At 09:17 PM 2/26/2006, Al Wagar wrote:

>...So, in my humble view, the issue is: Will our actions lead to a congenial
>or not-so-congenial environment for people, with ?congenial? including all
>the material and nonmaterial things that contribute to the quality of our
>lives? Like it or not, we seem to be the only decision makers involved.
>Many of our current choices are very short-term and unenlightened for the
>longer term. Whether ecosystems unravel for lack of ?keystone species? or
>our lives are simply impoverished by the loss of interesting species and
>environments, we need an enlightened self-interest in our decision making.

What bothers me about this approach is that we are considering only our own
interests. As the only decision makers involved, don't we have some
responsibility for considering the congeniality of the environment for
other species as well?

Mary Ann Chapman
Seattle