By ACE Field Correspondent Yooni, student at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago, IL

Ethical generalizations are a way to determine what to do in moral situations, which occur daily. One widely accepted moral “rule” is to be responsible in socially significant relationships. This should be applied to the relationship between us and the environment and it is therefore wrong to ignore the environmental issues that press us today.

You may question the responsibility that comes with significant relationships and ask why there are specific duties in these relationships. Without this, these relationships would have no meaning.

For example, in looking at the relationship between parents and their children, there are certain duties. However, if all people did not have responsibility despite the relationship, then “family” would fall apart. If I didn’t have parents or such figures, I would be deprived of a childhood, and I probably wouldn’t live to become an adult.

Usually children support their elderly parents in turn– but in this sort of world, this would not exist. The lack of support system, which often defines a family, would completely disappear. Therefore responsibility is attached to relationships.

The relationship between the environment and humans must be a significant relationship. Many may argue that there is no relationship, but how else would the giving and taking from the environment be defined? There is a clear trend in the population of certain areas and the viability of the environment overall. The environment provides the necessities for life. Similarly, the environment is heavily affected by the presence of humans, more than that of any other organism. For instance, if I disregarded this relationship, it would hurt the environment and me.

If I littered into Lake Michigan every day, more fish and animals would be found dead. Then if I needed to fish for food, I would be poisoned. If I needed water, I could die because it was poisoned. If two things need each other to survive, what stops it from being a significant relationship, even if it is not between two humans?

Thus, humans have a responsibility to the environment. As the environment already fulfills certain duties to me, I should reciprocate that relationship. There are no one-sided relationships. Since the environment helps me survive, I must give back.

Some of the things I do are to reuse paper (which is one of my DOTs, among other things), reduce my waste, and recycle as much as I can. This way, I emit less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and decrease my negative impact. Unless I maintain or better the condition of the environment, I am making it worse – not fulfilling my responsibility. By ignoring the condition of the Earth, I hurt myself and I would be destroying the possible happiness and health of future generations. This is a universal relationship and so responsibility because all humans live on Earth. Therefore, it cannot be ethical to ignore the current environmental issues as it would be like a parent ignoring the cry of a hurt child.