Identifier	Thesis 1815
Author	Wierzbowski, Stanislaw
Title	Environmental Perception in Contemporary Poland
Publisher	Central Connecticut State University
Date of Publication	2005
Resource Type	Master's Thesis
Abstract	Polish people as other Europeans have an awareness of the beauty of nature and the need for preserving it for future generations. Polish society though, has gone through period of little environmental concern during socialism and political and economic difficulties during transition to a market economy. State socialism distorted the perceptions and use of the environment and did not allow for sensitivity to pollution problems among the Polish people. Socialist industries polluted the urban areas and the natural environment. The people were left without information of environmental problems. Now the rapid transition to a market economy creates many problems that are more important than environmental risks and the Polish government continues to create legislation and decisions to further bureaucracy but not to implement environmental action as it was during socialism. Environmental perceptions and actions suffer also from urban/rural division in Poland which appears in a distinct economical and cultural separation between the cities and the country side. Now cities are seen as closer to the Western civilization than the countryside and generally Poles admire the Western development for its high consumption and not for environmental advances. Because the urban areas of Poland are not recognized for environmental changes the cities suffer environmental degradation. Often, as in Czestochowa, the Catholic capitol of Poland the priorities for reconstructions and modernizations are economic, representative, religious, and historical but not environmental. Pollution from industry and traffic congestion is not seen by many and they do not have ways to voice their opinions. The political forces persuade economic action and support their private or political interests. People interested in cultural and religious values stay against those for economic development without consideration of the environment. In this situation the Holy Virgin Mary Avenue, the most important public space in Czestochowa is reconstructed without proper environmental planning. Hope for improvement of environmental processes in Poland exists in environmental education starting from childhood. The environmental education continues to grow in Poland together with accession to the European Union in May 2004. The environmental ethic built during the education process will impact the needs of the people for protection of the natural, cultural and social environment. Also, further democratization will bring improvement of public's involvement in decision-making process.
Subject	Conservation of natural resources -- Poland Environmental protection -- Poland
Department	International Studies Program
Advisor	Kideckel, David A., 1948-
Type	Text
Digital Format	application/pdf
Language	eng
OCLC number	713735107
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Environmental Perception in Contemporary Poland

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