Preserving the Planet: A Moral Issue
As individuals, each person does not fully realize their impact on the collective whole of humanity. In both negative and positive aspects, people do not recognize the destructive potential of their behaviors, nor can they always predict the beneficial effects of their constructive actions. This is especially true in regards to the environment and climate change. As a human race, people must realize that certain lifestyles and production of materials are causing detrimental changes in many parts of the world. These changes also impact other human beings and endangered animals that call these places home, which makes environmental protection an issue of moral concern. With his encyclical, Laudato Si, Pope Francis strongly emphasizes his belief that environmental changes are caused by humans and must be tended to by humans. He thoroughly describes the many issues faced around the world in his 192-page encyclical that he addressed to everyone. “Pesticides have contaminated farmers’ soil. Air pollution has poisoned cities. Man-made waste checkers landscapes. There’s not enough clean water for people to drink or tropical forests to regulate carbon in the atmosphere. Whole species of animals are dying out” (Green, 2015). These issues are ruining the sustainability of the planet, as well as …show more content…
As the Pope stated, “There are too many special interests, and economic interests easily end up trumping the common good” (Green, 2015). The politicians that are endorsed by or have other ties to big corporations want to downplay climate change to protect their comfortable lifestyles and positions. Plenty of politicians will go so far as to say that climate change does not even exist, and these are just natural changes that have happened throughout
As individuals, each person does not fully realize their impact on the collective whole of humanity. In both negative and positive aspects, people do not recognize the destructive potential of their behaviors, nor can they always predict the beneficial effects of their constructive actions. This is especially true in regards to the environment and climate change. As a human race, people must realize that certain lifestyles and production of materials are causing detrimental changes in many parts of the world. These changes also impact other human beings and endangered animals that call these places home, which makes environmental protection an issue of moral concern. With his encyclical, Laudato Si, Pope Francis strongly emphasizes his belief that environmental changes are caused by humans and must be tended to by humans. He thoroughly describes the many issues faced around the world in his 192-page encyclical that he addressed to everyone. “Pesticides have contaminated farmers’ soil. Air pollution has poisoned cities. Man-made waste checkers landscapes. There’s not enough clean water for people to drink or tropical forests to regulate carbon in the atmosphere. Whole species of animals are dying out” (Green, 2015). These issues are ruining the sustainability of the planet, as well as …show more content…
As the Pope stated, “There are too many special interests, and economic interests easily end up trumping the common good” (Green, 2015). The politicians that are endorsed by or have other ties to big corporations want to downplay climate change to protect their comfortable lifestyles and positions. Plenty of politicians will go so far as to say that climate change does not even exist, and these are just natural changes that have happened throughout