A
person who discounts or ignores societal or environmental problems because they believe that intelligence and technological prowess make
humanity exempt from the natural processes that govern other species.
Also, a
person who defers accountability to others.
Exemptionalist: The
earth, environment, and all life are disposable in the wake of
humanity. Population growth? Good for the economy. Species going extinct? Not to worry. That is nature's way. Think of humankind as only the latest in a
long line of exterminating agents in geological
time. Besides, if we have to destroy a rainforest, we are smart enough to place another
one somewhere else. If we have to witness the extinction of a species, we are smart enough to create breeding programs. Resources? The planet has more than enough resources to last indefinitely. It always has and it always will. The fact that industrialization is destroying environments faster than anything
humanity has ever seen doesn't change this fact. Don't worry. Be happy!
Environmentalist: The fate of mankind is closely knit to the well-being of biodiversity and the environment. Food is becoming more and more scarce and will worsen when the melting ice caps and rising
ocean levels decrease arable land. We exhaust resources at a much faster rate than they can be replenished. We cause the extinction of species faster than they can be created. Destruction or degradation of biodiversity is irreplaceable because there is so much intricacy that we still don’t know. Millions of plants and animals
die with deforestation that, unknowingly,
may have been life-saving for
humanity. Humanity must work to save the planet, and in doing so we save ourselves.
