Moral ground is a compilation of short essays, 87 in total, all by different authors and all of which are focused on question of why is it that we have a moral responsibility to protect the natural environment. The essays in the book are grouped into different sections based roughly on the argument that they make.

The first group of essays argue that yes, we do have moral obligation to protect the natural environment for the very survival of human kind. As humans, we are dependent on the environment for our survival. At the most basic level, we need fertile land on which we can grow food, clean air to breath and clean water to drink and therefore this is enough ground needed to protect the natural environment and thus  to ensure our very own survival.

Some other essays in the book argue that we have a moral obligation to protect nature for the sake of our children. It is morally wrong to destroy the environment and leave the future generation of our children to clean up the mess and suffer the consequences of environmental degradation. We should therefore be held accountable for our actions and make amends even if only to prevent the coming generations from suffering from our own mistakes.

Another group of essays in the book argue that we have a moral obligation because nature is beautiful, totally unique and it has intrinsic value. It’s not only to be valued in terms of its futility to human beings as in how we can use it and exploit and extract from it but also because it has its own intrinsic value and its worth protecting for its own sake.

Another group of essays argue natural world because justice demands it. People, entities or groups who cause the bulk of environmental degradation or pollution are not the ones who suffer the most from the consequences. For example, there are some communities in the Pacific Islands which are now threatened by rising sea levels. The islanders are losing their land to rising sea levels that is attributed to climate change yet such nations have some of the lowest greenhouse gas emission rates. It is the larger industrialized countries that cause the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions. The disparity of who is causing the problems and who is suffering from the consequences is an injustice.

 Those are some examples of types of arguments presented in this book. I found the essays quite interesting and opened my mind to different ideologies from the various authors. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to widen their perspective on ethical or moral grounds to fight for our planet and protect the environment.