Life Within Energy Policy

Abstract

The “sacredness of life” is foundational to environmentalism, and “being alive” is the fundamental criterion for moral considerability. It is also recognized by some philosophers that well-being is often only assessing the individual in a vacuum, neglecting the moral component of impact to other lives (both human and nonhuman). In this way, the “value of life” bridges these related philosophies and provides theoretical support for decisions of social and environmental sustainability where lives are impacted, such as in the energy field. So, we ought to be explicit about those impacts if we are concerned about the morality of policies. Too often taken for granted, “life” is powerful – like no other term, it is immediately referring to two ends of a causal chain – our choices impact lives. To the extent that someone does not consent to a threat to being alive, we should do everything in our power to comply. With transparent, engaged, and inclusive discussions, informed by full life cycle analyses, we can not only protect fundamental rights of the least well-off but also can plan an energy transition that helps everyone to flourish. The case of the Navajo Generating Station illustrates impacts on real lives.

Keywords

• life
• value
• energy
• transition
• environmental ethics
• sustainability
• well-being
• social sustainability
• policy
• Navajo