elationship of human beings to, and also the value and moral status of, the environment and its nonhuman contents,ö (1). Within the ethical deliberations concerning the environment, individuals must often determine if it is morally permissible to destroy an indigenous species for the protection of human beings. Often such indigenous species are destroyed due to farming, development, or other human enterprises. Slashing and burning of the Rain Forest has destroyed many indigenous species and threatens others. From my holistic perspective, I feel such wanton destruction of the environment is morally unacceptable. Who knows if one of these species may provide answers to some dilemma that plagues human beings, like having a resistance to cancer or providing some kind of hormones or secretions that would help cure diseases like muscular dystrophy or others. Slicer, D. (Fall 2003). Environmental narrative. Ethics & The Environment, 8(2), 1-4. In my own life I have transgressed against my own environmental ethics like many American consumers. I used to drink coffee out of Styrofoam cups, buy products in environmentally unsafe packages and containers, and have used many cleaning or pesticide products in my home or garden. After learning about how such product consumption destroys the environment, from depletion of the Ozone layer and soil contamination to adding to the enormous number of dangerous landfills, I became determined to change my consumer habits. I now carry a metal coffee mug and lid with me to convenience stores and fill it up instead of using Styrofoam c |
