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RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ON THE HOME PLANET
Author(s) -
Rolston Holmes
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
zygon®
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1467-9744
pISSN - 0591-2385
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9744.1993.tb01047.x
Subject(s) - politics , environmental ethics , natural (archaeology) , planet , human rights , natural resource , earth (classical element) , unit (ring theory) , environmental resource management , political science , political economy , sociology , geography , law , psychology , economics , philosophy , physics , mathematics education , archaeology , astrophysics , mathematical physics
. Earth is the home planet, right for life. But rights, a notable political category, is, unfortunately, a biologically awkward word. Humans, nonetheless, have rights to a natural environment with integrity. Humans have responsibilities to respect values in fauna and flora. Appropriate survival units include species populations and ecosystems. Increasingly the ultimate survival unit isglobal; and humans have a responsibility to the planet Earth. Human political systems are not well suited to protect life atglobal ranges. National boundaries ignore important ecologicalprocesses; national policies do not favor an equitable distribution of sustainable resources. But there are signs of hope.