(Critical Junkyard) Ecocide

The term ecocide can be applied to refer to large-scale destruction of a habitat. It can also mean a substance that kills enough species in an ecosystem to disrupt its functionality. Examples for an ecocide would be the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico or the Exxon Valdez.

(Critical Junkyard) “Spaceship Earth”

In Ecocriticism‘s eighth chapter “Earth” we read about “spaceship Earth”. This specific ecological view of the world that tries to envision the world as one big ecosystem in which we all need to work together like the crew on a ship. Mankind has to work together to manage earth’s limited resources in order to achieve the greater good for mankind.

Posted by Konstantin Zielke

(Critical Junkyard) “ecological imperialism”

In Ecocriticism‘s sixth chapter “Dwelling” we read about “ecological imperialism” a term Garrard ascribes to Alfred Crosby. Ecological imperialism can be described as introducing new plants, animals, insects, illnesses and bacteria into a foreign biotope, leading to a tripping of its ecological balance and extinction of formerly dominant species. According to Garrard Crosby describes this as a mainly “white” phenomenon which I’m sad to say hasn’t changed much as big companies usually prefer white males for higher positions, but I digress.

Posted by Konstantin Zielke

(Critical Junkyard) “Eschatology”

In Ecocriticism we frequently read about eschatology and eschatological history (mainly in “Chapter 5: Apocalypse”). The word itself stems from eschatos (last) and logos (word / study of) so it is the study of “The Last” or (freely translated) the study on the end of times (not to be confused with End of Days).
As such it focuses on interreligious apocalypses which is why it has such a huge influence in apocalypticism and ecocriticism.