Geologists use the term Anthropocene Age for the era that began with the Industrial Revolution, in which human activity steadily degrades the global systems that sustain life on our planet. Those systems include, for example, the carbon cycle and global warming and the nitrogen system, where runoff from chemical fertilizers creates dead zones in lakes and oceans.

These global disruptions raise several ethical issues that will become themes of subsequent sessions, among them: damage from global warming is caused by the wealthiest nations, but most negatively impacts the well-being of the poorest; the question of generational responsibility, where our human descendants are being harmed by our present activities; and the issue of the threat that human activity poses to other species on the planet.

Industrial ecology studies how human systems impact nature in a fine-grained manner, revealing with precision just how everyday operations of systems like energy or industry degrade planetary systems for supporting life. “Life Cycle Analysis” analyzes something as prosaic as detergent or a cell phone as an ongoing process from cradle-to-grave with hundreds or thousands of discrete steps, each of which can be measured for a wide array of environmental, health, and social impacts.

How do we understand our ethical obligations when we conceive of ourselves as part of an ecosystem? Must we move beyond an anthropocentric and temporally bounded perspective to a wider view that encompasses all species and future generations?

We live within our models, our worldviews, and they deeply and subtly influence the decisions we make, including ones about the environment. Hence, if we hold views of God, the world, and ourselves that are dualistic, individualistic, and anthropocentric, we will “naturally” decide that climate change, for instance, is not a serious matter.

The path to a sustainable human future on Earth lies in finding a balance between conflicting goals – between striving and growth vs. stewardship and replenishment – both at the individual and collective level. Such balance requires attention to the here-and-now but also concern for others and planning for the future, two capacities that distinguish us from other species but that are not strongly developed.

What does successful activism look like? Laws against child labor, reservation quotas for scheduled tribes and castes, protection of wildlife preserves are examples of successful activism.