Stephen R. Kellert

Synopsis:
This presentation explores the biological basis of human values of the coastal environment, and how the adaptive occurrence of these values is integral to individual and social well-being. Results of a major watershed study are initially examined to support the hypothesis that the quality of human existence is inextricably connected to the health and integrity of natural and coastal systems, and this relationship occurs in all human contexts, both urban and non-urban and independent of education and income. The data confirm that natural and coastal environments remain essential for human physical, emotional, intellectual, and moral development even in an increasingly urban society. The concepts of ecosystem services, "biophilia," and sense or spirit of place are invoked to elucidate how natural systems affect human physical and mental well-being. Nine biologically-based values of nature and the coastal environment are particularly emphasized and related to how people attach meaning and derive benefit from healthy natural and coastal systems. Widespread degradation of the coastal environment is also related to diminished opportunities for enhancing individual and social well-being. This problem is viewed as more a design failure than an intrinsic flaw of contemporary life. The presentation, thus, concludes with a brief description of an approach to sustainable design that seeks to reconcile and harmonize the natural and human built environments. The evolution of an environmental ethic is also stressed, although based on a vastly expanded understanding of human self-interest and dependence on the health and integrity of natural and coastal systems.