Ecocitizen

The term ecocitizen is a portmanteau or compound word coined by Robert Hull (2005) in Environmental Virtue Ethics (EVE). The neologism describes a person who can improve her own life while still preserving wild nature. The Report describes trends in EVE and suggests concrete measures on how to recognize the deep-seated human connection between self-realization and the well-being of wild nature. Understanding this connection CREATES the basis of a true ecocitizenship, where most consumption and acquisition are recognized as superficial desires which can be moderated or even eliminated through self-awareness of one’s impact on others,human and non-human. A major goal of an ecocitizen is to reduce one’s ecological footprint by avoiding “goods and services that carry a hefty environmental price tag” (Hull 2005). In Hull’s model, an ecocitizen is the ‘ideal citizen’ who finds a balance among human needs (basic goods and services) and conservation. Achieving the state of an ‘ideal citizen’ may take a lifetime even for a committed environmentalist because it means putting ethics into practice. Expressed in the vernacular, it means not only talking the talk but also walking the talk. Ultimately, an ecocitizen derives strength in exercising the right to act nobly toward humans and wild nature no matter the economic opportunities forgone or any social opprobrium suffered.

References

HULL, R. 2005. ALL ABOUT EVE A REPORT ON ENVIRONMENTAL VIRTUE ETHICS TODAY. ETHICS & THE ENVIRONMENT, 10(1): 89-110