On Environmental Responsibility
By
David E. Wilson, Jr.
What is environmentally responsible?
 ith
better biology and education, notions of such responsibility have
changed over time, but the underlying premise remains the same —
being environmentally responsible means acting willfully to protect
or preserve natural resources by sacrificing some of your freedoms
for the common good.
 or
more than 2,000 years, Western culture has espoused the Aristotelian
view that acting both with good intention and without coercion of
law determine which acts are moral and which are not. Saving a drowning
victim is a moral act; simply paying your taxes is not. And like
pouring salt on slugs or getting permits to fill wetlands, just
because something is legal, doesn't make it ethical.
 n
conjunction with these criteria, recognizing the rights of other
people and other living things over your right to immediate gratification,
wealth, or other self-indulgence prescribes responsible behavior
in the environmental sphere. Along with this, educating yourself
on how your behavior might affect the common good is a moral obligation.
Fishermen or developers who indiscriminately keep undersized fish
or chop down trees claiming ignorance of biodiversity are equally
culpable. With rights come responsibilities.
 f
course what is environmentally responsible varies with trade. For
a fisherman it might mean using barbless hooks, throwing back keepers
when you have a freezer full of fish at home, or taking care to
avoid seagrass beds or bird rookeries.
or
farmers it could mean planting wildlife habitat, limiting pesticide
use, or building water control structures. For foresters, environmental
responsibility might imply leaving large stream buffers, and avoiding
rare and endangered species habitat.
or
business owners it could translate into using recycled paper, avoiding
throwaway cups and plates, and limiting impervious surfaces on their
property. For homeowners planting native plant species, limiting
the use of any chemical, and finding ways to conserve water and
energy might be environmentally responsible.
 imiting
herbicide, pesticide, and fertilizer use and leaving as much natural
vegetation as possible would be a good start for golf course managers.
 nd
for developers, tailoring their projects to save open space by clustering,
avoiding wetland and forest impacts, and going beyond minimum legal
requirements to protect plants and animals living on their property
would be to behave in a morally responsible way.
 nvironmental
responsibility lies in our capacity to forego a modicum of our rights
and to act beyond the sphere of law to do what we have learned is
right for the community. It is not a mechanical adherence to rudimentary
legal standards as some imply when they claim their projects meet
all regulatory requirements.
Contact Dave Wilson
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