Environmental Ethics

Author(s): S M Jain
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

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most importantly the oil on which is based most of the economy and even agriculture all over the globe are being exploited so much that their known reserves may not last for over 200-300 years. Then the entire edifice of our civilisation will crumble down as the cracks are already visible. The present level of exploitation is so high that nothing will be left for future generations though it is the duty of every generation to pass on the treasures of nature for future generations as they got it. It is paradoxical rather oxymoron that on the one hand we love our future progenies and on the other hand we are accentuating the adverse conditions for them. The natural resources are finite and demands to satisfy increasing greed and consumerism of fast multiplying people are infinite. The mismatch between demand and carrying capacity of natural resources is increasing and is eating away the very resource base for all life-forms including humans.
Paradox:
Though we humans are biologically the best and highest evolved species at the top on biospheric pyramid, endowed with maximum size of brain and clinical power of reasoning and have made phenomenal advance in science and technology with formidable wealth of knowledge as never before yet our hedonist disposition with built-in mechanism for self-destruction brings us down to the level of a greatest fool of a parable who was cutting the same branch of the tree on which he was sitting and also like the greedy person in another popular story who butchered the hen which was laying one golden egg every day. Unfortunately the prevalent, recognised and established economic theories prescribe consumerism as an index of development. Nations, societies and people are considered developed and even more civilised on the basis of their scale of consumption. This has triggered mad race for more and more consumerism in tendentious pursuit of unsatiable sensuous pleasures ignoring the fundamental
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