afford to sit in the dark" - thus concludes Earth Follies by Joni Seager, a superb introduction to a feminist perspective of the ecological crises. In general terms, Seager presents broad - based research on the enmeshed relations between gender, politics, power and ecological issues, giving specific examples followed by illuminating feminist analyses. The book covers much ground, is informative, well - researched, accessible to the newcomer, informal in style, at times hilariously funny and at others desperately sad. Earth Follies is an effective and significant offering to the discourse.Seager is not interested in further statistics of environmental horrors, or generic phrases such as "we are destroying the earth." The notable "we," so prevalent in the eco - establishment literature, obscures agency - i.e., global institutional structures such as the militaries, multinationals and governments, who in reciprocal collusion are responsible for the majority of the severe ecological problems facing human health and survival. This is the claim Seager makes, and with case studies and extensive endnotes, she corroborates her claim. Seager takes her reader through story after eco - disastrous story (many are familiar: the Gulf war, Goose Bay, Exxon Valdez, Bhopal, rainforest destruction), narrating the events through feminist eyes, critiquing the players and their roles in the decision - making processes and power relations, and exposes the silent victims of these "incidents." The point Seager makes throughout, and documents fully, is that these stories are not freak occurrences, but rather business as usual for the global institutions, all of which are exceedingly patriarchal, racist and misogynist.What is unique about this book, in comparison with the many other "eco" publications, is the mixture of environmental thought with illustrations of the complex machinations and politics of the realities of ecological destruction. While Seager indicates that the ecological predicament has origins in the crisis of the dominant cultural ideology, and weaves an ideological evaluation into the many examples, her method and conviction is that "feminist analysis of environmental problems need to be rooted in analyses of the social, cultural and political institutions that are responsible for environmental distress."Seager presents her case well. Readers who neither believe that there is an ecological crisis, nor that it is inextricably related to the very actions, attitudes and powers of the military, multinationals and governments, will be shocked to discover that there are countless examples of environmental disasters perpetrated, with apparent forethought by corporate decision - makers, financed by militaries, and sanctioned by governments. Seager examines the politics of numerous instances of blatant and intentional disregard of environmental health, such as Rocky Flats and the Kanawha Valley. In this regard Seager's contribution is crucial.What I appreciate in particular in Earth Follies, is that Seager uses data about North America (although mainly the U.S.), while many researchers focus on ecological issues in "developing countries." Further, rarely do ecological books, either theoretical or applied, effectively present the military as the most abhorrent of institutions in the business of ecological ruin. Feminists and ecofeminists have extensively critiqued the ideology of militarism, and the remarkable research of Rosalie Bertell has proven many times over that the militaries are the most destructive elements to women, to healthy relations among peoples, and to the earth community. In Earth Follies, Seager presents data, in an accessible and introductory manner, on the role of the militaries and their heinous effects. …