1. The investigation and understanding of ecological environment problems by shallow ecological movement is essentially a dualism of opposition between man and nature, and its basic point is "man dominates nature"; The deep ecological movement treats and deals with environmental problems with the overall idea that everything in the ecosystem is interrelated. In the philosophical world outlook, the basic point of adhering to the "monism" of the unity of man and nature is "the unity of man and nature"
2. Shallow ecological movement thinks that natural resources are valuable only if they are beneficial to human beings. Without human needs, the natural environment, species and creatures have no rights and values. The deep ecological movement holds that all natural objects have intrinsic value and life species have equal rights. Any natural thing has its own right to exist, and its value does not depend on human needs.
3. The scheme of shallow ecological movement to solve environmental problems is usually technocratic, trying to solve the ecological environment crisis faced by human beings simply by improving technology without touching human ethical values, production and consumption patterns, social politics and economic structure; The deep ecological movement believes that the ecological crisis faced by human beings is essentially a cultural crisis, and its root lies in the unreasonable aspects of old values, behavior patterns, social politics, economy and cultural mechanisms. Only by establishing new cultural values, consumption patterns, lifestyles and social and political mechanisms to ensure the harmonious coexistence between man and nature can human beings fundamentally overcome the ecological crisis.
4. The shallow ecological movement against pollution and resource depletion is mainly aimed at pursuing the health and material prosperity of people in developed countries, while the deep ecological movement claims that the purpose of protecting the ecological environment is to safeguard the interests of all countries, groups, species and the whole biosphere and to pursue the "self-realization" of individual and overall interests.