Environmental Ethics and Sustainable Living
What the domain tests
Environmental Ethics and Sustainable Living tests environmental ethics, sustainable development and Indian ecological traditions. Questions often ask you to apply a principle to a local conflict, not just define 'environment'.
Core principles
- Anthropocentrism values nature for human use; biocentrism values living beings; ecocentrism values ecosystems as wholes.
- Sustainable development meets present needs without compromising future generations' ability to meet theirs. It joins environmental protection, economic viability and social equity.
- Polluter pays, precautionary principle and intergenerational equity are practical tests. Public trust doctrine holds that the state holds natural resources in trust for the people.
- Indian constitutional anchors include Article 48A (directive principle to protect the environment) and Article 51A(g) (fundamental duty). The National Green Tribunal hears environmental cases.
- Indian traditions offer resources: ahimsa, sacred groves, river reverence, eri tank systems and kudimaramathu community tank maintenance in Tamil Nadu. Chipko, Silent Valley and Narmada movements show environmental ethics as social action.
Worked example
A village is offered a factory that will employ 200 people but discharge effluent into a tank feeding paddy fields. A narrow cost-benefit analysis counts jobs and ignores the water. Applying the precautionary principle, the village asks for an independent impact assessment before approval. Applying intergenerational equity, it considers farmers' and children's future access to water. The ethical answer is conditional approval only with treatment, monitoring and compensation - not a simple 'jobs versus environment' choice.
Traps
Do not equate sustainability with tree planting. Do not ignore social justice: poor communities often bear environmental costs. Do not treat the precautionary principle as a ban on all innovation. Do not confuse conservation (wise use) with preservation (no use). Do not cite Article 48A as a fundamental right; it is a directive principle.