ABSTRACT
Some of our constraints come from the laws of science. In order to split hydrogen atoms from oxygen atoms in water, we must heat water to 2,800oC. Other constraints are imposed by our own will. We set public and personal policies and determine what is socially acceptable. We choose our goals and our paths toward them, and decide where to draw the line when it comes to the burdens our lifestyle imposes on others. Although some human constraints seem imperturbable, the last two decades of the twentieth century brought the fall of the Berlin Wall which divided East and West Germany, the formal end of racially oppressive apartheid in South Africa, and “perestroika” in Asia that restructured the Soviet political and economic systems. It is clear that sea changes are possible, even when they involve teaching old humans new tricks. American philosopher and naturalist Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) wrote, “I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.” Given that society’s treatment of the environment and natural resources is similarly subject to human discretion, this chapter explains approaches to the elemental ethical dimension of our choices.
