The causes of global warming generally seem to be attributed more—in whole or in significant part—to humans, and debates over global warming generally seem to weigh more on scientific issues; i.e., whether the Earth’s climate is changing and whether any change is being wholly or significantly caused by humans.

Climate change, as well as the impact of any strategy to reduce or halt its deteriorating impact, takes place over many years, decades, or even centuries. Therefore, it is essential to have manmade strategies that can sustain the environment of not only present generations, but also and especially future generations as well.

If present generations believe it is morally right or a duty to give birth to future generations, then present generations should take it upon themselves as a duty to prepare and handover an environment that will enable future generations enjoy their existence or life on Earth.

Even if most of us humans lack any sense of obligation to lay a good foundation for future generations, the leaders and influencers in society should educate the masses about their choices: the many choices we make regarding the environment today can either destroy or benefit not only current generations, but future generations as well.

With the environment continuously sinking while we watch the devastating and long-lasting effects of our actions/decisions take a toll on our planet’s climate, it is important to ask ourselves the following questions:

• what kind of environment should we pass on to future generations?
• what kind of environment do our present generations owe future generations?
• what do we think future generations expect us to be doing now?

Although the expectations of future generations should not stop current generations from fulfilling their own expectations, maybe we should forget about ourselves for a moment and think more about what future generations expect/would expect in terms of protecting the environment: what do future generations want us to be doing now? What policies or choices should we be making to help the environments of both the living and those who are yet to live or be born?

Any actions or decisions that should be taken to improve the environment and lives of future generations may not always be taken, considered, or agreed on by the totality of the current crop of generations. For example, current generations as a whole have not yet severely reduced or halted fossil fuel combustion to completely return to a more natural lifestyle.

If future generations, on the other hand, reflect more about past centuries of intensive fossil fuel combustion and other related actions that have created dirty air, polluted waters, deteriorated many landscapes, and generally wrecked the environment, they—i.e., the future generations—may decide to abandon or severely reduce fossil fuel combustion and return to a more natural, primitive, or early-Earth lifestyle.

It may not be wrong to state that the thought of abandoning fossil fuel and returning to a more natural lifestyle is being considered by only a handful of the current crop of generations—not by everyone.

Although we can’t abandon everything in totality because of how important some things are, we should at least design policies that can give the future environment and generations something useful that has been lost due to the actions of current generations who seemingly believe that human advancement/the ability to rise above the natural environment is more important than the consequences of fighting against Nature by polluting it beyond excessive and questionable limits.

What good are we doing by creating consumer goods that eventually destroy the air and environment and prevent future generations from having a breathable atmosphere which is required to adequately sustain life? So, we really need to strike a balance by making choices that provide goods and at the same time save the environment from artificial or manmade causes of environmental deterioration.

Handing over the present deteriorating state of the environment to future generations would likely leave the planet in an unliveable condition because, as many researchers believe, the climatic conditions of many environments on our planet have already passed a tilting point—a point of no return! Although this is regrettable, we can halt many things to stop and turn the tide, and possibly stop incurring worse effects.

Because reversing the state of the climate and many environments may take many years or decades, any decision(s) that may likely degrade the environment in the future or many years from today should be weighed more seriously than any decision(s) that can degrade the environment only now/at the moment.

Concluding words

Since it’s not possible to ask future generations what they’d like us to do, we—the current generations—have a moral obligation to speak for them. In fact, we need to speak on their behalf because we have the ability to see the future to some extent and dictate it in a number of significant ways.

If we wish to prevent the climate from changing and becoming worse or more unliveable, then must undo some of the damage we’ve been doing for decades or centuries, or can we simply stop doing any further damage: we should be making decisions today that can enhance the environmental inheritance of future generations without lowering their standard of living. There should be policy choices that allow dramatic improvements in future environmental outcomes and at the same time make people’s economic incomes to rise significantly or substantially.

Any important decision that needs to be made and taken should be based on a sensible guess about how it could possibly sustain the future environment and generations, and also help them create or preserve their own options as well. Future generations should be given a foundation that can motivate them to choose even natural or greener options, and inspire them to value and choose nature over many technologies or consumer goods that have been damaging the environment.