ABSTRACT
We human beings transform the earth we are living on. We interfere in its evolution and its normal cycles to the point that we jeopardize its natural evolution and equilibriums. Our impact on these natural balances has been getting dramatically more damaging. Once, we could legitimately question whether our actions mattered or not. Now we are increasingly aware of the economic costs of the changes we have triggered. The diversity of species on earth may be seen as essential from the point of view of the contemplative philosopher, but it is more serious and urgent to assess its essential role in our lives from a materialist point of view. We cannot ignore it any longer. This is why the European Union (EU) decision makers took steps to address this problem in the 1990s.
