Hydraulic Fracturing is a controversial environmental issue causing battles
between big business, government and people. The battles focus on money, natural
resources, land, pollution and climate change. Fracking is an issue in small
communities all around the world. In order to solve the battle a clear strategy must
be outlined. We must change the way we think about the land.
There are two approaches that may change the way we think about the land.
The first is the moral obligation approach. This approach implies that we are
automatically going to help the land without reciprocation – we are obligated to
treat the land well. This is a non-anthropocentric outlook on life. I think if we all felt
moral obligation to the land we wouldn’t be discussing the issues of fracking. Moral
obligation would be a solution for many of the world’s problems, but in this case, it
would be too difficult to convince the majority of the world’s population of moral
obligation.
The second approach is an enlightened self-interest perspective. This
approach implies that we do things for our own benefit or the benefit of a group we
belong to. This is an anthropocentric outlook on life. It explains the reason we are
destroying the land is because we think it was put here for us to destroy and we do
not feel any obligation towards the land. Maybe we can use these outlooks to change
how we treat the land. If we look at the land pyramid mentioned in Aldo Leopold’s
“The Land Ethic” we see how all of things are connected (251). If the land is the base
of the pyramid, everything requires this level to live and grow. We are dependent on
the land. The land is important to our health and wellbeing. Since the common
concern is focused around our personal needs in the enlightened self-interest
approach, the fear of the negative side effects of land abuse might be enough to scare
people into taking a stand against hydraulic fracturing. Abuse of the land would
mean that the land was no longer able to look after our needs. The drive humans
have to benefit themselves is enough to make a big impact on how we treat
environmental issues.
It is very difficult to change the outlook of the majority of a population.
However, if people were convinced the land was valuable, they may treat it
differently. In the absence of moral obligation, enlightened self-interest could be an
effective solution for our current problems. It could be used on the individual level,
on the community and on the industry/government level.
On the individual level, humans are naturally concerned for their health. If an
