Ethics and the Environment: Your Values Versus the Earth's Future

As humans, we have a responsibility to take care of the earth, which is our home and the home to other races and species that do not have the means or the ability to protect it on their own. Everyone has different ideas of what is right and wrong; these ideas compose our values and ethics.

One person might think it is OK to wear a fur coat or a leather jacket. (After all, everyone does it, and animals are killed for clothing and food every day. People have to have clothing to protect them.) Someone else may think that it is not necessary, even cruel, to kill animals for clothing when there are other materials that can be worn that bring no harm to any living thing. The difference in these opinions is a difference in ethics and values. Most people have a core set of beliefs that govern the decisions they make. In this paper, I will discuss my beliefs regarding the environment, my responsibility to the environment and how my beliefs define those responsibilities. I will also explore conflicts that I have had in times when I did not live up to my ethical responsibilities.

As I grow older and mature, my ethics and values have changed dramatically, because I have become a better and more knowledgeable person. As a teenager, I was selfish and rather self-centered, and I did not honestly consider not doing something for the greater good, I only considered my own comfort and convenience. I was a smoker from age 13 to age 33, and the last thing I thought about when smoking was what the cigarettes could do to the environment or to other people. I barely thought of what they could to do me. I had no qualms about throwing a cigarette out of a car window, or stomping it out on the ground. I had no knowledge or interest in what the smoke would do to the people around me or to the air quality. I also was completely ignorant to the fact that cigarettes were not bio-degradable and therefore could not be broken down when discarded. At that point in my life, I would have been considered Anthropocentric, which is the "dominance manipulation and use of the environment as objects to benefit humans with no thought of environmental consequences." (Mostaghimi, 2005). I was not intentionally cruel to the environment or others, but I did not make any effort to be anything but careless.

Over the years, through education and personal experience, my values regarding the environment have changed drastically. It is impossible to watch the news or read the news paper without seeing some of the truly horrendous effects our carelessness over time has affected the world we live in. For example, going back to the issue of cigarette smoking, "Burning tobacco is the main source of indoor pollution in the developed world. Tobacco smoke contains about 4,000 chemicals including carcinogens, irritants and toxic gases. The health impact of breathing environmental tobacco smoke is well documented." (http://www.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/fact22.html)

When younger, I had no knowledge of how seriously cigarette smoking could affect the environment, but it does stand to reason that anything that is emitting such toxic substances in to the air must be causing a serious amount of damage. It is easy to think of the affects smoking has on the human body, because the affects are more visible and more rapid, but slowly those toxins are affecting the air we all breathe. The astounding numbers of people getting lung cancer who have never smoked before is an affect of the poor air quality that cigarette smoke has caused over time.

Smoking is generally a cut-and-dry example of something that can seriously damage the environment. There are other examples that are not so obvious, and these examples straddle the ethics border for me. I do not believe it is appropriate or humane to kill animals for any reason, yet I do eat meat. After years as a vegetarian, I began eating meat due to some serious health problems that were caused by lack of protein and too much sugar, which I ate to compensate for the lack of protein in my diet. I realize that it is not in my best interest to give up such an important nutritional food group, because my health will deteriorate. However, I also am conflicted because of my personal feelings about the means that meat is brought to the table.

Again, as I age and become more educated, I am more aware of my surroundings and not just of myself. For many years I did not eat meat only because I did not want to get fat, and because it disgusted me to think of eating something that was once alive. As time went on, I gained more of a conscience, especially after learning how the animals were slaughtered and realized that animals should have as much a right to live as humans. The conflict comes in to play, because not only do I believe that my health and well being must come first, but I also actually enjoy the taste of meat. As I sit down to eat a steak, I do not spend much time thinking of the cow that was killed. Does this mean that my ethics in this situation have become less important? Or does it mean that I have accepted that eating meat is necessary for my health and have come to accept and deal with the consequences? I am not sure how to answer that question and honestly try not to think about it more than I have to.

I do now see myself as a person who, as a part of society, must make active efforts to protect the environment for current and future generations. It is difficult sometimes to think that one person or a small group of people can make a difference. However, if every person or small group of people thought they could not make a difference, no one would do anything to protect what we have. Our children and grandchildren deserve the right to be afforded the same comforts and luxuries that we have now, and if we do not work diligently to protect the world around us, there will be nothing left.

One of the things that I have realized recently, is that I take our water supply for granted. Water seems to come so freely and easily, that it is difficult to remember that our supplies are diminishing rapidly and any type of water waste could be detrimental to our future and the future of the generations to come after we are gone.

Sometimes, I will leave the water running in the sink for much longer than necessary. I do laundry several times a week instead of waiting until I have a substantial amount of laundry to be done. I also have drips in my bathroom and kitchen that should be looked at by maintenance; however I have not made any effort at all to have that taken care of. I believe that we all have to make a conscious effort to save water or we will soon be left with none. I found some tips on how to save water from www.americanwater.com. Some of these suggestions are things that I have never thought about before, and some are things that I have thought about but not made an effort to practice. In the future, I intend to take advantage of these great ideas in my efforts to conserve water.

Never put water down the drain when there may be another use for it such as watering a plant or garden, or cleaning.

Verify that your home is leak-free, because many homes have hidden water leaks. Read your water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there is a leak.

Repair dripping faucets by replacing washers. If your faucet is dripping at the rate of one drop per second, you can expect to waste 2,700 gallons per year which will add to the cost of water and sewer utilities, or strain your septic system.

Check for toilet tank leaks by adding food coloring to the tank. If the toilet is leaking, color will appear within 30 minutes. Check the toilet for worn out, corroded or bent parts. Most replacement parts are inexpensive, readily available and easily installed. (Flush as soon as test is done, since food coloring may stain tank.)

Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily. Dispose of tissues, insects and other such waste in the trash rather than the toilet.

Take shorter showers. Replace you showerhead with an ultra-low-flow version. Some units are available that allow you to cut off the flow without adjusting the water temperature knobs.

Use the minimum amount of water needed for a bath by closing the drain first and filling the tub only 1/3 full. Stopper tub before turning water. The initial burst of cold water can be warmed by adding hot water later.

Don't let water run while shaving or washing your face. Brush your teeth first while waiting for water to get hot, then wash or shave after filling the basin.

Retrofit all wasteful household faucets by installing aerators with flow restrictors.

Operate automatic dishwashers and clothes washers only when they are fully loaded or properly set the water level for the size of load you are using.

I will be making a much better effort in future to follow these guidelines in order to do my part in saving our water supply.

Everyone has different ethics and different core values that cause them to make certain decisions. Each of us has to live with the decisions we make, but when we make poor decisions about the environment, everyone has to live with them. It is important to stay well educated and current on the best ways to protect the environment, so that it will be as beautiful and safe for future generations of people and animals as it has been for us.