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Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril
Moral Ground brings together the testimony of over eighty visionaries—theologians and religious leaders, scientists, elected officials, business leaders, naturalists, activists, and writers—to present a diverse and compelling call to honor our individual and collective moral responsibility to our planet. In the face of environmental degradation and global climate change, scientific knowledge alone does not tell us what we ought to do. The missing premise of the argument and much-needed center piece in the debate to date has been the need for ethical values, moral guidance, and principled reasons for doing the right thing for our planet, its animals, its plants, and its people.
Contributors from throughout the world (including North America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe) bring forth a rich variety of heritages and perspectives. Their contributions take many forms, illustrating the rich variety of ways we express our moral beliefs in letters, poems, economic analyses, proclamations, essays, and stories. In the end, their voices affirm why we must move beyond a scientific study and response to embrace an ongoing model of repair and sustainability. These writings demonstrate that scientific analysis and moral conviction can work successfully side-by-side.
This is a book that can speak to anyone, regardless of his or her worldview, and that also includes a section devoted to “what next” thinking that helps the reader put the words and ideas into action in their personal lives. Thanks to generous support from numerous landmark organizations, such as the Kendeda Fund and Germeshausen Foundation, the book is just the starting point for a national, and international, discussion that will be carried out in a variety of ways, from online debate to “town hall” meetings, from essay competitions for youth to sermons from pulpits in all denominations. The “Moral Ground movement” will result in a newly discovered, or rediscovered, commitment on a personal and community level to consensus about our ethical obligation to the future.
Contributors from throughout the world (including North America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe) bring forth a rich variety of heritages and perspectives. Their contributions take many forms, illustrating the rich variety of ways we express our moral beliefs in letters, poems, economic analyses, proclamations, essays, and stories. In the end, their voices affirm why we must move beyond a scientific study and response to embrace an ongoing model of repair and sustainability. These writings demonstrate that scientific analysis and moral conviction can work successfully side-by-side.
This is a book that can speak to anyone, regardless of his or her worldview, and that also includes a section devoted to “what next” thinking that helps the reader put the words and ideas into action in their personal lives. Thanks to generous support from numerous landmark organizations, such as the Kendeda Fund and Germeshausen Foundation, the book is just the starting point for a national, and international, discussion that will be carried out in a variety of ways, from online debate to “town hall” meetings, from essay competitions for youth to sermons from pulpits in all denominations. The “Moral Ground movement” will result in a newly discovered, or rediscovered, commitment on a personal and community level to consensus about our ethical obligation to the future.
464 pages, Hardcover
First published August 31, 2010
76 people are currently reading
923 people want to read
About the author
Kathleen Dean Moore
41 books159 followersEnvironmental philosopher Kathleen Dean Moore writes about moral, spiritual, and cultural relationships to the natural world. In 2000 she founded the Spring Creek Project at Oregon State, which brings together the practical wisdom of the environmental sciences, the clarity of philosophy, and the emotive power of the written word to re-imagine humankind’s relation to the natural world. In addition to her philosophical writing for professional journals, Moore is the author of several books of nature essays, including Wild Comfort: The Solace of Nature; Riverwalking; and The Pine Island Paradox, winner of the Oregon Book Award.
A graduate of Wooster College (1969), Moore earned her M.A. (1972) and Ph.D. (1977) from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in the philosophy of law, with a focus on the nature of forgiveness and reconciliation. At Oregon State, she teaches environmental ethics, the philosophy of nature, and a variety of courses for OSU’s new master’s program in environmental leadership. She is also co-author of a new Environmental Humanities Initiative, which integrates science and humanities to provide leadership for complex times.
A graduate of Wooster College (1969), Moore earned her M.A. (1972) and Ph.D. (1977) from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in the philosophy of law, with a focus on the nature of forgiveness and reconciliation. At Oregon State, she teaches environmental ethics, the philosophy of nature, and a variety of courses for OSU’s new master’s program in environmental leadership. She is also co-author of a new Environmental Humanities Initiative, which integrates science and humanities to provide leadership for complex times.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
January 8, 2018
"When the climate-changing impact of our daily activities is brought to our attention, we often sink into denial or depression. Most of us do not see ourselves as living luxuriously. We feel we are only doing what we must in order to get by. It is difficult for us to imagine how we would live without driving, heating our homes in the conventional way, and eating our normal diets. Not everyone has a subway that they can take to get to work, not everyone can afford to pay more for 'green energy' from their local power company, and not everyone can afford to shop at Whole Foods. People are too busy just trying to make ends meet to garden, read labels, or engage in debates about sustainable living. One of the greatest paradoxes of our time is that the citizens of the richest, most consumptive nation in the history of the world see themselves as trapped by their own lifestyles. Their wealth and ability to command resources has only made them feel more dependent on forces outside themselves, rather than giving them a sense of freedom or a view of what might lie beyond the way in which we now live." - Dale Jamieson
I recently finished reading Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril. It is a collection of all sorts of different viewpoints that attempt to persuade toward a common goal regarding the treatment of the earth. I found some that really spoke to me and that I really enjoyed--five star essays. Others were not as persuasive, and some I had disagreements with in particulars. But overall, I found this book to be very valuable to me and I greatly appreciated the perspectives. I think the views in the paragraph I quoted at the top are common and are commonly felt by many who feel helpless to do anything about the situation or feel little hope that doing anything will actually make any difference.
Of the essays in Moral Ground, the ones that really spoke to me and influenced me the most were these:
Spray Glue Goes. Maggots Stay. - Carly Lettero
A Life Worth Living - Dale Jamieson
Why Should I Inconvenience Myself? - Mary Catherine Bateson
A Manifesto to North American Middle-Class Christians - Sallie McFague
Ethics as if Tomorrow Mattered - Carl Pope
Sustainability as a Founding Principle of the United States - Michael M. Crow
Chapter 14 Intro - Presumably by the Editors, Kathleen Dean Moore and Michael P. Nelson (quoted below)
Moral Responsibility Is the Price of Progress - Ernest Partridge
"If we think it is wrong to poison children, then why would we buy poisons? If we think it is wrong to poison the air, then shouldn't we ride bicycles? If we object to habitat destruction, why would we ever shop at that mall? The suggestion that individual choices make no difference--that they won't impact the world, help the future, stop global climate change--is entirely irrelevant. The suggestion that such a life requires renouncing wealth or fame or power? Irrelevant. The suggestion that it is challenging, maybe impossible, to live a life at right angles to the structures of society? Irrelevant. Our own integrity requires us to strive to do what is right, because that is what we believe is right." - Chapter 14 Intro
When I read non-fiction, I like stuff that persuades, illuminates, and expands. The five-star essays in this compilation leave me feeling glad I read it. I've lived in Oregon for a few years now, and I never felt like a "tree-hugger" or like I fit well with many of the Oregon stereotypes. But in some ways maybe I do--I like to bike, I love the green, I just installed solar thanks to supportive governments and trusts, I generally dislike waste in all its forms, I believe in sustainable living, I buy renewable power, etc. I need to do more and change many of my ways. We all do. I recommend this book, if only for those essays that persuaded me or for the ones that may persuade you.
I recently finished reading Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril. It is a collection of all sorts of different viewpoints that attempt to persuade toward a common goal regarding the treatment of the earth. I found some that really spoke to me and that I really enjoyed--five star essays. Others were not as persuasive, and some I had disagreements with in particulars. But overall, I found this book to be very valuable to me and I greatly appreciated the perspectives. I think the views in the paragraph I quoted at the top are common and are commonly felt by many who feel helpless to do anything about the situation or feel little hope that doing anything will actually make any difference.
Of the essays in Moral Ground, the ones that really spoke to me and influenced me the most were these:
Spray Glue Goes. Maggots Stay. - Carly Lettero
A Life Worth Living - Dale Jamieson
Why Should I Inconvenience Myself? - Mary Catherine Bateson
A Manifesto to North American Middle-Class Christians - Sallie McFague
Ethics as if Tomorrow Mattered - Carl Pope
Sustainability as a Founding Principle of the United States - Michael M. Crow
Chapter 14 Intro - Presumably by the Editors, Kathleen Dean Moore and Michael P. Nelson (quoted below)
Moral Responsibility Is the Price of Progress - Ernest Partridge
"If we think it is wrong to poison children, then why would we buy poisons? If we think it is wrong to poison the air, then shouldn't we ride bicycles? If we object to habitat destruction, why would we ever shop at that mall? The suggestion that individual choices make no difference--that they won't impact the world, help the future, stop global climate change--is entirely irrelevant. The suggestion that such a life requires renouncing wealth or fame or power? Irrelevant. The suggestion that it is challenging, maybe impossible, to live a life at right angles to the structures of society? Irrelevant. Our own integrity requires us to strive to do what is right, because that is what we believe is right." - Chapter 14 Intro
When I read non-fiction, I like stuff that persuades, illuminates, and expands. The five-star essays in this compilation leave me feeling glad I read it. I've lived in Oregon for a few years now, and I never felt like a "tree-hugger" or like I fit well with many of the Oregon stereotypes. But in some ways maybe I do--I like to bike, I love the green, I just installed solar thanks to supportive governments and trusts, I generally dislike waste in all its forms, I believe in sustainable living, I buy renewable power, etc. I need to do more and change many of my ways. We all do. I recommend this book, if only for those essays that persuaded me or for the ones that may persuade you.
March 29, 2012
This book of 80+ essays on the moral and ethical issues surrounding climate change—its impacts on humanity as well as the environment—changed the way I interpret climate change to my audiences. The pieces are authored by people from various backgrounds: from the Dalai Lama to E.O. Wilson, from Bill McKibben to Tri Robinson. The essays helped me realize that it is not so much about explaining the science behind what is happening, but sharing stories about people and traditions being forced to change as a result of our changing climate. Some essays shocked me. Some essays made me laugh. Some essays made me cry. Some essays made me want to share the story in them with every single person I know.
So much of how we live our lives is about belief, and I have come to understand that belief is the foundation on which we must build interpretation. People will act based on what they believe to be right, good, ethical, moral. In the introduction, editors Kathleen Dean Moore and Michael P. Nelson speak to this directly: “An act is right if it increases or enhances what we value, wrong if it reduces or destroys what we think of as good.” As interpreters, we must discover the values that underpin personal beliefs and translate the language of climate science into the language of the values behind those beliefs.
This book is a must read for everyone who gives a damn about what sort of person they are and what happens to our future and the planet. Not every essay hit home for me but enough of them stirred deep reflection (and sometimes tears) to make me rethink how I want to be as person and how I will live my life.
So much of how we live our lives is about belief, and I have come to understand that belief is the foundation on which we must build interpretation. People will act based on what they believe to be right, good, ethical, moral. In the introduction, editors Kathleen Dean Moore and Michael P. Nelson speak to this directly: “An act is right if it increases or enhances what we value, wrong if it reduces or destroys what we think of as good.” As interpreters, we must discover the values that underpin personal beliefs and translate the language of climate science into the language of the values behind those beliefs.
This book is a must read for everyone who gives a damn about what sort of person they are and what happens to our future and the planet. Not every essay hit home for me but enough of them stirred deep reflection (and sometimes tears) to make me rethink how I want to be as person and how I will live my life.
October 29, 2013
Here's a book review I wrote for the Cascadia Weekly in March 2010:
Because of humanity’s addiction to fossil fuels, we are warming our planet beneath a cloak of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.
Here in Washington State, rising temperatures and a warmer climate are causing our glaciers to melt faster than they can replenish themselves. This is leading us towards a future with less fresh water for agriculture and drinking and less resources for inexpensive hydroelectric generation. Over 40 of our coastal communities are threatened by rising sea levels. Sagebrush-steppe and alpine ecosystems will disappear as the tree line shifts, and growing seasons are changing in unpredictable ways. The loss of several amphibian species, alterations in bird and butterfly migratory patterns and invasions of unchecked, voracious insect infestations are already underway. Ocean acidification is choking the abundant life in Puget Sound and bays of the outer coast. Eastside forests are drying up and wildland fires will become more prevalent. We humans will face a deadly spike in infectious, respiratory and heat-related illnesses as the natural world around us smolders.
Heard this laundry list of doom before? Most likely you have, and it’s because scientists have done an impressive job of both studying the phenomenon of global climate change and communicating the causes and effects to the public. The effort has be so heroic that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change.”
While the data, interpretations and subsequent warnings from the scientific community are essential pieces of this puzzle, Kathleen Dean Moore, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Oregon State University, recognized that something was missing. Moore, the author of personal essay/nature writing books like Riverwalking, Holdfast and Wild Comfort, teaches environmental ethics and moral reasoning to students and she soon realized that the scientists’ arguments, no matter how comprehensive, were not going to inspire us to act to save our world.
“Clearly, information is not enough,” she writes. “A piece is largely missing from the public discourse about climate change: namely an affirmation of our moral responsibilities in the world that the scientists describe. No amount of factual information will tell us what we ought to do. For that, we need moral convictions.”
In Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril, Moore and co-editor Michael Nelson assemble 80 of the world’s leading visionaries, leaders and writers to create a compelling call to action. The goal of the anthology is to confront the challenges of climate change based on moral and ethical grounds. It is a chorus featuring the sterling voices of the Dalai Lama, Barack Obama, Desmond Tutu, John Paul II, Barbara Kingsolver, Paul Hawken, Thich Naht Hanh, E.O. Wilson, Wendell Berry, Bill McKibben, Terry Tempest Williams, Gary Snyder, bell hooks and many others from cultures and countries around the globe.
“Do we have a moral obligation to take action to protect the future of a planet in peril?” the editors asked of their contributors, “and if so, why?”
The answers – inspiring, creative, sobering and grounded in reason – are presented in thematic clusters, including “Yes, for the survival of humankind,” “Yes, to honor our duties of gratitude and reciprocity, “Yes, for the stewardship of God’s creation, “Yes, because justice demands it,” “Yes, because the world is beautiful.”
Moral Ground strives to start the conversation about “who we are when we are at out best, what we must do to be worthy of our gifts” and how we might live on Earth “respectfully, responsibly and joyously.” These are essential questions to ponder here at the most crucial turning point our planet has ever faced.
Kathleen Dean Moore
Because of humanity’s addiction to fossil fuels, we are warming our planet beneath a cloak of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.
Here in Washington State, rising temperatures and a warmer climate are causing our glaciers to melt faster than they can replenish themselves. This is leading us towards a future with less fresh water for agriculture and drinking and less resources for inexpensive hydroelectric generation. Over 40 of our coastal communities are threatened by rising sea levels. Sagebrush-steppe and alpine ecosystems will disappear as the tree line shifts, and growing seasons are changing in unpredictable ways. The loss of several amphibian species, alterations in bird and butterfly migratory patterns and invasions of unchecked, voracious insect infestations are already underway. Ocean acidification is choking the abundant life in Puget Sound and bays of the outer coast. Eastside forests are drying up and wildland fires will become more prevalent. We humans will face a deadly spike in infectious, respiratory and heat-related illnesses as the natural world around us smolders.
Heard this laundry list of doom before? Most likely you have, and it’s because scientists have done an impressive job of both studying the phenomenon of global climate change and communicating the causes and effects to the public. The effort has be so heroic that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change.”
While the data, interpretations and subsequent warnings from the scientific community are essential pieces of this puzzle, Kathleen Dean Moore, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Oregon State University, recognized that something was missing. Moore, the author of personal essay/nature writing books like Riverwalking, Holdfast and Wild Comfort, teaches environmental ethics and moral reasoning to students and she soon realized that the scientists’ arguments, no matter how comprehensive, were not going to inspire us to act to save our world.
“Clearly, information is not enough,” she writes. “A piece is largely missing from the public discourse about climate change: namely an affirmation of our moral responsibilities in the world that the scientists describe. No amount of factual information will tell us what we ought to do. For that, we need moral convictions.”
In Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril, Moore and co-editor Michael Nelson assemble 80 of the world’s leading visionaries, leaders and writers to create a compelling call to action. The goal of the anthology is to confront the challenges of climate change based on moral and ethical grounds. It is a chorus featuring the sterling voices of the Dalai Lama, Barack Obama, Desmond Tutu, John Paul II, Barbara Kingsolver, Paul Hawken, Thich Naht Hanh, E.O. Wilson, Wendell Berry, Bill McKibben, Terry Tempest Williams, Gary Snyder, bell hooks and many others from cultures and countries around the globe.
“Do we have a moral obligation to take action to protect the future of a planet in peril?” the editors asked of their contributors, “and if so, why?”
The answers – inspiring, creative, sobering and grounded in reason – are presented in thematic clusters, including “Yes, for the survival of humankind,” “Yes, to honor our duties of gratitude and reciprocity, “Yes, for the stewardship of God’s creation, “Yes, because justice demands it,” “Yes, because the world is beautiful.”
Moral Ground strives to start the conversation about “who we are when we are at out best, what we must do to be worthy of our gifts” and how we might live on Earth “respectfully, responsibly and joyously.” These are essential questions to ponder here at the most crucial turning point our planet has ever faced.
Kathleen Dean Moore
April 12, 2015
We are living through the most overpopulated, wasteful, and polluted moment in human history. In response to the increasing data and alarm regarding the problem of climate change, many people have begun searching for philosophical and practical frameworks to illuminate how we can reduce our participation in environmental destruction and start healing Earth’s depleted ecosystems. Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril is a collection of essays offering a wide range of thoughts and emotions about the various ways people and societies can respond to the climate crisis.
To fill out this nearly 500-page volume, editors Kathleen Dean Moore and Michael P. Nelson assembled an all-star cast of more than 80 cultural, scientific, and environmental activists. Although it’s refreshing to encounter so many different personalities and approaches, one of the book’s weaknesses is that by and large the essays are too short to outline more than cursory plans of action (many are a mere 3-4 pages). Moral Ground is long on sentiment and righteous preaching, but short on concrete, comprehensive climate solutions. Still, there are plenty of reasonable, actionable, and even a few delightfully irrational perspectives to be found, even as the “save the world” echo chamber––like our imperiled civilization––feels a bit overcrowded.
Despite each author’s good intentions, I couldn’t help but raise a skeptical eyebrow at many of the essays, especially the ones that presupposed some sort of naturalized divinity or inherent value in the human species. I’m too stupefied by our insignificance on the cosmic scale and too discontented with our slow-motion jabs at efficacious action to take such notions seriously. This view is stated nicely in Robert Michael Pyle’s essay “Evening Falls on the Maladaptive Ape”:
Our moral imperative to turn down the heat is merely our mandate from nature to adapt––to survive. But fat chance we’ve got, now. For this species, and many others we are dragging down with us, it is late in the game…I doubt very much that the culture we know will long persist, absent truly radical changes in the way it works. We are the maladaptive ape, at twilight. Evolution will mock our tardy rage. (128)
Ironically, the majority of these essays deepened my cynicism about whether or not we will muster anything close to the energy and resources necessary for a just transition to a sustainable future. The ideas and actions advocated for in this book––from best to worst––are so antithetical to the currently prevailing economic, corporate, and political trends that oftentimes the only rational conclusion seems to be the one Pyle articulates with such crushing poignancy. I retain some small hope that this outlook is an artifact of personal myopia mingled with a sublimated longing for the anthro-apocalypse, but not much.
I was on the verge of writing this book off as nothing more than a cheerless tour of all the reasons why humanity is totally screwed, but a couple of the final essays revived my personal stake in the book by offering a strangely palatable salve for my growing misanthropy. Michael P. Nelson’s “To a Future Without Hope” helped me realize that much of my frustration about the climate problem is linked to my perceived powerlessness to bring about changes that feel beyond my control. Nelson advocates a turn away from consequence-based climate action in favor of virtue ethics:
Turning our backs on hope might be the best thing we can do at this moment in time…I am calling for us to satisfy our obligation to the future by suggesting that we ignore, or at least greatly downplay, the consequences of our actions. I am suggesting instead that our obligation to the future is most properly satisfied when we act rightly and virtuously, and when our motivation stands stubbornly apart from, not held hostage to, the consequences of our actions. (460-1)
I had to read this passage a few times because it felt so counter-intuitive. Isn’t climate action all about consequences? If we work hard but ultimately fail to bring about the right consequences (i.e. less environmental destruction and more just, sustainable human communities), then it was all for nothing, right? This is true to an extent, but Nelson helped me realize that linking my personal choices to large scale climate outcomes is not only self-defeating, but also paralyzing. Naively hoping for a better future that no single person could actually bring about might be preventing me from taking certain actions that are in accordance with my deepest values and aspirations. Better to doggedly pursue a more virtuous version of myself (one who incorporates active participation in climate justice into his definition of virtue) and not give a shit whether or not the world decides to play along. This kind of self-righteous attitude has its limitations, but also appeals to me as a motivating force in ways that more common arguments about why we should fight to ameliorate climate damage just don’t.
This sentiment was compounded by a passage from Paul Hawken’s “The Most Amazing Challenge”: “Forget that this task of planet-saving is not possible in the time required. Don’t be put off by people who know what is not possible. Do what needs to be done, and check to see if it was impossible only after you are done” (464). This kind of language usually sends me into fits of rage, but I actually think this constitutes a special case in which it makes sense to embrace what is, at least superficially, an irrational notion. Anthropogenic climate change is an unprecedented challenge, and none of us can say with certainty that we know how it will turn out. So why concern myself with any particular outcome? Why not simply seek out and commit myself to doing “what needs to be done,” and to hell with the rest of it? Why not indeed.
This review was originally published on my blog, words&dirt.
To fill out this nearly 500-page volume, editors Kathleen Dean Moore and Michael P. Nelson assembled an all-star cast of more than 80 cultural, scientific, and environmental activists. Although it’s refreshing to encounter so many different personalities and approaches, one of the book’s weaknesses is that by and large the essays are too short to outline more than cursory plans of action (many are a mere 3-4 pages). Moral Ground is long on sentiment and righteous preaching, but short on concrete, comprehensive climate solutions. Still, there are plenty of reasonable, actionable, and even a few delightfully irrational perspectives to be found, even as the “save the world” echo chamber––like our imperiled civilization––feels a bit overcrowded.
Despite each author’s good intentions, I couldn’t help but raise a skeptical eyebrow at many of the essays, especially the ones that presupposed some sort of naturalized divinity or inherent value in the human species. I’m too stupefied by our insignificance on the cosmic scale and too discontented with our slow-motion jabs at efficacious action to take such notions seriously. This view is stated nicely in Robert Michael Pyle’s essay “Evening Falls on the Maladaptive Ape”:
Our moral imperative to turn down the heat is merely our mandate from nature to adapt––to survive. But fat chance we’ve got, now. For this species, and many others we are dragging down with us, it is late in the game…I doubt very much that the culture we know will long persist, absent truly radical changes in the way it works. We are the maladaptive ape, at twilight. Evolution will mock our tardy rage. (128)
Ironically, the majority of these essays deepened my cynicism about whether or not we will muster anything close to the energy and resources necessary for a just transition to a sustainable future. The ideas and actions advocated for in this book––from best to worst––are so antithetical to the currently prevailing economic, corporate, and political trends that oftentimes the only rational conclusion seems to be the one Pyle articulates with such crushing poignancy. I retain some small hope that this outlook is an artifact of personal myopia mingled with a sublimated longing for the anthro-apocalypse, but not much.
I was on the verge of writing this book off as nothing more than a cheerless tour of all the reasons why humanity is totally screwed, but a couple of the final essays revived my personal stake in the book by offering a strangely palatable salve for my growing misanthropy. Michael P. Nelson’s “To a Future Without Hope” helped me realize that much of my frustration about the climate problem is linked to my perceived powerlessness to bring about changes that feel beyond my control. Nelson advocates a turn away from consequence-based climate action in favor of virtue ethics:
Turning our backs on hope might be the best thing we can do at this moment in time…I am calling for us to satisfy our obligation to the future by suggesting that we ignore, or at least greatly downplay, the consequences of our actions. I am suggesting instead that our obligation to the future is most properly satisfied when we act rightly and virtuously, and when our motivation stands stubbornly apart from, not held hostage to, the consequences of our actions. (460-1)
I had to read this passage a few times because it felt so counter-intuitive. Isn’t climate action all about consequences? If we work hard but ultimately fail to bring about the right consequences (i.e. less environmental destruction and more just, sustainable human communities), then it was all for nothing, right? This is true to an extent, but Nelson helped me realize that linking my personal choices to large scale climate outcomes is not only self-defeating, but also paralyzing. Naively hoping for a better future that no single person could actually bring about might be preventing me from taking certain actions that are in accordance with my deepest values and aspirations. Better to doggedly pursue a more virtuous version of myself (one who incorporates active participation in climate justice into his definition of virtue) and not give a shit whether or not the world decides to play along. This kind of self-righteous attitude has its limitations, but also appeals to me as a motivating force in ways that more common arguments about why we should fight to ameliorate climate damage just don’t.
This sentiment was compounded by a passage from Paul Hawken’s “The Most Amazing Challenge”: “Forget that this task of planet-saving is not possible in the time required. Don’t be put off by people who know what is not possible. Do what needs to be done, and check to see if it was impossible only after you are done” (464). This kind of language usually sends me into fits of rage, but I actually think this constitutes a special case in which it makes sense to embrace what is, at least superficially, an irrational notion. Anthropogenic climate change is an unprecedented challenge, and none of us can say with certainty that we know how it will turn out. So why concern myself with any particular outcome? Why not simply seek out and commit myself to doing “what needs to be done,” and to hell with the rest of it? Why not indeed.
This review was originally published on my blog, words&dirt.
December 1, 2012
This book has such a marvelous collection of essays that really caused me to stop and consider the climate challenge that lies ahead of all of us. Some essays were easier to read and relate to; others a bit more academic and distant. But each called me to consideration of my current lifestyle, questioned my current priorities and actions, and allowed me to choose a better path to travel for myself and the Earth.
I recommend reading this book in a book club setting because the discussion really added to my appreciation, contemplation, and understanding of the essays. For anyone not able to sit down with others to discuss the readings and their thoughts, you can visit the blog from our book club at www.moralgroundbookclub.wordpress.com
Read it. And really think about the difference you want to make.
I recommend reading this book in a book club setting because the discussion really added to my appreciation, contemplation, and understanding of the essays. For anyone not able to sit down with others to discuss the readings and their thoughts, you can visit the blog from our book club at www.moralgroundbookclub.wordpress.com
Read it. And really think about the difference you want to make.
December 25, 2012
Convincingly makes the case for each if us to make changes in our lives and communities regarding the destruction we have wrought on our beautiful planet. A compilation from many excellent and diverse writers responding to the question of whether or not we have a moral imperative to do so. Great for a study group!
October 16, 2013
Moore, Kingsolver and Williams in one volume. How is that not to like? I'd call this an amazing book and might even break my why-buy-books-when-there-are-libraries rule and buy it.
June 15, 2013
I'm not going to finish this one. It is SO long. It needed to be maybe half that long. Plus, I don't think the question should be "Do we have a moral obligation to take action to protect the future of a planet in peril?" as is so often repeated in this book. The question should be: WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
March 11, 2017
we're in peril
dozens of essays that say the same thing. BUT each one is individual enough to touch someone's heart. not great for reading straight through but AMAZING for getting individual perspectives.
dozens of essays that say the same thing. BUT each one is individual enough to touch someone's heart. not great for reading straight through but AMAZING for getting individual perspectives.
November 28, 2017
Powerful collection of essays on the moral imperative to care for our planet in the face of climate change - best in bite size pieces I think as there are a lot of essays and great thoughts collected here!
I'm wondering if this wouldn't make a good daily devotional reader sort of project.
I'm wondering if this wouldn't make a good daily devotional reader sort of project.
August 29, 2025
Reading this book felt exactly the same as doomscrolling. But I still think everyone should read it.
Overall, this collection felt like preaching to the choir. These essays need to be heard by a broader audience, but I’m willing to bet the only folks picking up and reading this book are the ones already aware of the issues we face and what needs to change.
Some of the essays were repetitive, some were obnoxious, and some were outstanding. I thoroughly enjoyed the broad range of people, cultures, and beliefs. Each presented something along the same lines: save the earth, and be moral. I was touched by a lot of these essays and felt like I was less alone in my beliefs and in my feelings of fear and worry. It’s quite hard reading this 15 years after publishing and to acknowledge that the climate change crisis is certainly not new, and that it has been ignored for decades. We need change NOW and we need to be the people who think about our impact and lessen our negative effects on the world.
Overall, this collection felt like preaching to the choir. These essays need to be heard by a broader audience, but I’m willing to bet the only folks picking up and reading this book are the ones already aware of the issues we face and what needs to change.
Some of the essays were repetitive, some were obnoxious, and some were outstanding. I thoroughly enjoyed the broad range of people, cultures, and beliefs. Each presented something along the same lines: save the earth, and be moral. I was touched by a lot of these essays and felt like I was less alone in my beliefs and in my feelings of fear and worry. It’s quite hard reading this 15 years after publishing and to acknowledge that the climate change crisis is certainly not new, and that it has been ignored for decades. We need change NOW and we need to be the people who think about our impact and lessen our negative effects on the world.
February 14, 2020
Ethical considerations regarding climate change
This book provides an excellent and diverse compilation of essays dealing with the ethical considerations of climate change and the moral responsibility all of us have to take immediate action before it is too late.
This book provides an excellent and diverse compilation of essays dealing with the ethical considerations of climate change and the moral responsibility all of us have to take immediate action before it is too late.
November 11, 2020
A well rounded collection of articles, essays, and poems. I didn't love all of them, but they each offered something new to the book. It effectively appeals to the humanity in all people to encourage better treatment of the only planet we have.
January 17, 2020
Most of these essays are worth reading, a few are unforgettable .
April 25, 2022
Read it for my ethic class in college. Very boring.
Read
August 18, 2022As always with a collection of pieces, some appealed to me and others did not.
February 12, 2024
Think would be more enjoyable in audiobook format
September 4, 2022
Too religious for my tastes.
January 28, 2016
This book is really an anthology of short writings from many different authors on the issue of Environment Ethics and Climate Change. Many of the selections were important to the conversation on this subject. My biggest complaint is that I found editors less than fully helpful in synthesizing the selections into a coherent ethical theory.
November 27, 2011
This is a wonderful, thought-provoking collection of essays. A ‘must read’ for anyone who cares about our world, our future and how we are called on/challenged to care for the world that God has blessed us with.
February 26, 2011
short heart breaking fantastic essays exploring how and if we have an ethical responsibility to save the earth
September 27, 2012
Excellent
April 25, 2013
incredible collection of essays
May 10, 2014
Many of the same ideas and topics were repeated. Too long and diverse to have a profound impact. Nice to have such wide varying ideas on a related topic that I care so much about however
December 25, 2016
A very beautiful read, and so necessary.
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