Eternal Environmental Ethics for Eclipsing earth..............
Good afternoon my dear brothers and sisters.
In a limited time span, and with an unskilful writer like me, it will be difficult to cover all the topics that I have touched in the long essay. In the time we do have, I would like to convey my central message: as per the Newton's third law, "every action has an equal and opposite reaction", we must consider that our actions today will have repercussions in the future in ways we may not realize when we strive for short-term goals. In ancient times, many religious teachers described the consequences of virtuous and non-virtuous actions in a future world or rebirth. For many of us today, such a worldview may difficult to accept or understand. However, none of us can deny that our actions in a global, interconnected world affect many people (and animals) at great distances from us, both physically and temporally. We could modify Newton’s law to fit out current predicament: "your every single action will have equal reactions from the environment." Dear brothers and sisters, please consider these words again and again so that we may save our Mother Earth for future generations.
The often glamorized threat of the destruction of our civilization by alien invasion, asteroid collision, or some natural calamity is mere fodder for cinematic spectacle. The very real threat of our own seemingly innocent everyday activities gradually wasting away our environment and resources is perhaps more real and immanent than we would like to acknowledge. Within our generation, we already have witnesses the initial stages deterioration of the environment of our Mother Earth, such as an increase in global temperature, contaminated rivers, depletion of the ozone layers and air pollution. These events are not occurring in some distant land, but are sadly obvious in our own cities and countryside.
Who is responsible for this degradation? Are politicians, industrialists and businessmen the only culprits? We must honestly concede that it is not only them to blame. Common people like you and me are responsible for the pollution in the air, wastage in water and garbage on land.
When there is no consumer , there can be no producer. Though our motivation may be innocuous enough, perhaps even virtuous—we may work to protect our family, or even the community at large—many of what we now consider normal human activities—owning a car, air travel, smartphone usage, meat consumption, land development—are incrementally contributing to the depletion of earth’s resources in a way that, in the coming generations, will not be a sustainable way for the majority of earth’s inhabitants to live.
I hereby urge for a new kind of ethics, an ethics for a new world: ethics which demand you to recognize and respect your duty for the Mother Earth and for our future generations. The critical time has arrived for us to collectively wake up and take a stand for Mother Earth before we reach a irreversible phase of degradation. Thus far the triple formula for protecting the environment has been to reuse, recycle, and reduce. I would like to add one more "R": refuse.. Refuse to participate in the collective devastation of our planet. Refuse to believe the rhetoric of short-sighted, narrow-minded politicians and corrupt corporate leaders who insist that our own actions are not to blame for the changes we see. Refuse to remain ignorant: educate yourself as best you can. Refuse to give in to the seduction of temporary satisfaction, and the urge to ignore the real threat to future generations. Most of all, refuse to lose hope, and refuse to believe that our own individual actions and aspirations cannot contribute to lasting change in humanity’s fate.
I would like to conclude my short essay with a few simple verses that I composed just a few minutes ago:
Yesterday we drank freely by river
Today we gladly pay for packaged beverages
Tomorrow we will wage war for drinking water.
Yesterday we lived in green, open spaces
Today we need air purification for our city abodes
Tomorrow we will need oxygen bags to breathe.
Yesterday dense forest were common sight
Today we travel great distances to visit wilderness reserves
Tomorrow natural woodland will be a vestige in history books.
Today I plead on behalf of unborn children of future generation:
Dear friends, if we cannot leave them a world full of treasure
At least don't leave them a world full of garbage .
Dear friends, they might try to follow our example
but might not be able to walk
if we leave them only a carbon footprint.
Ethics means actions conducive to producing good results in the long term. Ethics are not merely actions related to our generation's welfare, but the welfare of all generations to come. I hereby earnestly urge you all to stand for your sacred duty for Mother Earth and for our coming generation. Thank you!!!
