Human Ecology and Basic Needs

 

Much of our research explores films associated with our basic needs (air, water, food, clothing, shelter, and energy), and the everyday eco-disasters associated with their exploitation. Such exploitation is typically associated with a “fair use” model of ecology, which grew out of economic approaches to the environment connected to Social Darwinism. 

Human approaches to ecology, however, maintain the worth of our basic needs, either as separate from or part of nonhuman nature. Whether defined by psychologist Abraham Maslow as physiological needs, by Reality therapist, William Glasser as survival needs, or self-determination theory as competence in dealing with the environment, our most basic needs all highlight our connection with our external ecology. 

The worth of our basic needs has been calculated in the U.S. and around the world in the last decade to determine the lowest income necessary for a family’s survival. This calculation resulted in the Self-Sufficiency Standard. According to Diana Pearce and Jennifer Brooks, “The Self-Sufficiency Standard measures how much income is needed for a family of a given composition in a given place to adequately meet its basic needs—without public or private assistance” (1). 

This Standard differs from the federal poverty measure in multiple ways: It takes into account regional differences, changing demographics, and new needs. As Pearce and Brooks explain, “there are many families with incomes above the federal poverty line who nonetheless lack sufficient resources to adequately meet their basic needs” (1-2).