Ten Principles for Ecological Action

I used this list in my last module when teaching Environmental Ethics between 2018-2022. They are not doctrines but principles that I think are worth thinking about in relation to environmental action.

  1. No single narrative or movement will save us; but we must each find a deep sense of meaning and purpose in this world and act from there.
  2. There is no time for despair, but there is plenty of room for it.
  3. Supremacy is not the same as primacy. We are not separate from the earth, but we do have unique capabilities and responsibilities to the rest of our earth community.
  4. There will always be markets in society; but we should avoid ending up with a market-society. 
  5. Technology is not the enemy nor ours savior, therefore it must be expressed and harnessed by an ever ethically vigilant people.
  6. In light of new ideas and propositions, we should embody the Precautionary Principle without being reactionary.    
  7. Wonder is a virtue that we should cultivate, just as dogmatism is a vice that we should avoid.
  8. Everything we do matters. But nothing we do matters a great deal more than what others propose we do.
  9. We need all hands on deck: Top down and bottom up; deontology and utility; religion and science; politics and personalism; technology and simplicity.
  10. The dragon of capitalism is at fault for the global ecological crisis; but we will have a better chance of making change if we can tame the dragon, rather than try to kill it (for now).

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