Environmental Stewardship

In 2005, the United States Environmental Protection Agency published a report entitled “Everyday Choices: Opportunities for Environmental Stewardship”. In this report, the concept of environmental stewardship is roughly defined as “the responsibility for environmental quality...that can be reflected through the choices of individuals, companies, communities, and government organizations. Let's digress, and take a moment to consider the other social responsibilities that we are required to honor as contributing members of society. Our country, world even, is harnessed with laws that aim to prevent and/or punish large scale acts of crime against humanity. Thus, we each share the responsibility of remaining mindful of our actions, and preventing actions that inhibit the progression of humanity, and our concept of peace. How does this affect the concept of environmental stewardship? Is this an ideal that we hope to embrace, and if necessary, implement through local environmental laws? Or should negligent acts that affect the environment be considered as large scale crimes against humanity, as well as peace?

Polly Higgins, an environmental activist who has sought to introduce the concept of “ecocide” into the structure of international law, seems to favor the latter option. In terms of linguistics, her argument certainly makes sense. The term “cide” is derived from the Latin verb “caedare” which means “to kill”, which, when paired with the term “eco”, conveys the sense of large scale destruction the environment. Other acts that are considered “crimes against peace” include war crimes, the extermination of large groups of belief based on their values, as well as the initiation of war. Does the environment and peace go hand in hand? Mrs. Higgins has authored a book that might provide more insight into her claim, and make for a great read. The book is entitled, “Eradicating Ecocide: Laws and Governance to Prevent the Destruction of our Planet”. See if you can get the book at your local library, if not, try purchase a used copy and be sure to recycle it. We would love to hear your opinion about this or any other blogs that you fly across during your time on our site, feel free to visit our Registration Page to create an account and share your thoughts with us!