What types of responsibilities do we or should we have to the environment?

In order to respect all peoples and their right to live upon this earth, we should recognize that to pursue health and happiness we all need some basics: clean air, clean water, and clean soil. It may sound elementary, but how current politics swing it is worth repeating. We all need clean air to breath lest we are burdened with disease like asthma. We all need clean water to drink lest we are made sick with E. coli or other ferocious bacteria. We all need clean soil to utilize for building, living, and eating.

Franklin D. Roosevelt desired a new bill of rights in the wake of the Great Depression that would spell out clearly the right to healthcare, education, and a securer future. In order to claim our rights, though, we must admit our responsibility. We have a responsibility to ourselves and future generations to secure these things for us and them. We have a right to make sure our water is clean so that others may have clean water. We have a right to make sure that our practices keep the air clean so all can live and breath easier. And, we have a right to ensure that we don’t contaminate our soils. If our soils are contaminated, where will our food come from?

It is our responsibility, together, to make sure we are accountable for our bad deeds in order that all may live in a clean world.