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  • Essay / `` One Community `` By Peter Singer - 1055

    The second question that comes to mind when discussing what is fair and what is unfair in environmental matters through the lens of racism is whether or not we have a higher obligation to our own immediate species as opposed to humanity as a whole, or even the entire biosphere as a whole. This can be directly linked to the previous question regarding resource allocation. Is it simply for a group to accumulate as many resources as possible in order to ensure that it continues to thrive and does not diminish in any way? If we once again accept equality as the end goal, the answer is no. Not only is it unfair for one group to deliberately hoard resources, but it is also unfair for one group to know that another group is suffering from lack of resources and to refrain from providing aid to that group who suffers. Peter Singer, in his article “One Community,” argues this point through an anecdotal situation that applies well here. I asked the reader to imagine that on my way to give a lecture, I pass by a shallow pond. As I do so, I see a small child fall in and I realize that she is in danger of drowning. I could easily get it in and out, but that would get my shoes and pants wet and muddy. I'd have to go home and change, I'd have to cancel the conference, and my shoes might never recover. However, it would be grotesque to allow such minor considerations to outweigh the interest of saving a child's life. Saving the child is what I should do, and if I attend the conference, no matter how clean and dry and punctual I may be, I have done something bad (95). This story illustrates that, if one has the power to do so, it is a mistake to refrain from helping someone else. Identity should play no deterrent role... middle of paper ...... resources are unfairly distributed, with whites having more access to positive resources and blacks having more access to environmental crises, equality is the best solution. This means that ultimately access to resources must be equal, forcing white, wealthy communities to tackle more environmental crises while black, poor communities take ownership of more positive environmental resources. . This also means that white communities will have to make sacrifices to ensure access to resources for black communities. Absolute equality may not be the answer to everything. Absolute income equality, cultural equality, or class equality, for example, would result in a disastrously boring and redundant world. The environment is different, however. Every living human being has an inherent right as living beings on this Earth to absolutely equal access to its resources, without regard to any consideration of race..