Why to Preserve the Environment

    Many times, I have heard people talking about the importance of protecting the environment for the sake of preserving human life. It’s true. If we aren’t careful about our environmental impact, we will destroy our surroundings in such a way that they will be unable to support us any longer. Humans will die. I remember our Transcendentalist unit in eleventh grade English class; we were studying Emerson and Thoreau, and one of the students interpreted a poem as being about the resilience of nature. She said that, even if humans die off, something will survive and continue to live in the new environment that has no humans. These beings will continue to evolve and adapt, and the environment around them will also evolve and adapt after humans have stopped abusing it. And eventually, the environment will thrive, although it will be completely different from before. In this way, nature will survive. Nature will always survive. When people say they want to “save the planet” or “preserve the environment,” they generally mean they want to preserve the environment that supports human life. And many people think they shouldn’t bother trying because, by the time the environment won’t support them, they will be dead as well as many future generations.
    It seems to me that there are two common opinions on this issue: that it is necessary to protect the environment for the sake of humanity, and that it is unnecessary to worry about the environment because humans will kill themselves off but the environment will continue to exist. I agree that it is a solace to know that the environment will adapt despite our abuse of it, but for me the main issue is not necessarily preserving the environment for human habitation. Humans made foolish choices that brought them to this predicament. If they are going to die because they disrespected their environment, then it is their fault. But we should try to stop damaging the environment for its own sake. Not for the sake of it’s future, because it will have a future no matter what. But in order to stop us from inflicting pain on the creatures who can feel it. When we pollute ecosystems, animals suffer greatly. And when certain species go extinct because of it, their unique value will be lost forever.
    In one of my other classes, we recently read one philosopher’s opinion on environmental problems: that we are obligated to preserve the environment for the sake of future generations of humans, and not for the sake of the environment itself. We considered this scenario: what if humans were all going to die, and there would soon be no more human race? This philosopher would say that we could just do whatever we wanted to the planet and use all the resources. According to him, the earth is meaningless except to serve us. I completely disagree. Although, sadly, many people do think that the earth does have this one purpose. When preserving the environment, it is important to remember why it is we are preserving it. Any of these reasons is valid, but the reason will change the details in what we do, such as whether to protect one innocent life or sacrifice it.