Environmental Ethics - Essay Example

In modern society, ethics have been based on religious principles or cultural values. Philosophy has attempted to apply ethics in different daily activities and the determination of strategic policies (DesJardins 7). Some of the fields that involve ethics include business ethics, bioethics, business ethics, environmental ethics, and Geo-ethics.

Environmental ethics incorporates the nature of human conduct in attempts to maintain the natural suitability of the environment. The anthropocentric nature of environmental ethics calls out for the involvement of all humans. I agree that the environment does not only support human life but also, animals, rivers, creatures, and ecosystems too. Therefore, these calls upon for the care and respect for the environment, we are interdependent and obligated to the other environmental entities (DesJardins 15).  I believe that failure by human beings to take responsibility for maintaining the environment in times of pollution makes us suffer from poor health, hostile climates, reduced biodiversity, loss of natural environmental beauty, and low living standards due to lack of resources. I believe that humans have moral standings by feeling pain for them since they have a future and the ability to initiate actions.

 I suppose that the indigenous species of living creatures and ecosystems require moral individual, and societal approaches for their maintenance. Individuals are obliged by morals to preserve the environment, and not to perform any destructive action on the environment. I also consider that the need to preserve the natural environment and the need to exploit environmental resources for other gains are some of the confusing factors that ethics has intervened. To determine the value of the different importance of individual actions, there is the need to develop a distinction between instrumental and intrinsic value. Traditionally, ethics were human-centered, and rather everything done would be in human interest. Nonhuman things were unjustified, not protected, and would at times be treated in a cruel manner (DesJardins 24). I agree that this resulted in later developments on ethics, which valued the nonhuman components in the environment. This has helped in the development of policymaking and the establishment of political coalitions in an attempt to protect the environment.

To conclude, some of the developed theories including the feminist approach state the importance of women in environmental preservations. As per my opinion, the traditional nature of women's oppression has been compared to environmental exploitation. I believe that women have however taken the lead in environmental movements thereby taking the leading position. Other environmental perceptions include disenchantment, new animism, and bioregionalism. I believe that the discipline on environmental ethics will progress in the future; this is due to the demands of the environment with the developments. The environment also affects the economy’s performance and thereby the need to incorporate scientific developments in managing the ecosystems, cutting on pollution, and maintaining the environmental suitability as a habitat for both humans, animals, and other creatures (DesJardins 29).