2.7 Individual Environmental Ethics Ethical changes in society and business must start with individuals. We must recognize that our individual actions have a bearing on environmental quality and that each of us bears some responsibility for the quality of the environment in which we live. Many individuals want the environment cleaned up, but do not want to make the necessary lifestyle changes to make that happen.

2.8 The Ethics of Consumption North Americans represent 5% of the world’s population. North Americans consume one-fourth of the world’s oil. They use more water and own more cars than anybody else. They waste more food than most people in sub-Saharan Africa eat.

2.8 The Ethics of Consumption Food Fertilizers, pesticides, and high-yield crops have more than doubled world food production in the past 40 years. Food distribution, not food production, is the cause of hunger. Energy At current rates of consumption, known oil reserves will not last through the current century. Foresighted energy companies are looking ahead by investing in the technologies that will replace fossil fuels. Nuclear power, solar, wind, wave, and biomass technologies are meeting increasing proportions of national energy needs in other countries.

2.8 The Ethics of Consumption Water Currently humans use about half the planet’s accessible supply of renewable, fresh water. More than any other resource, water may limit consumerism in the next century. Wild Nature Every day in the U.S., between 1000 and 2000 hectares of farmland and natural areas are permanently lost to development.

2.9 Personal Choices Individuals can make many lifestyle changes that significantly reduce their personal impact on the planet. Eating food produced locally, that is low on the food chain, and is grown with a minimum of chemical fertilizers and pesticides reduces the environmental impact of food production. Buying durable consumer products and reusing or repairing products with usable life reduces the raw materials that must be extracted from the ground.

2.9 Personal Choices Conserving energy at home and on the road can lessen the amount of fossil fuels used to support your lifestyle. Living in town rather than in the suburbs can reduce your impact on the environment. Lobbying for protection of wild areas and voting for officials who take environmental issues seriously are other ways you can contribute to a reduced environmental impact.

2.10 Global Environmental Ethics Ecological degradation in any nation inevitably impinges on the quality of life in others. Much of the current environmental crisis is rooted in the widening gap between rich and poor nations. Environmental ethics suggests that we may have an obligation beyond minimizing the harm we cause to our fellow human citizens. It suggests we may also have an obligation to minimize the harm we cause to the ecological systems and the biodiversity of the Earth itself.

Summary Different cultures put different values on the natural world and the individual organisms that compose it. Environmental ethics investigates the justifications for these different positions. Three common attitudes toward nature are the development approach, the preservationist approach, and the conservationist approach. Ethical obligations toward the environment are usually closely connected to ethical obligations toward people, particularly poor people and minority groups.

Summary Recognition that there is an ethical obligation to protect the environment can be made by corporations, individuals, nations, and international bodies. Natural capitalism and industrial ecology are ideas that promote ways of doing profitable business while also protecting the environment. Global commitments to the protection of the environment are enormously important.