Environmental Ethics Essay -- shallow ecological thinking, deep ecolog

If we each take responsibility in shifting our own behavior, we can trigger the type of change that is necessary to achieve sustainability for our race or this planet. We change our planet, our environment, our humanity every day, every year, every decade, and every millennia. -- Yehuda BergThe state of our environment has been deteriorating for centuries. Every part of the planet has been negatively impacted by man. Environmental degradation was greatly accelerated by the industrial revolution that took place in the 19th century. The industrial revolution mechanized the production of goods and introduced the expenditure of machinery and other heavy equipment which were fueled by dirty sources of energy. At first, wood and coal powered the engines of industry, later they were replaced by inherent gas and petroleum(Alters 51-63). At this point, it just is not enough to just do no harm to the environment. We mustiness immediately begin to act on behalf of the environment, instead o f just not against it.My morals concerning the environment have always run along the lines of shallow ecological thinking,(Naess) as Arne Naess called it. I choose to avoid pollution and to reduce, reuse, and recycle because these actions take care honorable to humans in one way or another. This reasoning is shared by many people in regards to the environment and animal rights considering anything as a means to human ends, rather than as ends in themselves. Even the above passage from the Bible seems to allocate all the goods of the earth to humans and puts all the natural resources under their direct supervision. I understand the above passage to mean that man is obliged to look after the environment and to protect it, much ilk a mother looks after her chi... ...ered by a world of people. We need to keep in mind, however, that ethics do not develop spontaneously, so we must allow a bit of leeway, some room to move, grow, and evolve. With this mindset, the environmental damage can first be slowed, then stopped, and eventually reversed and mended. It may seem drastic, but this plan of action may be more necessary than the people of our needy planet realize.Works CitedAlters, Sandra, ed., Coal. Energy Supplies, Sustainability and Costs. Detroit Thomson Gale, 2007. 51-63. EBC. OhioLINK Scholarly and Reference E-Books. Web. 17 Apr. 2015Naess, Arne. THE SHALLOW AND THE DEEP, LONG RANGE ECOLOGY MOVEMENTS Inquiry (Oslo), 16 (1973). Web. 5 May 2015http//www.alamut.com/subj/ideologies/pessimism/Naess_deepEcology.htmlSinger, Peter. Practical Ethics. Second ed. New York Cambridge University Press, 1998.