Obligation to the Environment

Obligation to the Environment

Table of Contents

Understanding an Obligation to the Environment

Although the environment is a non-human component, human beings have a moral responsibility towards it. In order to understand this obligation, it is vital to examine various ethical perspectives. Firstly, all human beings are dependent on the environment. People depend on the environment for air, food, recreation and other necessities of life.  The planet would not be habitable without environmental stability.


Consequently, human beings have a moral obligation to take care of the environment. From another perspective, it is vital to highlight that human beings should be conscious about the wellbeing of other people. It is fundamentally unethical to undermine the wellbeing of other people (Jardins, 2012). When an individual destroys the environment, he puts the lives of other people at risk.


The consequences of an individual’s actions should be acceptable by all people. This perspective would help in understanding an obligation to the environment. The actions of human beings should consider the needs of present generations as well as future generations. This serves as the fundamental rationale of sustainable development. The wellbeing of future generations is dependent on the behavior or actions of present generations. For instance, conservation efforts will assist in boosting the standards of life for future generations.


This framework would help in justifying the obligation of human beings to the environment. Obligation to the environment is among the most sensitive ethical perspectives. This is because most people perceive the environment as a mere resource for man’s exploitation (Jardins, 2012). These perspectives have been critical contributors to environmental problems such as loss of biodiversity. However, ethical considerations would be helpful in averting these trends. All people should use the environment responsibly in order to alleviate the ethical problem.


Reference

Jardins, J. R. (2012). Environmental ethics, Boston, MA: Wadsworth




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