The document discusses humanity's responsibility to care for the environment based on a transcript from Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth". It makes three key points: 1) We are not the sole basis for all existence - Earth is just one planet among many, and we must recognize other species' right to live. 2) Our survival depends on the environment as it is our only home, so we have a huge responsibility to care for it and ensure future generations can also enjoy it. 3) We are responsible for protecting the environment for future generations so they can experience the natural wonders we currently enjoy.

1. Ethics and the environment
4. Which ethical position, out of the ones outlined above, is more helpful
in understanding our relationship and our responsibility to the
environment?
By Shayannah Beck

2. For me, this transcript shows our responsibility to the environment
in stunning bluntness.
An Inconvenient Truth - Al Gore
"See that pale blue dot. That's us. Everything that has ever happened
in all of human history has happened on that pixel. All the triumphs
and all the tragedies, all the wars, all the famines, all the major
advances: it's our only home. And that is what is at stake: our ability
to live on planet Earth, to have a future as a civilization.
I believe this is a moral issue. It is your time to seize this issue. It is our
time to rise again to secure our future.
Future generations may well have occasion to ask themselves.
"What were our parents thinking? Why didn't they wake up when
they had a chance?"
We have to hear that question from them, now."
(A transcript from the film An Inconvenient Truth, 2006)

3. We‟re not the basis of all existence.
Humanity once thought the whole world revolved around them. We
once thought that the earth had prepared itself for the sole purpose
of our existence. Oh, how wrong we were.We‟re a small dot in a
huge, never ending universe.
Life, almost definitely, does not revolve around us.
This teaches us that there are other things, besides humanity, that are
important. And, because they are important, I believe we have a
responsibility to care for them.
Non-human animals, flora and the environment are all important and
have the right to continue on living, as they have been for millions of
years.

4. We‟re not the basis of all existence.
We‟re a species on earth among many others, a
society on earth among many others and Earth,
our home, is a planet among many others.
We‟re not the Basis of all Existence.

5. Our survival depends on the environment.
It‟s that simple.
“…it's our only home. And that is what is at stake”, Al
Gore hit it right on the dot. We, as a society, have a
HUGE responsibility to care for the environment. It‟s
our home! There‟s no where else for us to go if we
ruin this one.
We can‟t live on Marsor Jupiter or Neptune…

6. We‟re responsible for the Future
Generations
Future Generations should have the chance to
experience the wonderful, daily things we take
for granted.

7. Every morning, I go for a run in a beautiful, wildlife
reserve, just down the road. This sanctuary is filled with
kookaburras, beautiful black cockatoos, frogs, ponds and
so many different floras. In fact, it‟s home to 142
indigenous plants, many of which are not found
elsewhere in the municipality.
I‟m afraid that our lifestyles will be the downfall of beautiful
wildlife sanctuaries such as these. And, one day I‟m
afraid that the FutureGenerationswon‟t be able to see
these places.
As we have the chance to experience these “Lands For
Wildlife”, generations to come should have the
opportunity to see them too.

8. Although, not everything we‟re doing is having a negative
impact on the environment.
• Australia and many other countries are trying to improve its way of living.
We use
other
means of creating electricity that does not create pollution or contribute to the
Greenhouse effect.
• Solar Power
• Wind Power
• Hydro Power
• Geothermal energy
And, one day I hope they‟ll completely replace other means of creating
electricity that
produce pollution, like using fossil fuels.

9. • We have organizations that are determined to
make Australia „greener’.

10. • We‟re educating students about the effects
their lifestyles are having on the environment
and ways they can help reduce their ecological
footprint.

11. • We‟re also learning from
the past. The long
drought Victoria went
through really taught us
how to use water wisely.
It taught us better habits
and forced us into being
efficient with our water
use.

12. So, maybe humanity does have a fighting
chance. But, there‟s a long way to go.