47. The responsibility for preventing environmental damage should be shared by v* [, z& G8 Y% i* k
government, private industry and individuals alike. The primary obligation, however, 4 b0 y! ^5 t; U8 H& p1 g2 P
belongs to individuals. Moreover, within organizations like the government or a ! w, K7 R9 |( p2 g
corporation, responsibility should be increasingly distributed to individuals according to : ~3 t% f3 [% R# N3 ^
level of authority.
7 y" b6 V" H' }: W, }4 W The primary obligation to preserve the environment belongs to individuals for the 3 v) J. C' F6 q e4 f; k
reason that assigning responsibility to a government or corporation is problematic. This # y6 e$ i! d6 a1 E# p$ [+ C
is because abstract entities like these do not fulfill the usual criteria for being ) D$ h/ m0 m. V" l; U
responsible. An entity can shoulder responsibility only if it can be held accountable for ( K1 c3 ^ d& X+ }5 s; {
its actions. Furthermore, being held accountable for an action requires that the entity act
, h* ^ ?) a o2 D8 }5 W2 P! i bwillingly and on the basis of conscious intentions. But governments and businesses are / E1 e r! i6 e8 L0 P
abstractions, having neither will nor consciousness beyond that of the individuals within 0 }# u& d6 Q1 M1 ^! f* W5 C7 ^
them.
2 K# H5 W' F8 F5 v7 y5 z Still, we can make some sense of treating corporations and governments as if they 7 M3 R _ E+ P4 q6 p
were individuals. They are individuals under the law, and therefore subject to laws,
; I' M1 o8 e1 }5 `( m% }penalties, and lawsuits. They can even be identified as beneficiaries in wills. 3 L0 g/ Z# @; e$ B
Nevertheless, when responsibility is vaguely allocated to abstract entities like - n0 \! ^4 \( {# s* S- x g. p
governments or corporations, it becomes easy for those within such organizations to
1 P2 i1 \8 {& B! E$ ecover individual actions that result in devastation to the environment. Consider the ( G5 o* Z' m1 l$ M) \4 ?+ z
famous case of the Exxon Valdez accident and oil spill off the Alaskan coast. While it ( s4 P7 r! A* C/ n/ j
was easy to single out Captain Hazelwood and determine his blameworthiness the night 5 C9 W( p7 f+ G; M: Z
of the mishap, it was not so easy to identify those responsible at higher levels. Someone
j2 |3 U: t% Q# D& \/ }$ }was responsible for hiring Hazelwood; others should have known about his drinking or
/ Q. `/ f& S! T/ X8 w$ G4 C( lother job-related problems. Thus when we do assign responsibility to governments or : r( y% @5 b+ E# N
business organizations, it must be clearly distributed to individuals in relevant lines of
) d/ g8 D; M$ c- l7 w1 B4 J! Iauthority within the organization.
$ ]: U- i( ]0 c$ h6 _) _5 L% V4 Y In conclusion, individuals are mainly responsible for protecting the environment.
, {% e9 |* D3 u! p' QAnd while it makes some sense in a vague way to talk about the similar responsibilities 9 Q( |* k' M1 _
of government and industry, in the end such obligations will belong to individuals
3 [1 f% J, U" }within them. Therefore, some individuals will assume greater shares of responsibility
* r7 O) G; x5 D# @7 gfor the environment, since they act in positions of authority on behalf of government or
& W' i Z# P( q7 h) G! x9 x* oindustry. |